**REVIEW** I Did NOT Expect To Love This Bath Sponge

 Let me say this first: I hate TikTok. I hate any platform that is focused on "influencing" - especially product influencing. Weird, right, since I blog so many product reviews. I like reading reviews from people who really believe in or like a product and aren't just hyping every latest thing for the purpose of jacking up their "Likes".

Let me reiterate that: I hate TikTok and Instagram and all the other platforms riddled with fake reviews. 

I want you to understand this because I found a product on my own that is, apparently, "hot on TikTok". I didn't know that until after I bought the product. Once I heard that it was a TikTok-hyped item, I almost returned it without opening the package.

However, I am in love with this item:

That is a "Net Bath Sponge". I found it while looking for another of the scrubbers that I've always gotten from Walmart. You know what I'm talking about? The balls of exfoliating puff scrubbers that are so popular for the shower. Something like these:

I mainly like those because they lather up so well. The downside is that they don't clean the skin very well. Mostly, I think I like them because they look cute hanging in my shower. 

Anyway, I was looking for a better type of the poof scrubber. I wanted something that would do a better job of cleaning. I thought maybe the Walmart ones were just cheaply made. So I went looking for an alternative and ran across a slew of the "net sponges".

When I chose a net sponge to try out, I ordered one and started looking more closely at the reviews. That's when I realized I'd been TikTok-ked. 

I guess these sponges are hyped on TikTok as "African bath sponges". 

🙄

It was too late to cancel the order so I decided I would probably just return it later. 

But then...

I got the sponge and it was so unusual-looking in the package that I just had to unwrap it and get a closer look. 

That's a cute presentation

When I unrolled the sponge (which is not really a sponge but a long sheet of netting), my first thought was that it was just a really long piece of the stuff that my onion bags are made of.  What a ripoff! 

The instructions for use are to first rinse the netting in warm and soapy water. I couldn't resist doing so. And that was when I first realized that this was not the same stuff onion bags are made of. Also, this netting was nothing like the material that the traditional poofs are made of.

When dry, the netting feels much too rough and abrasive to put anywhere near my skin. When wet and soapy, it's the perfect texture for gentle cleansing.

I went ahead and gave this a try in the shower and was blown away. For one thing, the smallest dab of my liquid soap foamed up like something out of a cartoon. For another thing, the sponge was easier to use than a washcloth or a poof.

Normally, I got through my liquid shower soap like I own the factory where it's made. With a washcloth, the soap doesn't last because I have to soap myself down, then rinse and repeat. If I don't I feel as if my skin is not getting clean enough. I certainly am not sloughing off any dead skin and product buildup without a lot of scrubbing.

Although the exfoliation was good, the netting was much more gentle than I expected. I spent far less time in the shower and came out feeling much cleaner with less work. 

What I really liked was that the netting was easy to clean. When I use washcloths, I need 3 for the shower - one for my face, one for my torso, and one for my lady parts. I have a separate scrubber for my feet. I was able to use the sponge for everything and just use 1 washcloth for my "delicate" areas. That's really going to cut down on laundry.

The first couple of times I used it, I just rinsed and hung it in the shower to dry. The next time I used it, I realized that a dot of clarifying shampoo would clean up any residue of dirt and oils without damaging the netting. That's my new routine for cleaning the "sponge" now.

It stretched almost
as long as my shower
curtain after use. (it's dry)

Honestly, I was kind of mad that I fell in love with the netting/sponge. On the other hand, I wasn't "influenced" by TikTok to make the purchase. So it all works out.

I think the only thing I will be using my washcloths for in the future is to clean my face and "delicates".

When I was reading reviews, I did see that some people complained that the sponge felt "cheap" or - in the case of repeat purchases - didn't work as well as previous ones. Maybe I lucked out and got a good one the first time around. Who knows?

It's not a big deal to most people but I'm glad that the country of origin of this one is Ghana and not China. Just on principle. Not that bet sponges are solely an African thing. I understand that other countries have been using this type of sponge for a while. TikTok has just popularized it for a lot of folks.

Anyway, I do love the "sponge" I got and I think it will last a while but order one in orange as a backup. I will update this post if the quality is any different.

Peace

--Free

DISCLAIMER: I was not compensated in any way or asked to write a review for the products mentioned in this post.