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1. A high quality, fine grain, purified clay
2. Filtered water
3. Therapeutic herbs
4. Essential oils
The Starting Point: Fresh or Preserved Clay Masks
Before you even grab an ingredient, you have to decide- fresh or prepared clay masks
Since the key components of clay masks are clay and water, which serve as ideal
habitats for microbes, the first decision you have to make regarding your clay
mask is whether to make it fresh, without preservatives or to prepare it for future
use with incorporated preservatives.
Is a fresh mask better than one made with preservatives?
Frankly, the whole purpose of a clay mask is to suck oils, debris and tension away
from your skin. So, it makes since to make a clay make with more suction power
and less chemicals.
But, then again, we live in the twenty-first century where
finding time to even file your nails could prove challenging. With than, fresh clay
masks are a well deserved luxury, but if you don’t have the time to make a fresh
clay mask, then make your clay masks with preservatives. Such masks still deeply
cleanse the skin and they are better than using no professional grade mask at all.
How to prepare and store freshly prepared clay masks
It’s simple really. You make fresh clay masks without adding preservatives, like
parabens. Then you store your clays mask in the fridge for a up to a week.
How do you tell when a fresh clay mask has “gone bad”?
First, you smell it, then you see it. When microbes overwhelm your freshly
prepared clay mask, you will begin to smell the chemical fumes produced by the
microbes. These fumes could smell like methane gas or sulfur. Both smell terrible.
Once the microbes reproduce profusely enough, you can actually see them on the
surface of the clay. Like the food in your refrigerator, throw out your clay mask
once they “go bad”.