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Bentonite Clay: I Need Some Answers

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My answer...I wouldn't use this for hair AT ALL. Bentonite is a very "drawing" clay and it's recommened for people w/ oily skins to use no more often than 1x per week. That tells me it's too drying for hair, but YMMV!
 
I just used this today and it was wonderful. I do mean absolutely wonderful. Yes, it is is tightening, but it is not drying the way I used it in the least. I don't have pics because, while I do notice what Kinkerbelle stated as being and "elongation" of the curl pattern, there is nothing significant going on in my hair to warrant taking a pic.

Welllllll.......maybe I will take a few anyway to illustrate the small difference I can see. The main difference is in what I can tangibly FEEL. Then, I will post my Kinkerbelle-like regimen. (I'll post the pics in about 20 minutes...)


Based on the testimonials of other women who have used this, I picked some up today. Here goes.

Regimen


  1. I have been wearing a defined twist-out for a week without re-twisting. I mist a tiny bit each day and satin cap-it at night. So...I needed detangling like crazy. I sprayed in a water/no cone conditioner mix to pre-detangle and did so with a wide-toothed comb. That took about 7-8 minutes. I then massaged by scalp to loosen whatever might be on it. I decided NOT to shampoo at all.
  2. Kinkerbelle stepped into the shower, I think, to dampen her hair. Mine was already damp, so I didn't step into the shower. I went to mix my Bentonite clay. I bought Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay from the Vitamin Shoppe. I poured in a tablespoon of EVOO, a tablespoon of Castor Oil (not JB), and a tablespoon of Amla. I put in the powder and water and mixed to the thickness I wanted. My thickness was a tiny bit thinner than a relaxer...not much. I blended until mostly mixed up...still had some clumps though, but I did not feel like mixing to perfection. It didn't seem necessary for the result.
  3. I sectioned my hair and focused on the roots and then smoothed down the hair as well. My goal was to cleanse my scalp really well. I worked from back to front and had a whole head covered in maybe 10 minutes.
  4. I let the Bentonite clay sit for 15 minutes only. This is what Kinkerbelle did, and I followed her method pretty closely because her hair is beautiful and she does not seem like an idiot. :lachen::lachen:My hair was not fully dry at all when I went to rinse. I felt my scalp tingling, though. It did tighten the skin. I loved the sensation.
  5. I stepped into the shower and rinsed for a while, massaging my scalp and basically "washing" my hair. The rinse felt good to me, nothing like co-washing feels to me. My scalp never gets clean with co-washing for some reason. Today was a great experience for someone like me who stays knee deep in scalp buildup.
  6. I detangled again while rinsing, but only after the clay was completely out.
  7. I used Porosity Control as a final step for 30 seconds and rinsed lukewarm.
  8. I dried, and for moisture, I used Aloe Vera and then shea butter.

Benefits:

  • I am in an afro puff now, and I can honestly say that my hair is unbelievably soft. With no gel, you can clearly see my curl pattern. It's not "curly" but it is not the afro-ey look that it normally is with no product that manipulates my texture. I see poofy spirals that are just pretty to my eyes.
  • My hair normally dries within 2.5-3 hours when left out like it is now. It's now 7 hours later, and my hair is STILL not fully dry. Clearly, moisture is having its way with my hair, and I appreciate that a GREAT deal! I hate it when my hair is dry so fast and I have to re-wet to put into twists. I could twist right now, and the dampness would allow me to get through it easily enough.
  • My scalp is not itchy at all. Usually, after washing, I have to hurry up and oil my scalp with either peppermint or jojoba oil because of itchies, but today, I needed neither. My scalp looks and feels WONDERFUL!
So....for people who are afraid, I can say there is no need to be. My hair type is very manageable 4a/b. Just follow what others have done that has worked and don't add anything to the process unless it's moisture. Bentonite seems to do quite well with just oil or conditioner and water.

Bentonite and no shampoo and conditioner have made my day. I can imagine doing this again as a follow-up to make sure I fully cleansed my scalp and then doing it only once per month.

I hope this helps someone. I am off to take pics now...

I will post again when they are in my Picasa.

HHG to us all!!!

Sincerely,
CJ
 
jamaraa said:
My answer...I wouldn't use this for hair AT ALL. Bentonite is a very "drawing" clay and it's recommened for people w/ oily skins to use no more often than 1x per week. That tells me it's too drying for hair, but YMMV!
Click to expand...

yeah I'm on the fence about this...I jumped on the baking soda bandwagon (disaster), and on the henna bandwagon (disaster), I am unsure about this. Anyone had an adverse reaction to this? (specifically, dryness)
 
Here are my results on Picasa. Please forgive me for not putting them here on LHCF. Every time I try to upload in a thread, I fail. My husband's dad passed away and we are packing for the funeral; I just don't have the energy to do a lot of picture work. I hope you understand...:sad:

Pics are titled "Bentonite Results"

I would love to hear a bad experience as well if there are any out there so that I can know what not to do in my regimen for the future.

Blessings,
Christi
 
I did bentonite yesterday on my hair and my face. I received complements today on my glowing face and my thick, hanging twist out-"What did you do to your face?" Actually, I used HARTZ PH 5 KITTY LITTER:sekret:!! I put hot water over some of the granules, let it soak for a while then strained off the liquid. I applied the liquid to my face until it dried. I put the liquid all over my hair..plastic capped then let it stay for about 15 minutes. I con-pooed with AO Honeysuckle. My curls elongated and stayed that way today. I think that bit of kitty litter did a good job.
 
