REVIEW: Skinvac Microfiber Facial Cloths - Rave!
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Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:35 pm

Bottom Line: FABULOUS investment in facial care, extremely inexpensive and versatile.

Skinvac cloths are three types of microfiber cloths and they work wonderfully - even to remove makeup. It is basically cleansing with water only which maintains your skin's acid mantle and thus helps it normalize, but the 'grippiness' of the microfiber gets deep into the pores and swipes off any excess oil, facial grime, you name it. I will often swipe with the daily cleansing cloth after the OCM to get any extra jojoba I may have missed and it has worked very well.

The other cloth I use fairly regularly is their exfoliating cloth which is microfiber waffle weave. It is really great manual exfoliation, much more effective than I thought it would be, but doesn't exacerbate my acne or irritate my face. All of these are used with just warm water so they're VERY portable. They're also extremely cheap, which is nice Smile

The last Skinvac cloth is EXTREMELY useful but one I use rarely - it's a pore evacuating cloth and it is meant for spot treatment swiping of a few areas of the face prone to whiteheads. They have videos of this working on their website but it basically clears all those little whiteheads on the folds of the nose and chin without squeezing (which as we know drives the bacteria deeper).

I have tried these for a month now and can honestly endorse them. The only caution is not OVERDOING it - they are extremely effective so less pressure and time is needed to get clean than you'd think and if you over-rub with the daily cleansing cloth or get too enthusiastic with the exfoliator your face will feel quite raw as they really do exfoliate and cleanse very deeply. But used as recommended and with a good moisturizer (like the OCM, in my case) they function fabulously.

They do need to be replaced once or twice a year - you'll notice them getting less 'effective' or feeling a little thin, but the cost is low enough I don't think this is an issue. The company recommends that you replace the Daily Cleansing Cloth after 200 uses and the Pore Cloth and Exfoliating Cloth after 100 uses each. The latter two don't get used as frequently so I would imagine a group order for three new ones when the Daily Cleansing Cloth wears out should suffice.

Here is the link: http://www.skinvac.com
Vegan Special Discount code: vegan

The coupon code is good for 15% off and the original cost of each cloth is $9.75, which includes international shipping. I have found the quality of these cloths better than some other brands but technically any cloth of the same microfiber types should function the same.

Another cloth I have NOT tried but that has wonderful reviews is a cloth called Claroderm, and available here: http://www.folica.com/Claroderm_Micro_d1524.html

It's looks identical to the Skinvac Daily Cleansing cloth so I'd say any reviews in favor of one apply fairly reliably to the other.

I hope this helps some of you - I can freely recommend this. Even if it makes no difference than a normal washcloth (which is pretty impossible considering that the fibers, themselves, function very differently) you still have an inexpensive set of quality facial cloths to use in a pinch, when traveling or camping, etc etc. But with my delicate, sensitive, acne-prone skin to see such good results with NO irritation was enough to sell me. Anyone who tries these please let me know what you think!

free skin care · Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:38 am

Pure skin formular fiber cloth is also pretty good, you can try it

free skin care · Thu Aug 21, 2008 6:45 am

I've also tried the Jane Iredale cleansing mitt, not too bad and the PSF cleansing cloths. Those are pretty cheap and pretty good but kind of on the small side.

free skin care · Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:17 am

I have GOW and PSF microfiber cloths and neither wow'd me. I don't see any results using them. The GOW one is very tiny about 4" x 4". The PSF one is more reasonably sized. Maybe I am not using it correctly which is why I'm not seeing results.

free skin care · Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:09 pm

Thanks for the review Artic Mama...but just wondering, how is the skinvac any different to other microfibre cleansing cloths in the market?
Also, I watched the videos on the website that you provided and it just seems kinda....fake, cos with whiteheads and blackheads that are like that, I think most cloths would get rid of them

free skin care · Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:47 am

I got a great tip from the website, which is to fold the cloth in half on the bias and wrap the triangular shaped cloth around the fingers to create an exfoliating pad, which you then use to exfoliate by running it in small circles over the areas of the face that you want to clean.

