So I returned from an amazing trip to Turkey and I needed to give my hair a little TLC. I decided to do a deep cleanse with bentonite clay. What’s bentonite clay you ask?? I used Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay with contains 100% natural calcium bentonite clay, which I bought at Fairway in NYC for $6.95. You can find this at other stores and all over online.
Image via Vitacost
A bit on bentonite clay…
Calcium bentonite or green bentonite is a naturally occurring clay that is known for it’s highly absorbing and detoxification properties. It can be used both internally and externally, but if you are going ingest bentonite clay, do copious amounts of research and proceed at your own risk! Anyway, calcium bentonite absorbs many things, water, oil, sebum, dirt, toxins, metals, free radicals, bacteria and other kinds of impurities and it is quite popular in the haircare and skincare communities. Many people with oily or acne-prone skin make facial masques as it quite effectively removes surface oil. I got some of it on my forehead and my dry skin felt suuuuuuper tight, so I know it works! I used it to cleanse and detoxify my hair, like a hair masque. So here’s how I mixed it:
Bentonite Clay recipe
- ½ cup of bentonite clay
- 1 tbsp. honey (an added moisturizer)
- water
Calcium Bentonite Clay
I added water slowly until I got a thick paste, which was about 1 cup. Don’t be surprised if you have to add a lot of liquid. One warning, because clay reacts with metals, use only non-metallic bowls and utensils.
Mix using non-metal utensils to your favoured consistency.
A side note: I tried to make an extra moisturizing/detangling concoction by adding marshmallow tea that I boiled but that did not quite work out. : ( That is for the next time!!
I sectioned my damp hair into 4 and applied liberally from root to tip. Do not comb through your hair. This mixture dries very quickly and hardens on the hair, but don’t worry about that. This would be a good time to also apply to your face as well.
It’s clay!!! If felt heavy on my hair and weighed it down a bit,
I left this on for about 20 minutes and then hopped in the shower. I had absolutely no problems washing this out of my hair and it only took 5 minutes. It was very easy, some people had some horror stories, but that wasn’t me.
All rinsed out!
My hair actually felt soft, not stripped and very clean!!
I then applied a deep conditioner to my hair to add some moisture back to my hair as it can take away some of the natural sebum.
I liked this treatment! I will definitely experiment with adding other liquids like coconut milk or marshmallow to see how it affects the clay. I would recommend this as a once every few months kind of thing, just to switch it up ah l’il bit! And anyone can use this, kinky hair, curly hair, straight hair. I have seen videos of loc’d ladies using bentonite as part of their regime with lots of success. They also did not have any issues rinsing it out.
So this is definitely a try it and at under $10 for at least 10 applications, this not going to hurt your pocket!
Has anyone tried this?? Let me know.
Laters!
Don’t miss out on another natural hair post! If you liked this, sign up for my email newsletter by clicking here.
Related Posts:
Noire Tropical Beauty
An island girl living in the Big Apple. She hails from the twin island Republic of Trinidad & Tobago but currently reside in the beauty/fashion capital of the world, New York City (Harlem to be exact!). She is passionate - well, obsessed - about beauty and in addition to blogging, she is also a corporate beauty professional and a budding web designer/developer. She loves combining her in-depth, practical knowledge with her chemist/scientific training to make your cosmetic choices fun and easy. She likes to take the guesswork out of beauty, separate the hype from what really works, to help you bring out the most beautiful you! She loves colour, and makeup, and she has been natural for years! She also loves great food, culture, sports and laid back vibes! Check out some more about me here and if you like this post, sign up to my newsletter to get updates on what I am craving right now.
Im doing it now! Its fun! I put aloe vera and grapeseed oil in mine. I love the tight scalp feeling. Its is also great for naturals that live in hard water areas (my main reason). Alot less expensive than buying a filter.
Nice!!! I need to try it with aloe vera!
[…] I tried bentonite clay on natural hair! […]
[…] Experiment with bentonite clay […]
[…] My experiment with bentonite clay on my natural hair! (noiretropicalbeauty.com) […]
Thanks so much for this article!! I’ve been wanting to try this.
Do it Sylvia!
I have seen others use clay as a hair mask and for me, it makes it like straw. VERY dried out. Conditioner is a MUST afterwards. And don’t forget what a great face mask and body wrap it makes. Thanks for the post!
Hey Janet! I did not experience super dryness and I think that was because of the honey that I added to the mix, but I totally agree that conditioner is welcomed afterwards. The clay is really a cleanser/detox. It does make a great mask!! 🙂
Im thinking I should try this. What deep conditioner would recommend and how long do you leave it in for?
I leave my conditioner in for about 30 mins. You could leave it in longer. I like the SheaMoisture Deep Restorative Treatment (reviewed it here [http://noiretropicalbeauty.com/2010/04/19/product-review-time-looking-for-a-good-deep-conditioner/]). Or Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner. Or use any conditioner that you like that gives you moisture. Let me know.