Hello! Here’s something a little bit different! This is the
Ebelin Bimsstein (Pumice stone, in English).
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I suffer from cracked, dry skin on my heels quite often. And
also from thickened skin on the sides of my big and pinky toes. So I need
something to file off all that pesky skin! The steel file that I had at home
isn’t hygienic enough to be used anymore, so off I went looking for something
to replace it. I know that pumice stones have been used for centuries to remove
hardened skin, so I thought I might try one of them. I was warned that it
probably won’t help at all, but damn it I wanted to see for myself! So I found
this lovely looking pumice stone at DM. I honestly didn’t have high
expectations, in fact, I expected it to not be able to help much at all. So,
was I right to think this? Or is it actually way better? Let’s see!
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This pumice stone comes as is, only wrapped in a thin
plastic foil. Eh, it’s alright I guess. At least the foil keeps it hygienic. There’s
a cardboard note containing information about this product.
The stone itself seems like it’s quality enough. I mean,
it’s pumice, how wrong can you go with it, really? It’s got a nicely curved
profile, with pointed tips on the top and bottom. I really like this shape,
it’s quite elegant! Not just a chunk of rock, but a finely chiselled chunk of
rock. Very pretty!
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I appreciate that Ebelin put some rope through a hole in the
stone and tied it. It allows you to easily hang your pumice stone while it’s
drying, keeping it clean and hygienic. The rope is very thick and seems to be
quite strong. I might even reuse it after I am done with the stone!
This pumice stone is quite porous. It’s about as heavy as
any other pumice stone. Even though it is pretty porous, it does not feel very
abrasive or coarse. It’s comfortably coarse, in fact. I really like the feel of
this pumice stone, it is in some ways relaxing, even! It’s just such a nice,
gently scratchy feeling when it’s wet; when it’s dry, on the other hand, it is
rougher, and feels more abrasive. Always make sure to wet it first, to avoid
damaging the skin!
Pumice stones are traditionally used to file rough skin on
feet, although you can, of course, use it wherever you have rough, thick
patches of skin. You could theoretically also use it as pre-shave
exfoliation, although it definitely feels too abrasive, especially if you have
sensitive skin. How well it files the hardened skin depends on how hard the
skin is. That is to say, this pumice stone is not nearly abrasive enough to
remove hard, thick skin. It can only remove skin that is slightly hardened and
only beginning to feel dry and thick. Perhaps if the pores were bigger it would
be more abrasive and better at smoothing the skin. As it is, it’s pretty much
useless for my feet, as I often develop very dry and hard patches on my heels
and thick skin on the sides of my first and last toes, and this cannot remove
the hardened skin, no matter how much I file it. Unless I manage to start
filing it as soon as it starts appearing, which is rare, especially in
summertime, when my feet become much more dry and cracked. For these kinds of
cracks and hard skin you will definitely need a steel file that is much, much
coarser.
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It’s easy enough to care for a pumice stone. Just wash it
with some soap and leave it to air-dry. It takes a very long time to
dry, so it’s best to leave it overnight. It’ll be dry by morning time.
All in all, I am not actually too disappointed with this
pumice stone; I wasn’t expecting miracles in the first place. I know how rough
the skin of my feet gets, especially during summer, and how notoriously hard it
is to remove. Hell, even steel files cannot remove it most of the time! So how
could a simple pumice stone? It was worth a shot, though. The stone is finely
porous, giving it a very comfortably scratchy feel when you use it. It’s kind
of relaxing and you can get lost just gently filing away at your heels!
However, as you might assume, this is nowhere near abrasive enough to remove
cracked or thick skin. It can only manage to smooth out barely hardened skin,
which isn’t much. If you don’t suffer from very dry or cracked skin on your
feet then this stone will suffice; however, if you regularly have dry, cracked
skin, it will be next to useless. I am more often in the latter category than
the former, so this pumice stone serves no real purpose for me. That is not to
say that this is a bad product or a bad pumice stone, even, it’s just that my
needs exceed what this humble stone can offer. I will have to stick to steel
files, it seems. I don’t think I will recommend it.
Rating: 6/10
Would buy again? NO (need something way more abrasive)
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