Ecotools - Sustainable Facial Buffs

Wandering around my local Boots recently (I do this a lot as it is right next to work - so great for killing time) I spotted their new(ish) Ecotools range.  I'm sure I've walked past it before, but never really paid it much attention.  Having a bit of extra time to spare one day I found myself studying every shelf in that shop in detail (amazing what boredom can do to you!).  It was whilst doing this, that I spotted the Ecotools Sustainable Facial Buffs.

At £2.99 I figured they were a pretty reasonable price, and might serve well as a temporary replacement for my somewhat manky old muslin cloths.
Now I'm not all that much into the "Eco" side of things, but I must admit I do feel a bit better when I do buy something eco-friendly.  In terms of eco-ness, EcoTools are quite good at this.  They are a member of "1% for the Planet", meaning that they give 1% of their annual revenue to environmental causes (I'm sure they could manage more though - but I shouldn't start an argument - it's better than nothing at all!).  They also like to use recycled, recyclable and also sustainable materials when making their products.

You get two Sustainable facial buffs for your £2.99, and each one is double sided.

One side is made from natural loofah and is for scrubbing; the other side is made of rayon (from bamboo) and is used for cleansing.

Now onto what I think of them!

They're a great price, and according to the packet will only need replacing every 2-3 months, so with the two of them you have 4 - 6 months worth.

I absolutely love the idea behind them, being able to scrub and cleanse using the one pad, but I just found there was something lacking in the execution.

The pad is really rigid around the edge, and as such the finger strap doesn't fit over the pad, so you can't use it to hold on both sides.  This means that when you come to cleanse you have an annoying strap getting in the way.

When the loofah gets wet it expands, making that side of the pad very bulbous.  Fibrous parts of loofah start to fall out of the pad.  It absorbs a lot of the cleanser instead of it being on your face, and it takes most of a day for it to dry back out again.  I also find loofah to be a bit too rough on my face - however gentle I am! (maybe I just need to work up my tolerance?)

All-in-all I am really torn - I love the idea, I just so wish that the design was a bit better!

Would I buy them again? - Most probably not - unless they change the design!

Have you tried these, if so what did you think? Are other tools in the range better?


Bryony x