An ancient exfoliating bodycare tool, reimagined.
Google Strigil and your first thought will likely be, “There’s no way I’d use that on my body”, and we totally get it. Strigils look like primitive, brutish hooks you’d keep far away from your bathroom counter and even farther away from your body, but it’s this very tool that’s been the foundation and inspiration for our newest addition to the Esker family, the Body Plane!
Since Esker’s earliest days, ancient bathhouse culture and traditional body care rituals have inspired and informed both our company ethos and the products and tools we create. We look to ancient tools, rituals and ingredients not only because they’ve lasted the test of time, but because they managed to be effective methods of body care despite having no reliance on modernity or technology, and that simplicity is something we strive to bring into Esker always. The Body Plane is our interpretation and update on the Strigil, an ancient Roman tool used by gladiators (and everyday folks) to scrape dirt and grime from their bodies. Our modern take on this transformational body tool is the first of its kind and one of the most effective ways for sloughing off dead skin and leaving skin smooth and refreshed.
How Does it Work?
In ancient Rome and Greece, the Strigil was actually used as a way to cleanse your body because traditional soap didn’t exist yet. As forefathers of aromatherapy, Romans & Greeks relied on the power and purity of botanicals and essential oils to clean their bodies. After bathing themselves in oil, they would use the Strigil to scrape off the oil and with it would come dirt, debris and dead skin, leaving skin soft, exfoliated and–in those days squeaky–clean.
Our Body Plane follows the same practice but since we have soap now (phew), it doesn’t need to be used as a tool for daily cleansing. Instead, we use it as a weekly or biweekly tool for a deeper clean and major skin exfoliation. We redesigned and updated the Strigil from its original hook shape into a soft, crescent form using premium teak wood and sterling silver plated stainless steel. We chose teak wood for the handle because the material ages well when it’s in contact with oil. The blunted edge was crafted using colloidal sterling silver plating because it naturally embodies antibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities, leaving skin soothed and smoothed after use.
What are the benefits?
When you use the Body Plane on oiled skin for the first time (and every time), you’ll notice how much dead skin and dirt lifts away from the surface with the oil. We liken it to using a Bioré pore strip: kind of gross to see what was sitting on your skin but satisfying that you sloughed it off. It’s also a lot like getting a dermaplaning facial, but the amount of dead skin and debris exfoliated from your arms and legs is usually more significant than what comes off of your face.
By far the biggest (and most immediate) benefit of the Body Plane is how effective it is as an all-over body exfoliator. Though the cleansing blade isn’t sharp, it’s blunt enough to scrape away layers of dead skin cells and grime that sit on the surface, leaving your skin instantly smoother, softer, and cleaner.
The Body Plane is also a great tool for lymphatic drainage. When you use upward, sweeping motions on your arms and legs toward your heart and trunk, you’re actually encouraging blood and lymph circulation while you’re getting all of the tool’s exfoliating benefits. Consider it a gua sha for your body, but with the added bonus of smooth, fresh skin.
We are so excited for you to try this tool and integrate it into your weekly bodycare routine. Aside from its exfoliating and cleansing benefits, it’s another opportunity to pause and enjoy a simple moment of care for yourself.
xo,
E Team
