Exfoliate Your Skin With Italy (Korean) Towel
Introduction: Exfoliate Your Skin With Italy (Korean) Towel
I've been using Korean towels for years. They were incredibly helpful when I developed a sensitivity to certain chemicals and couldn't use regular scrubs. I never anticipated how they would change my whole beauty routine and honestly, I can't go without them now. Not only do they make your skin extremely soft and slick, they help with ingrown hair, keratosis pilaris and bacne.
I've been recommending them to my friends and family for ages, even went as far as send them as Christmas gifts, but I ended up getting complains instead of praises. Turns out they were doing it wrong, so wrong in fact, that some of them ended up with mild skin abrasions (think carpet burns). So, I decided to make an Instructable to explain how to use it properly, with no injury and maximum results.
Step 1: What Are Korean Towels
Korean (Italy) Towels are made of a cloth that is 100% viscose. They have been available in Korea since the 60s, but the original viscose cloth came from Italy, since the alternative name for those mittens. There are similar to Turkish exfoliating mitts.
They are abrasive, which is why they work so well for manual exfoliation. Korean towels are inexpensive, reusable, require no lotions, potions, or goo for results. Perfect for people with sensitive skin who react badly to chemicals in store-bought scrubs. Plus, they work better than any home-made or store-bought scrub.
Step 2: Colours
Korean towels come in different colours. Colours signify coarseness.
Pink
The least abrasive. Used for sensitive areas like neck, throat, cleavage. They can supposedly be used for a facial exfoliation, but I do not recommend that course of action.
Green
This one is medium strength and most commonly used. Appropriate for majority of skin types and body parts.
Yellow
Very abrasive, used for tough body parts like knees, elbows, feet, areas affected by keratosis pilaris, legs with ingrown hair.
Blue
Hard to get, the most abrasive, recommended only for very dry, tough skin.
Step 3: Problem With Shrinkage
Most commonly available size is 16x14cm. What the package doesn't tell you is that once wet, they shrink anywhere between 30-50%. The brand I'm using ends up shrinking to 10x12cm. 994
It's puny and barely workable by someone with medium hands, and utterly useless for someone with large hands. They are perfect for someone with small hands though. Once they are wet and shrunk, they can be stretched and they will be a tight fit. And that's how they are supposed to be- tight. That way you will be able to create necessary surface tension.
Picture 1: top- just wet; bottom- wet, but stretched
Picture 2: small hand
Picture 3: large hand
Step 4: Solution
Since Korean towels are reusable, washable and will last at least a few weeks, it's not totally crazy to modify them a little bit. Especially if you can only get your hands on regular sized towels. With a thread, needle and a sharp pair of scissors you will be able to create a large mitten (22x12cm when wet) that should make your exfoliating job much, much easier.
Select two towels, either get two of the same colour, or mix them. I'm using yellow for areas affected by KP and green for the rest of my skin. If you have a particularly sensitive skin, use pink and green instead
Stitches are on the outside, so flip the mitten inside out, put your hand inside to create tension and reveal underside of the stitches and cut through. Small scissors, craft knife, scalpel, cuticle clippers will do the job.
Rip them all apart and remove the loose thread. Align two towels together.
Sew two towels together with a double thread. Only basic sewing skills are necessary (as seen in the picture).
Step 5: Large Mitten
Voila, Korean towel ready to go. 14x30cm when dry, 12x22cm when wet. It will fit a large hand perfectly well.
Step 6: How to Use It
* First of all- always, always use it wet. Wet skin and wet mitten. Never dry and never forceful. Strength is not needed here, too much pressure can remove too much skin, create abrasion and subsequently 2-3 days of pain.
* You can use it in the shower or in the bath, both ways work. 316