It started as a gourd.

Most people assume a loofah comes from the ocean, or a factory. It's neither. The scrubbing face of this pad is natural luffa — a climbing gourd, a relative of the cucumber, grown on a trellis in Colombia, then harvested when mature, peeled, seeded and sun-dried until only the fibrous interior remains.

Then we made it into something you'll actually use.

A whole dried loofah is awkward — bulky, hard to hold onto, slow to dry, and it frays. So ours are cut flat, bound at the edge with cotton to stop them shedding, and finished with a cotton strap and hanging loop. Luffa and cotton. That's the whole pad.

Slip your hand under the strap.

No gripping, no dropping it mid-shower. The strap sits on the back so the loofah face stays exactly where you need it — including the places that are otherwise hard to reach.

It dries.

The reason loofahs go bad is that they stay wet. A flat pad with a hanging loop dries between showers in a way a whole dried gourd never does.

Grown and made in Colombia.

Nearly every loofah sold in the US is anonymous — bought by weight from whoever was cheapest that season, blended, bleached and bagged. Ours come from Exporloofah, a Colombian company that has worked with small growers for over 30 years, and with whom we hold an exclusive relationship. Grown, dried, cut and finished in the same country. Same farmers, same soil, same drying method every harvest.

What's included

• 2 oval loofah scrubbing pads with hand strap and hanging loop
• 1 reusable travel and storage bag
• Natural Colombian luffa scrubbing face, cotton-bound edge and cotton strap
• Made in Colombia

How to use it

Soak in warm water for about 30 seconds — the loofah face softens noticeably. Slide your hand under the strap, add your usual soap or body wash, and work in circular motions. Go gently on your neck and sensitive areas; press harder on elbows, knees and feet.

How to make it last

Rinse thoroughly after every use and hang it by the loop somewhere it can dry fully — outside the shower stream is best. A pad that dries completely between uses stays fresh far longer than one left sitting in water. Replace every 4 to 6 weeks. That's why they come in twos.

When you're done with it

Cut it up and bury it in the garden, or add it to a home compost pile. The luffa face and the cotton trim are both plant fiber, so the pad breaks down in soil the way other plant material does. No special facility needed. Keep the bag — it's meant to be reused.

Questions people actually ask

Aren't loofahs unhygienic?
They can be, if they never dry — and that's true of any bath sponge, natural or synthetic. This is a flat pad with a hanging loop precisely so it can dry between showers. Rinse it well, hang it where there's airflow, and replace it every 4 to 6 weeks. We'd rather tell you that plainly than sell you something we claim lasts forever.

Is it too rough for sensitive skin?
It's firm out of the bag and softens with use. Soak it a full 30 seconds before the first few uses and start with light pressure. If you have eczema, psoriasis or broken skin, check with your dermatologist before exfoliating.

Why isn't the colour perfectly uniform?
Because it's a plant. Natural luffa fiber varies in tone from blond to tan depending on the gourd and the drying conditions. Uniformly pale loofahs have usually been chemically treated to get that way.

Is the packaging plastic-free?
No. It comes in a reusable bag rather than a throwaway wrapper — meant to be kept and used for travel, the gym, or storing the pad between trips. We'd rather give you something you'll reuse than call a disposable wrapper "eco." But it is plastic, and we're not going to pretend otherwise.