Bentonite Clay For Hair - YEAH!

[morenae]

I gave my hair a pure bentonite clay "cleansing" treatment today! It's wonderful.

I was inspired to experiment again with clay after using the Blended Beauty Volcanic Clean Mask last weekend and getting good results. (see post: You are not allowed to view links.Register or Login)

At Whole Foods, I saw a whole 16oz tub of Bentonite Clay for $8.00 - the main ingredient in the BB Volcanic Clean Mask for a much better value than the small BB jar. I mixed the clay with water and applied it to my hair in the same manner - except I did not add glycerin, aloe, and coconut oil, but I may do so the next time.

The results were even better this go around - well cleansed scalp and hair, surprisingly great detangling when I washed it all out. Followed up again with BB Herbal Reconditioner. I will definitely keep hair clays in my routine as an alternative to shampoo! And might even come up with some cleansing/conditioning recipes with it.

[jeamaria]

Congrats! I prefer to use the pure clays, too, and this goes for skin as well as hair-much better value for money and you can see if that ingredient actually works for your hair rather than just guessing.

I've used bentonite a few times on my hair with varying results. It's ALWAYS great on my skin, though. I'm looking forward to trying the rhassoul which Adèle likes. These type of clays are my favorite as they absorb water and form a kind of gel texture, which makes them much easier on the hair. How much bentonite did you use and how much water?

[Spiral]

Thanks for posting a review on this Morena! I'm really close to eliminating shampoo from my routine. Bentonite may make that possible. I should give it a try. Question: Did you notice any dryness?

Jeamaria, you said you had varying results. What were they?

[jeamaria]

Thanks for posting a review on this Morena! I'm really close to eliminating shampoo from my routine. Bentonite may make that possible. I should give it a try. Question: Did you notice any dryness?

Jeamaria, you said you had varying results. What were they?

It wasn't always very cleansing. If I had a lot of stuff in my hair, say from a pretreatment, that was too much for it and it left an ashy buildup-a blend of clay and all the oil/conditioner mix. If my hair wasn't too dirty, it rinsed clean. Either way, my hair felt stronger when done.

Because it swells in water, it doesn't leave the hair dusty like other clays can, as long as there's not too much gunk on your hair.

[Syb]

Jeamaria, what type of scent does the bentonite clay have? Is it overpowering in any way? And, how do you use it in your hair?

[svrbrownsuga]

ohhhhhhhh I think I may want to try this out!!

[jeamaria]

Jeamaria, what type of scent does the bentonite clay have? Is it overpowering in any way? And, how do you use it in your hair?

It doesn't have much of a scent. You just add warm water to it, bit by bit, until you get a consistency like thick yoghurt, but very lumpy. You have to really mix it up and leave it a little while to dissolve. Then you apply it to your hair, just glob it on in sections. You apply it on wet hair and leave it for like 30 minutes, don't let it dry in your hair- it will be very hard to rinse if you do. Like morenae said, it conditions (as in strengthening, not moisturizing) as well as cleanses. I found myself using A LOT though.

[Syb]

Thanks for the info, Jeamaria!

[Spiral]

It wasn't always very cleansing. If I had a lot of stuff in my hair, say from a pretreatment, that was too much for it and it left an ashy buildup-a blend of clay and all the oil/conditioner mix. If my hair wasn't too dirty, it rinsed clean. Either way, my hair felt stronger when done.

Because it swells in water, it doesn't leave the hair dusty like other clays can, as long as there's not too much gunk on your hair.

Thanks jeamaria. I'll definitely try it and keep your tips in mind. I usually don't pre-treat, so I guess it should be okay.

[morenae]

Thanks for posting a review on this Morena! I'm really close to eliminating shampoo from my routine. Bentonite may make that possible. I should give it a try. Question: Did you notice any dryness?

Jeamaria, you said you had varying results. What were they?

My hair was not dry at all. In no way did it feel stripped. I'm pretty sure most if not all of my buildup was rinsed away.  - I hadn't washed or even rinsed my hair in a week and it was full of BB Happy Nappy, Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue, and vitamin E oil, and Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercream on the ends. A cheesy mess! Yet

I was really concerned with getting my scalp cleaned, which was a harder endeavor. I parted my hair in sections (which took a while) and tried as much as possible to get the clay on my scalp. Adding more water to the clay mixture that went on my scalp helped. I used about 2.5 oz of clay to coat all of my hair. When rinsing, I was scrubbing my scalp for days because I had left it on to dry for more than 30 mins. Syb is right - don't leave it to dry for too long.

@Jeamaria, bentonite does not have a strong scent - a faint hint of "sand" sort of.

[Spiral]

Morena, when you say you used 2.5 ounces, was that 2.5 ounces in powder form or mixed with water?

About the mud drying on your scalp, when I used the BB Volcanic clay, I put on a shower cap to prevent the mud from drying out.

[Afrocurls]

Pics?

[morenae]

Pics?

The next time I do this, I promise to take pics!

[morenae]

Morena, when you say you used 2.5 ounces, was that 2.5 ounces in powder form or mixed with water?

About the mud drying on your scalp, when I used the BB Volcanic clay, I put on a shower cap to prevent the mud from drying out.

It was 2.5oz dry. That's a great idea about the shower cap.

[Soulsista]

Do yall need to condition after using this?