Kleenex Exfoliating Pads Review

Kleenex Exfoliating Pads ($4.99) are dual-sided pads which have a built in cleanser that is water activated which buffs away dead skin cells. If you read my Kleenex Cotton Soft Pads review you know that Kleenex is getting in on the skincare world with some interesting and fun products that launched earlier this Summer!

My skin is drier and duller which means exfoliating is definitely an essential part of my routine. But the problem with exfoliating drier skin is that it can easily be overdone and makes me even more drier. Typically I try to keep it to once or maybe twice a week at best to avoid further dryness. It’s always a rather great pleasure to discover a product that’s gentle enough to exfoliate your skin daily with and that would be the case with these Kleenex Exfoliating Pads.

I mentioned in my prior review of the cotton soft pads that it felt like Kleenex was embracing Asian trends with these product launches. Now I wouldn’t say exfoliating cushions are an Asian trend nor would I say they a unique or new item. What does set these apart, which is always an important part of beauty for me, is the packaging. The packaging is very, very Japanese-like. These come in a sturdy, reusable plastic container which you can either refill with more cushions ($4.99 for $12 pads) or you can even store extra cotton, Q-tips, or even makeup inside. I feel like packaging is very disposable with drugstore brands and not a lot of thought goes into making things visually appealing and pretty. This packaging is really quite well presented and it appeals to my inner organizing demon. I love that I have the option to refill it with more pads or anything else I want. In Japan, Biore common puts a lot of their skincare items in similar plastic containers!

But I digress, people that aren’t as heavily into packaging likely don’t care about the babble I wrote above and just want to hear more about the pads inside!

These are a dual-sided, multi-layered study cotton cushion pad. The first side has a cut out design with a grainier fabric layered under the softer cotton that acts to exfoliate skin. The reverse side is the softer portion of the disc and can be used to gently polish or cleanse skin. Personally, I wouldn’t use these as a cleansing method since I wear a lot of makeup and these lather very little which means they won’t do well to remove makeup. I’ve been using them as a follow up after my normal cleanser to gently exfoliate my skin.

Simply wet a pad under running water, squeeze gently, and it’ll produce a very fine lather. You can massage the grainier side gently around your face to gently buff away dry skin. I find the pad doesn’t produce a ton of lather so, I squeeze a tiny dollop of foaming cleanser onto it before I start using it to create more foam. This isn’t necessary but I like more lather during the exfoliating process! I take a few minutes to work the pad around my face and after I’m done I turn it around and gently buff the softer side into my skin to finish. As I mentioned above over-exfoliating can lead to more dryness but these pads are gentle enough to use a few times a week without stripping my skin. I didn’t feel dry or tight after use and they did a nice job refining the surface of my skin when I used them daily. They won’t do the job of a regular exfoliating scrub but if you use them daily you’ll find your skin looks smoother and your skincare will absorb more easier. Plus your complexion will look brighter and less dull! They do have a subtle fresh scent which always deserves a mention for sensitive users.

I really liked them! The cushions are sturdy and didn’t tear plus they were gentle enough to use daily and left my dull, dry skin, much more smoother and brighter!

I’d recommend trying them out!

Kleenex Exfoliating Cushions are available now at store.kleenex.com. A few people mentioned that Kleenex has a short survey on their site which will get you a $5 coupon sent via e-mail when you take it!