Where does the colour in the Dr. Sponge Konjac sponge come from?

The fun, colourful Konjac sponges from Dr. Sponge are on everyone's lips. Dr Sponge is unique because the sponges are enriched with effective plant ingredients such as aloe vera, lavender and bamboo charcoal. But where exactly does the colour of the sponges come from, how do they turn so pretty red, purple, green or black?

Konjac sponges are made from the pure fibre of the Konjac root (here click for more information on Konjac) and are white in their original state. If you moisten the original Konjac sponge, it becomes transparent and you can almost see through the fibres, so "colourless" is the pure Konjac fibre. Pure Konjac is almost transparent, especially when moist or wet.

Konjac powder is white and becomes transparent when mixed with water

.

How the colour gets into the sponge

Dr Sponge sponges are made by hand in an ISO-certified factory. The raw konjac fibre is mixed with powdered ingredients such as green tea powder, better known as matcha, or bamboo charcoal right at the start of the manufacturing process. As the Konjac fibre is almost transparent by nature, even a small amount of the plant powder can colour the sponge intensively.
.

Organic aloe vera powder is also frequently used in Ayurveda

.
After mixing the pure fibre with the active plant ingredient in powder form, the actual sponge is created. This happens through a special sequence of steaming and freezing processes. This can also change the colours of the plant substances and they can appear more or less vibrant. This is because the ingredients react to the temperature differences and the individual processing steps. Lavender flower powder and lycopene powder, for example, lose colour, while bamboo charcoal and the powder from whole aloe vera plants gradually become thinner. Dr. Sponge only uses ingredients in powder form for its sponges, as liquid ingredients could dilute the sensitive Konjac fibre.

The sponge, which is almost finished and made by hand, is then air-dried for a fortnight. This is sustainable and also benefits the plant fibres and ingredients. The dried sponge is hard and durable, comparable to uncooked pasta, and does not need to be further preserved.

Tip: Konjac is not only almost transparent, but also very soft and therefore also suitable for particularly sensitive skin or as a make-up sponge (How it works) suitable!