Can this £5 scraper give you perfect skin? It's based on an ancient Roman design and claims to rejuvenate your skin - without any soap

Australian invention 'Le Edge' can be used to exfoliate the entire body

It's inspired by an Ancient Roman curved metal bathing tool used to scrape oil, dirt and dead skin cells of the surface of skin

Metal edges scrape away dead cells and soap residue for a glowing complexion

Only hot water is needed to use it, and it costs as little as £5

Clare Goldwin tries it out and gives her verdict



Until now, exfoliating has required taking countless products into the shower. From foot to body to face, each part needs a different formulation of scrub depending on how rough or delicate the skin.



Exfoliating is important to remove dead cells from the skin’s surface, as they can leave skin looking dull and dry. The older we get, the more our ability to shed old skin and produce new cells slows, so more debris accumulates and exfoliating becomes even more crucial.



Smooth operator: Clare tries out Le Edge

Most commonly, exfoliators are abrasive creams, known as scrubs — these contain small particles that remove cells mechanically or chemicals such as fruit acids that dissolve the dead skin cells.

Harsher products that can be used on the body — for example, the thighs and bottom — can’t be used on delicate areas of the face.

However, an Australian invention called Le Edge, presumably because of the dull metal blades that form an ‘edge’ that you draw along your skin, is available in Britain and is the first you can use all over.



Le Edge looks like a small car de-icing tool. It’s inspired by an Ancient Roman curved metal bathing tool known as a strigil, which was used, before the existence of soap, to scrape oil, dirt and dead skin cells off the surface of the skin.



The idea is that stroking the skin with the metal edges — in whichever direction works best for you — scrapes away dead cells and residue left behind by creams and soaps, speeding up your skin’s natural renewal process and leaving behind nothing but a glowing complexion.



The makers claim it’s better than any other exfoliator because it can be deployed on every part of your body — including the face and neck — and as it’s used with just hot water there’s no need for expensive gels or creams.



What’s more, it costs as little as £5 from Amazon and lasts up to a year. In fact, Le Edge sounds almost too good to be true — so I decided to put it to the test for a week.

FACE

As a woman, the prospect of ‘shaving’ my face is bizarre — and as I drag Le Edge over my skin, the friction leaves it tingling. When my husband walks in on me using it he gives me a very odd look.



Unconvinced: Clare didn't notice much difference when she used Le Edge on her face

Over the years I’ve used plenty of grainy scrubs on my face, but sometimes find they’re too harsh. Hopefully, this will be more gentle.



To judge it fairly, I use Le Edge only on one side of my face and neck, putting it into action after I’ve used a cleanser and exfoliated with a scrub as usual on the left-hand side.



I experiment by gently dragging the tool downwards one day and upwards the next, but direction makes little difference.



The sensation isn’t unpleasant, but I don’t apply much pressure for fear of damaging my skin.



While the makers of Le Edge claim it ‘helps to reduce the size of pores naturally’, they don’t explain how and it doesn’t have much impact on mine, especially those around my nose, which is impossible to get to with the scraper as the angles are too tight.



One morning I forgo my cleanser as the aim of Le Edge is that you don’t need products but just warm water to soften and loosen dead skin cells. At the end of the day my face doesn’t feel any greasier than usual. If I’m honest, I haven’t noticed much difference.



Certainly, it hasn’t evened up my skin tone.



It doesn’t leave my skin looking red afterwards, though, which is a small saving grace, and perhaps it will work better when I try it elsewhere on the body.



EXFOLIATING POWER: 3/5



LEGS AND BOTTOM

Like so many 40-something women, I am cursed with dry, scaly skin on my shins and calves. With temperatures soaring I’d like to be able to get my legs out.



Body scrubs have no lasting impact: perhaps Le Edge can make a difference?



Holding the tool at the recommended 45 degree angle, I pull it up my lower right leg. Again I’m using it only on one side so I can compare results with a typical scrub on the other.



I use only water initially, which causes an odd dragging sensation. It’s more pleasant with a soapy lather, which I resort to after a couple of days, and makes the tool glide better. After using it around my lower leg I look at the base of the metal strips to see if a gratifying amount of dead skin and debris has collected, as other users claim. Disappointingly, there’s very little to see, but perhaps it’s been washed away.

Good results: Clare was impressed with the effect of using Le Edge on her calves, thighs and buttocks



According to the instructions, using Le Edge ‘enhances the penetration and effectiveness of your other skin treatments’.



I rub body butter into both legs after showering and I’m surprised to find my right limb does feel and look smoother than the left. Later in the week I shave my legs and again notice the results are smoother on the leg that has been ‘Edged’. Used before shaving, Le Edge easily lifts ingrown hairs away from the skin.



Now for thighs and buttocks. My upper legs suffer from tiny rough spots that leave this area looking less than peachy. After a week of experimenting with Le Edge, these areas feel remarkably softer and look less patchy, too.



I read a review by a blogger who claims it’s useful for correcting fake tan mistakes. She’s right.



One morning I find there’s a large splodge of fake tan on the back of my left calf that I hadn’t massaged in properly. Sure enough, a minute or two of scraping at the area with Le Edge and it’s gone. I would also say that when I applied fake tan to both legs, the limb that I was Le Edging had a more even result.



EXFOLIATING POWER: 4/5



Full marks: Clare was delighted by the results of using Le Edge on her arms

ARMS

For as long as I remember I have suffered from keratosis pilaris; dry pimply spots on my upper arms caused by an accumulation of dead skin that forms a plug blocking follicles or pores. They make me loath to wear sleeveless dresses.



While exfoliation is one of the recommended treatments for this problem, there’s a danger that with conventional scrubs you rub too hard and damage the skin. No creams I’ve tried before have worked, so I’ve given up.



It’s quick and easy to use the tool on this area and the dragging sensation is fine; perhaps because it’s fleshier than my lower legs.



I try different approaches — pulling Le Edge slowly over my skin some days and faster on others, and decide a slow action with medium pressure works best.



After two days the bumps are less prominent and by the end of the week the skin here is definitely softer, with no redness at all. I am thrilled and resolve to use this every day until I am bump-free.



EXFOLIATING POWER: 5/5



FEET

Thanks to having narrow feet, I have horrible hard patches on the tops of some of my toes and calluses on the balls of my feet from ill-fitting shoes rubbing.



I’d love to have soft, supple feet, but fear I’ll never experience such heights without a beautician visiting daily.



DID YOU KNOW?

We lose 30,000 to 40,000 skin cells a minute, or 1.8 to 2.5 million per hour

I struggle to use the tool on the soles of my feet as it’s unbearably ticklish. I just want the experience to end as quickly as possible.



The soles of my feet do feel slightly less rough, though it’s when I use Le Edge on the tops of my feet that I notice the most dead skin collecting. At the end of the week, my feet feel refreshed and look marginally improved.



EXFOLIATING POWER: 2/5



CONCLUSION

Many women — and men — swear by Le Edge for regular and effective exfoliation. There are reams of reviewers who say it’s replaced all their other exfoliating products.

