I’ve been using exfoliating or ‘scrubby’ gloves for about 18+ years. My first pair came from US store Bath and Bodyworks in the early 90′s. Up until then the closest thing to getting exfoliating action was using a flannel or wash cloth (useless), loofah’s (even more useless) or a back brush. Exfoliating gloves are brilliant because the tool is your hands so there are no fiddly objects to hold whilst you de-scale your bod. Since the invention of these gloves there have been several other body wash sponges made of nylon that have come on the market. Most of them are also useless as the weave is too big to get a good scrub. I am never without my scrubby gloves. Lot’s of people use them in place of body scrub but I use both. For me the gloves are for everyday use, body scrubs are for intense scrubbing several times a week.
I’ve been using Body Shop bath gloves for about 15 years now because the 100% nylon weave on the glove is quite tight and because they are made from nylon they dry very quickly. These only last about 2-3 months max as the weave starts to get loose and the elastic around the wrist area will slacken. I was going to replace my old Body Shop ones with a new pair but decided to go for Soap & Glory ones as they look a bit more durable.
The Soap & Glory gloves are like putting on a falconry glove. The elastic on the wrist is thicker and larger so these gloves aren’t going anywhere. Whilst the Body Shop glove texture is smooth, these gloves have bobbly bits in addition to the nylon texture for exfoliation. There is also a Soap & Glory ribbon attached to each glove so you can hang them up. You can see a comparison picture here; S&G on the left, Body Shop on the right.
S&G gloves are on another level to the Body Shop ones. They feel more durable and the exfoliation action you get is rougher which is always a good thing in my book! The only downside I see is that they are at risk of being discontinued as Soap & Glory hasn’t been around as long as the Body Shop, and they seem to chop and change their product line more often. Body Shop gloves have been around for at least 15 years, I doubt they will get rid of them any time soon. Both gloves are the same price point (£4) so the S&G ones to me are better value. It will be interesting to see if they last for longer than 2-3 months. I will be recycling my Body Shop gloves though, if you slip them onto traditional rubber gloves they make a handy cleaning tool for bathroom sink taps. Happy scrubbing!
Soap & Glory Exfoliating Gloves are available at Boots!
