You wet them first then squeeze the heck out of them as to get all the water out of them. They are much easier to work with, but if you buy them whole and cut them yourself don't wet until after you cut them Today I made 30 loofahs, I make them similar to yours but I add pumice, oats and poppy seeds to mine for extra exfolitation, and mango butter for xtra moisturizing, its funny I was going to post the new ones I made today then saw yours. The new one is my own orange, tea tree and lavender blend, they smell awesome. I might post them later, I put some of the other fragrances up last year. These are a very hot seller for me, I am taking a couple 100 of them to my next show, I will probably still run out, they sell for $7 but I run a show special 3/$15. Yours are very pretty, nice bright colors! Edited to add: What do you use for a mold?