How to Select Your Clay

Like all skin care ingredients, clays can heal both sensitive and ravished skin.
Your clay can be gentle as white kaolin or as penetrating as Moroccan ash clay.

Select your clay mask based on three key points:

1. Your skin type
2. Your skin’s detoxifying needs
3. What your skin needs for optimal health

Understanding the powerful chemistry of clays

Clays are micro-sized particles that result from the decay or erosion of soil and
rocks. You can find these soils on the shores of Israel, in the cliffs of Ireland or in Iceland bogs. These resulting clays may be comprised of elements like selenium,
aluminum, potassium, sodium, calcium, sulfur, magnesium and iron.

The ratios of these various elements within the clay can create a mild or highly
potent skin care ingredient.

Types of clays

Since clays possess unique chemical elements, they also possess unique
therapeutic qualities.

The most common clays used in professional grade masks include:

1. Montmorillonite
2. Illite
3. Volcanic ash
4. Kaolinite
5. Bentonite
6. Fullers Earth (Solum Fullonum)

Montmorillonite- The Antioxidant Clay

Montmorillonite, or French green clay, gets its properties from silica, aluminum
and magnesium. In terms of skin therapy, mortmorillonite serves as the perfect
antioxidant mask because this clay has a negative charge. As such, it can attract
and deactivate free-floating positively charged ions that can assist in the
breakdown and aging of the skin.

Montmorillonite will expand in water, which means the mask will have less of a
cracking and itching effect as it dries on the skin as compared to other clays.

Key skin benefits of montmorillonite (French green clay)

Illite- The Oil Attracting Clay

Like montmoreillonite, illite is a green clay, but it does not expand in water. Also,
illite contains silicon and iron. These properties make illite and ideal clay for
drawing away excess oils.

Key skin benefits of illite

Volcanic Ash- The Exfoliating Clay

Though not exactly a clay, volcanic ash does comprise other families of clay. It is
the violent eruption of volcanoes and the accompanying shattering of rock into
microscopic pieces that gives rise to volcanic ash. Since you may even find
specimens of glass in volcanic ash, this material can prove harsh on the skin.

Types of volcanic or ash based clays include:

Key skin benefits of volcanic ash

Bentonite- The Healing Clay

Pair montmorillonite and volcanic ash and then you have bentonite. The absorbent
properties of montmorillonite combined with the exfoliating power of volcanic ash
make bentonite an ideal clay for drawing away toxins and inflammatory fluids
away from the skin. Since bentonite is such as potent skin cleanser, you may want
to keep it away from delicate, sensitive skin and instead use it on compromised
like acne-prone skin.

Key skin benefits of bentonite

Fuller’s Earth- The Whitening Clay

Another skin nurturing clay, Fuller’s Earth, is a cousin of bentonite. Fuller’s Earth
contains montmorillonite and volcanic ash. Yet, Fuller’s Earth derives much of it
white appearance and bleaching qualities from calcium.

Kaolinite – The Gentle Clay

Kaolinite, or kaolin as you may find it on cosmetic labels, is a popular clay
because it is gentle on the skin and does not draw away oils as powerfully as other
clays like bentonite can. This kindness quality makes kaolinite masks ideal for
facial touch ups or for sensitive, dry skin the still needs a deep cleansing.

White, green, pink & red kaolin clays

Kaolinite comes in various colors. In addition to white kaolin clay, you can find
pink or red kaolin clay that get their amber hue from iron oxides. The richer the
clay is in color, the higher the chance for skin irritation. So, use milder colors of
kaolin clays until you discover how your skin responds to the iron oxides in the
kaolin clay.

Dead Sea clay is another member of the kaolinite clay family.

Noixia, DIY Beauty