Natural Loofah : nature’s frugal gift for awesome bathing
Ohk , Why are we talking about it ?
It used to be permanent feature of the most Indian bathrooms till the body wash companies started giving synthetic loofah for free. As I write about Natural loofah, i can still feel the ribbed texture of the product scrubbing against my skin !
Oh, nostalgia ! Fill me in. Always wondered what its made of.
A natural loofah is a scrubber made from the fibrous dried up Ridge Gourd. ( popularly know as lauki /doodhi in hindi). This variety of Ridge Gourd is left to dry in the plant itself. All the moist wet part dries off leaving only the fibrous web. Luffa are not frost-hardy, and require 150 to 200 warm days to mature
And .. ?
Its has 100% natural material composition, frugal cost , high availability in local shops (at one point) and of course lowest carbon footprint with maximum health benefits.
Hmm, health benefits too ?
Everyday ,human being sheds 4% their skin cells as a part of natural regenerative process. Loofah is useful for removing dead skin cells to stimulate blood circulation.
How does it look like ?
Natural loofah measures 5-6 inches and is golden in color.
The initial scrubs can be rough, but they get softer with every next bath. The few seeds get released and later only the webs of the vegetable are left, letting the body have a soft vegetable good bath. You can squeeze it like a sponge.
How is the market keeping up with it ?
Interestingly to cater to the upcoming global market, manufactures have come up with new variations using the natural material. The product has been rebranded to align with organic movement and now we have a splash of products. These range from slippers, loofah with handle, in animal shapes for kids, back scrubber belt etc.
How much does it cost ?
Currently with the new rebranded version , it varies from 10Rupees to 150 rupees for a normal Loofah. Check out some places you can buy it from amazon or ebay
References :
Design Mela 
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