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(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.
