Konjac Sponges: essential or umpteenth fashionable tool?

Konjac Sponges have been around for some time now, so you probably know them. Have you ever used one? What are your impressions? 


Talking about my experience, I find that these are a nice tool to gently clean the skin. However I think that there is too much exaggeration going on around these simple sponges. They just don't make miracles as they would love to make you believe, you won't get up in the morning with a new skin, there's no reason to repeat it. They are made of Konjac potatoes, perennial plants which grow at high altitude in Asia, accordingly they are (probably) free of pollutants. 
Japanese people have been eating this vegetable for so long and more recently started to use it as a beauty treatment for its remarkable properties and components. I have discovered that konjac sponges are alkaline (thus helping the skin to neutralize acidity) and they are loaded with vitamins, phosphorous and zinc (which may all be useful in case of skin issues). 
The first Konjac Sponge I tried was the white one and I gotta admit that by now it's my favourite. The ones with added clays tend to dry out the skin of my face or cause me strange reactions. What I really can't digest of it, is the abnormal price (clearly too expensive for a small sponge made of potatoes!). 
If I had to compare Konjac with other similar cleansing tools I would say that the former is as gentle as muslin cloths, more exfoliating than normal cellulose sponges (those typically used for removing make up), less aggressive than microfiber cloths and even lesser than face cleansing brushes. Is then Konjac the winner? It depends on what you are looking for. As I said before, by the way I'd recommend the pure one, because I believe that you don't need to apply clay on your face daily, it's too much. You can always go for a clay face mask once a week, made by your favourite type of clay and a liquid to blend it well. 
If I was asked to say whether I'm gonna keep on using it or not, I'd say that I really like it but I would probably wait to see if some other brand comes with a cheaper version of it. In that case, Konjac would surely be the best cleansing tool for me.