This makes so much sense! I had been using my little PSF cloths when traveling since the Clarisonic takes up too much space and weight in my suitcase!) but was using them like a washcloth. They did seem a little small for the purpose, but used wrapped acround the fingers, the size would be perfect. So thanks, artic mama!!

Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:24 pm

These are small cloths as well, I'd say 6x6. As for how they compare to other microfiber cleaning cloths... the waffle weave one is identical to all the other exfoliating cloths I've seen, but both the pore gripper and the daily cleansing cloth have a much finer, more uniform texture than similar microfiber cloths and feel higher quality - thicker, as well as more dense in fiber.

As for clearing whiteheads, at least, I tried the same thing on my chin as in the video and it did, indeed, scrape out those pores as well as any pore strip. I was a bit skeptical but I've been using these for close to two months now so I feel reasonably confident in how well they work for me, at least. I also came across the company online, by word of mouth on another forum - they don't really market but the product quality is there.

For those who don't see decent results with microfiber remember to get the best results there's can't be facial cleanser on the cloth... microfiber is a fiber that is thinly spliced, the 'grippiness' comes from the microscopic grooves and hollow core of each fiber, and if you fill those nooks and crannies with soap or too much water (by not wringing the cloth out to be almost dry) they can't work to grip what's on the face. I have tried them the recommended way, with just warm water and wrung out, and with facial cleanser and I must say with the cleanser it was no different than any other wash cloth... with just water it was WORLDS apart, and managed to exfoliate my skin without ripping it up, which a traditional washcloth would do.

The PSF skin cloth is a MUCH courser texture than the weave of the Skinvac Dauily Cleansing cloth... it's more similar in texture to their pore gripper. The fineness of the cloth does matter in terms of really getting into pores - the daily cleansing cloth has such a fine weave it almost feels like suede, so it can really get into the pores, fine lines, you name it. I haven't personally tried the PSF but for those not thrilled with it on visual inspection, alone, I can tell you they're quite different textures of cloth and with microfiber different texture equals differing performance.

Not all microfiber is created equal - some are much less uniform, rougher (fibers not as resilient or smooth), and of all different shapes, sizes, textures, fiber-type compositions...

As someone prone to mild-to-moderate comedonal acne (and some cysts here and there, too) I can say this really does sweep everything out of my pores. I haven't used any facial cleanser beyond oil for months and haven't broken out, I've taken off makeup with these and not had ANY left when I try other removers (like oil) on after it. It exfoliates without leaving me with a raw, flaky mess. I am not sure if these are the best on the market or not but they're the best I've found - WELL worth the minimal cost compared to so many products I've tried.

free skin care · Tue Aug 26, 2008 2:54 pm

I use the cloths to remove my masks. I find it does a good job of removing all the residues and when traveling I also bring it instead of a separate makeup remover. Does the job just fine.

free skin care · Thu Sep 24, 2009 1:19 pm

I am using the PSF one, is good and cheap

free skin care · Fri Sep 25, 2009 7:10 am

I'v used the PSF ,and it is really good

free skin care · Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:55 pm

Nancy sells lovely ones on her website NCN, she's just had them updated with nice satin borders, and the quality of the cloths seems to be much better. I also agree with Arctic Mama's review of microfibre cloths. I've found them to disturb my skin far less than anything else I've ever used, whilst cleaning it far better. They are essentials as far as I'm concerned. I'll never buy another cleanser. It's OCM, or microfibre, or both, for me from now on. I'll check out the cloths you posted, but I can't imagine being happier than with the NCN ones, which are quite large and $11 each.

free skin care · Mon Sep 28, 2009 3:03 am

bkkgirl wrote:

I have GOW and PSF microfiber cloths and neither wow'd me. I don't see any results using them. The GOW one is very tiny about 4" x 4". The PSF one is more reasonably sized. Maybe I am not using it correctly which is why I'm not seeing results.

same here. I used to use the GOW one but I didnt notice any difference if I stopped using it.

free skin care · Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:29 am

I've tried 3-4 different brands of microfibre cloths but never got round to using the Skinvac's, as I'm very happy with Nexcare's facial microfibre clothes. They're slightly cheaper than PSF and are so much softer and bigger in size.

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