Have you ever wondered what all the hype on clays is about, and if they are so great can I simply use any of them?
Don't worry you aren't alone and the choices can be endless we know!! But truth be told they really are extremely beneficial and have been trusted and used for centuries.
Clays have been documented as having therapeutic qualities as far back as 60 BC and Aristotle even made reference to eating clays for gastrointestinal and religious purposes between 384-322 BC.
Marco Polo described how in his travels he saw Muslim pilgrims cure fevers by ingesting “pink earth”. While history records that Cleopatra often applied a dead sea mud face mask to cleanse her skin.
So... while that's all extremely interesting it still doesn't help you decide what to pick? So here is some information on what each clay is said to contain and how that helps skin types and problems (because we definitely do not want you ingesting ours) topical only please!!
Clay Types
Dry Skin/Normal Skin – Rose Clay, Kaolin Clay, French Green Clay, Rhassoul Clay, Brazilian Clay (Natural, Dark Red, Pink, Purple, Yellow)
Normal/Oily Skin – Sea Clay, Green Zeolite Clay, French Green Clay, Bentonite Clay, Brazilian Clay (Natural, Dark Red, Pink, Purple, Yellow)
French Green Clay
- all skin types -
Kaolin Clay
- sensitive and dry skin -
Dead Sea Clay
- normal to oily skin types -
French Pink (Rose) Clay
- normal to dry skin types -
Rhassoul Clay
- mature and dry skin types with acne or excess oil -
Rhassoul clay is a beautiful red-brown clay generally sourced from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, also known as Moroccan Clay. Although it's a gentle clay, its ability to absorb is far greater than kaolin or french green clay. Blackheads, oil, and other impurities don't stand a chance with this clay making it ideal for normal to mature skin-types that with problems like oil and acne. Rich in magnesium, silica, potassium, and calcium, this clay will nourish your skin and give it that soft and supple feel.
Bentonite Clay
- acneic and overly-active skin types -
One of the most popular, abundant and powerful healing clays, bentonite is composed of naturally occurring weathered and aged volcanic ash sediments. This highly absorbent swelling clay has a high percentage of montmorillonite (at least 30%), which gives it its extraordinary powers. It has a strong ability to draw oils, bacteria, and impurities from the skin making it a superb choice for acneic and overly-active skin types. Cystic acne, bacteria-filled acne, and skin with large oily pores will find it's tightening effects and oil-drawing capabilities desirable. This clay should generally be used in spot treatments than an overall mask or body-wrap as its powerful charge and drawing properties can be very irritating and drying on the skin if improperly used.
So now you know your clay types... its time to get dirty to get clean!