Bentonite Clay Mask for Natural Hair

The Aztec Indian Healing Clay is known to give the face a deep, pulsating cleansing (and it does). I have been using this product as a facial for a little while now and I really like how I am seeing an improvement in my oily, acne prone skin. When doing some research, I stumbled across some fellow natural-haired women who use a bentonite clay mask for natural hair! I had to try it.

Aztec Indian Healing Clay, or bentonite clay, is sun-dried clay and when mixed with water or apple cider vinegar (a curly girl favorite) carries a negative charge and when applied to the skin, which carries a positive charge, the clay reacts by working to lift away toxins and impurities. So, how does this work on natural hair? When used on natural hair, the clay mask provides a deep cleanse while also conditioning and moisturizing the hair. The Aztec Indian Healing Clay can be purchased from healthcare stores, vitamin shops, or online. I purchased mine from Central Market.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

• Aztec Indian Healing Clay
• Apple Cider Vinegar or water
• Essential Oil (optional)
• Plastic, wood or ceramic mixing bowl and utensil. NO METAL can be used with this clay; it will decrease its effectiveness.

HOW TO USE

Begin by pouring some of the clay into your mixing bowl. I always eyeball the measurement, so you can do the same or you can use a measuring cup to be precise. Next, add your liquid – ACV or water – if you add the ACV, there will be a reaction at first and the clay will start to fizz up which is perfectly normal. Mix the clay and liquid together until you have a smooth, thick mixture. Lastly, you can add an essential oil of your choice, this step is optional. I added honey to my mixture. Once everything is mixed, it is time to apply it to the hair!

I find that applying this mixture to wet hair is best; it makes it easy to distribute and your hair won’t dry to fast. Completely cover your hair and scalp with the mask and put on a plastic shower cap; this will ensure that the hair stays moist and will not dry while the mask is in the hair. I let the mask sit for about 20 minutes and then rinsed it out. Rinsing this mask from the hair can be kind of a pain but make sure not to rush and if you feel you didn’t rinse the mask out all that good, you can follow up with a co-wash to ensure that you have gotten everything out and then style the hair as normal. This whole process can be messy; make sure you have on some clothes you don’t mind messing up and there’s a towel nearby.

REVIEW

I really liked this mask. It instantly elongated and defined my curls. I did not shampoo my hair before applying the mask and my hair felt clean and refreshed after rinsing. However, I did notice that my hair felt a little sticky afterwards which may be because of the honey, so I will adjust my mixture accordingly. Overall, this is a great hair mask to use once a month when your hair needs a little extra TLC.

About a week or so after applying this mask, I noticed that my scalp was dryer than normal and was itching like crazy. I’m not sure if this is due to the mask but since this was the only thing dramatically different that I did to my hair, I put two and two together. I just wanted to mention this just in case you try the mask and have the same reaction. To get rid of my dry, itchy scalp I used the ACV rinse method which you can find here, https://curlsunderstood.com/apple-cider-vinegar-rinse-natural-hair/. This method greatly helped me.

MY RESULTS

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