Finally Used Bentonite Clay (on My 4C Hair)

 After hearing about Bentonite clay for at least 5 or 6 years, I finally broke down and tried it on my hair. I didn't get the Aztec brand I see in many natural hair videos. It was around $0.93/ounce while this clay from Harris Yareli cost me 40.30/ounce. I got a 2-pound bag for less than 10 bucks while the Aztec brand was almost 15 dollars for a 1-pound jar.

Some info about Bentonite clay:

• The powder forms when volcanic ash ages. 
• It’s named after Fort Benton, WY, which has a lot of it - but it's found all over the world.
• It’s also known as Montmorillonite clay after a region in France with a large deposit.
• You may hear it called calcium bentonite clay.

(Thank you, WebMD)

The Aztec brand labels itself as "Natural calcium Bentonite (green) clay" while the Harris brand is labeled as "100% Pure Calcium Bentonite - "volcanically derived" (which made me think it was special!)

Anyway. I have long heard about the Maximum Moisturization Method (MMM) aka Maximum Hydration Method (MHM). I personally am much too lazy to go through all those steps. Also, other than the tiny bit in my Royal Oils shampoo and conditioner, I am not a fan of using apple cider vinegar in my hair. And, for another thing, I wanted a method that I could stick with and use 1 or twice a month or as needed. If it gets complicated, I will bail

So I washed my hair with a clarifying shampoo, rinsed really well, and let my hair get totally saturated with water before I applied the clay mixture in the shower. The mixture was about 1/3 cup of clay powder, enough warm water to get it to the consistency of a thin pancake batter (it was pretty thin), and about a half tablespoon of EVOO.

I made sure to coat all my wet hair with the mixture - root to tip. Then I continued with my shower. I didn't let the clay get dry before I rinsed it completely out with lots of cool water. I then used just a bit of my Royal Oil conditioner. 

After patting my hair so that the water wasn't running down my face and back, I used my Kinky Curky Knot Today leave-in detangler.

Now. 

I could tell after rinsing out the clay that my hair did feel somehow different. I felt super-clean - almost too clean if that makes sense. That's why I used a little rinse-out conditioner. After that, my hair was so soft that I was kind of amazed. However, it was still wet so that was not a good test for me.

As I was applying the Knot Today, I kept being thrilled with how healthy my hair felt. My hair was super-soft but it didn't feel fragile or over-conditioned. Weird. But it was still wet. (By the way, I will never again be without that glorious Knot Today!)

It took maybe an hour - or a little more - for my hair to be completely dry. And it was still really, really soft. Not as soft as when it was damp, but nowhere near the Sahara-like dryness I usually have before applying products. After 2 hours, I did have to apply more softening products but, again, my hair was not as dry as usual after a fresh wash. 

I did read up beforehand on using Bentonite clay and how it works for low-porosity hair. I saw somewhere that I might have to use the clay more than once before my hair starts showing long-term improvement. Of course, I will have to then use it periodically to keep my hair retaining moisture. I am fine with that. Next time I might even use a plastic cap and let the clay stay on my hair for 15 or 20 minutes. I saw that suggested on Loving Kinky Curls. I can't wait until I get to the point where my DIY goat milk conditioning mask works even better.

One surprising thing that I learned from Loving Kinky Curls is that Bentonite clay might not be good (and might even damage) high-porosity hair. Natural Club suggests more than one way to easily test your hair. Or you could ask your hairdresser for advice. No matter how you choose to do it, people, do test the porosity of your hair before you go wild with Bentonite clay! I'm just saying...

Now I have wrapped up my hair for the night so I can get some rest. Don't want to lose any of this luscious moisture! (BTW - I will add photos of my hair to this post after I touch up my gray hairs! LOL)

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Indian Healing (Bentonite) Clay

This Indian Healing (bentonite) Clay product by Majestic Pure is to detoxify and cleanse the pores. I've heard about clays for this purpose and there are supposed to be many benefits to using bentonite in face and body care. This brand of clay is supposed to be more detoxifying. (NOTE: This clay is not labeled for internal use/ingestion!)

(My jar was damaged in transit. I'm sorry that I didn't get a photo of the clay itself, but I notice that this blogger did in her review of this same product. I hope she doesn't mind my linking to her page. I love her blog's name!)

 I never understood exactly what bentonite clay was so I had to do a little checking. Wikipedia describes it as an "absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate, impure clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite". Of course I didn't look up all those words, but I get the gist of the description. What I didn't realize is that there are different types of bentonite - each type depending on their dominant element.  I think that your chosen clay type would depend on what your skin type is. This particular clay that I reviewed has is a sodium bentonite. From glancing at characteristics of the 3 types of the clay, I gather that sodium bentonite expands when wet; calcium bentonite absorbs fats and oils; and potash (potassium bentonite) is potassium rich.

Like I said, I had heard of clay being used for skin care. I remember that, years ago, my mother mentioned that "bathing" in clay was good for the skin. Of course, my mother also used to eat clay dirt so...

Anyway, getting back to this particular clay, I did use it as both a facial mask and as a body treatment. I mixed water to make a paste for the facial and, for my body, I did more of a scrub. I was too impatient to clean up the mess I'd make by doing a whole-body mask.

As a facial treatment, it worked well. The mask didn't get rock hard and uncomfortable the way most drying/drawing masks tend to do. Rinsing it off wasn't too tedious either and I got the extra benefit of some exfoliation in the process. When I used it in the bathe as a sort of scrub (mostly just using a wet washcloth to run the clay over my torso, elbows and knees), I didn't get as much benefit as from the facial. I probably should have stood in the shower first and done a more thorough scrubbing. Sitting in a bath, the clay just made a muddy mess to sit in.

As you can see from the photo on Dreadfully Divine's page, this clay is super, super fine-grained. One of the things that would have made it easier to use/dispense would have been a handy scoop. I also had a bit of frustration in trying to get the right balance of water and clay to make my mask. So maybe I should say that a measuring scoop would have helped. I eventually stumbled upon a good consistency for a facial mask, but I didn't keep track of the measurements so I'll have to go through the same thing next time.

My preferred way to use this is to make a little paste in the palm of my hand and then use it as an exfoliating cleanser. One reason for this is that it's easier to get a usable consistency with this method. Also, I don't always want to do a mask treatment - waiting for it to set and dry, then rinsing.

The clay did make my face feel good. I plan to do the next body treatment as a oil-and-clay scrub, and this time I'll use the shower method.

Like I mentioned, the drawback is that, with such a fine grained clay, there's potential for a mess. On the upside, the customer service team is responsive. The jar I received arrived with a cracked lid. Some of the clay was silting out into the mailing container. Someone got back to me immediately and offered to replace my jar. I haven't heard back from them yet, but I am waiting.

If you are unhappy with the product for any reason, contact the Seller within 60 days for a 100% guaranteed refund.

Peace
--Free

DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.