I made a mix of water, clay and honey.

My result?

Uber soft hair, elongated curls. It was creepy, in a way. I went from 3c/4a to a loose 3c EVERYWHERE (I'm 4a around my hair line).

Definitely something to do again next month, if it works with cone-heavy regimens.
 
dyamonds10 said:
I use it on my face. The way it tightens and dries up, I would be too scared to try it on my hair
Click to expand...

Dyamonds, give it a try..just do not let it dry..try it wih a plastic cap which will keep your hair moist ..you'll like it..I used the knockoff Kitty litter and it worked fine..my curls were pronounced and the hair hang was lovely......just imagine the beauty of the real thing!
 
I bit the bullet and tried it, figuring it couldn't be worse than my henna disaster.

It was actually quite nice. My hair felt nice and fluffy. There was no hang, because lol my hair doesnt hang unless attacked with a flat iron, but my 4a parts were very coily and my 4b parts were just nice and soft. My hair also felt squeakly clean afterwards, same as it feels when I clarify, except without that dry feeling that usually comes with clarifying.

I'd say this is a keeper. I'll do it once a month.
 
Rei said:
I bit the bullet and tried it, figuring it couldn't be worse than my henna disaster.

It was actually quite nice. My hair felt nice and fluffy. There was no hang, because lol my hair doesnt hang unless attacked with a flat iron, but my 4a parts were very coily and my 4b parts were just nice and soft. My hair also felt squeakly clean afterwards, same as it feels when I clarify, except without that dry feeling that usually comes with clarifying.

I'd say this is a keeper. I'll do it once a month.
Click to expand...
I agree. I used bicarbonate of soda to clarify for 4 years but tried Bentonite clay earlier this year. It removes all the build up from my scalp and leaves my hair very clean and soft but is much less drying.

When I get my hair cornrowed, the girl always notices the difference when I use the clay and says that my hair feels really light and fluffy.

I leave it on my hair for about 20 minutes and cover with a plastic cap so that the clay does not dry out. It rinses out very easily also.

I use it every 2 or 3 months to clarify but it is gentle enough to use it much more frequently
 
1star said:
I'm afraid to try it because of what I've read it absorbs (oil, water, etc) and is used in cat litter, cement and adhesives.

I've read where people use it for internal cleansing - aka colon cleansing.

I'm scared to use it on my hair.
Click to expand...

Don't be scared. Try it. I use it on mine to clarify. My hair feels sooo soft and clean. Love it!!!

sareca said:
I've add a cup to my bath water, but I haven't tried it on my hair. Next time I'm in the bath I'll give it a shot. :yep:
Click to expand...

How does this affect your skin? I have dry skin and always looking for ways to soften and smooth my skin.

~CurlyNikki~ said:
I'm loving it...on my face and hair. I'm throwing out all of my shampoos! It leaves me with ridiculously soft hair that doesn't feel stripped...it clumps my curls and smooths them quite a bit. It will definitely become apart of my routine.
Click to expand...

I totally agree.
 
Bumpty bump!

I have a question for Bentonite clay users. I bought some yesterday, went home prepooed, shampooed twice with SLS free shampoo (because of all the heavy oils I use for my prepoo), used the bentonite, rinsed out with cheapie conditioner twice then DCed. I felt the difference in my hair before and after the bendonite while it was wet but didnt see much of a difference after my hair was set. :perplexed Actually I still felt the clay in my hair. Did I not rinse enough or should I have shampooed it out? I see that most people just rinse BUT most of those people were also natural. I am transitioning (if you can call it that) to texlaxed. Its been more than a year since I straight relaxed and I especially felt it in my roots. Am I doing something wrong? TIA!
 
Is this stuff basically the same as Zen detox hair and scalp therapy?
I just bought this and it's a gray powder that is to be mixed with water.
 
Doing this today. I prepooed overnight with coconut/olive/castor oil so i will not add any of those to my clay and water mixture.

ETA: i loved it!!! my hair feels awesome. all i did was start with the clay in a bowl and slowly add warm water, then slather it on my hair from the roots down. i cowashed with HE Hello Hydration and added MJ baby buttercreme and curly pudding afterwards.
 

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blackindia07 said:
Bumpty bump!

I have a question for Bentonite clay users. I bought some yesterday, went home prepooed, shampooed twice with SLS free shampoo (because of all the heavy oils I use for my prepoo), used the bentonite, rinsed out with cheapie conditioner twice then DCed. I felt the difference in my hair before and after the bendonite while it was wet but didnt see much of a difference after my hair was set. :perplexed Actually I still felt the clay in my hair. Did I not rinse enough or should I have shampooed it out? I see that most people just rinse BUT most of those people were also natural. I am transitioning (if you can call it that) to texlaxed. Its been more than a year since I straight relaxed and I especially felt it in my roots. Am I doing something wrong? TIA!
Click to expand...

I've been using bentonite clay for the past 2+ years and I especially used it while transitioning (I transitioned for 16 months) to natural it helped to loosen the natural texture by making it softer and easier to manage. Also because bentonite clay can be drying and has a natural cleansing effect I would never shampoo before or after using it. I only use bentonite clay to clarify without stripping all the moisture out of my hair. Trust me it gets all the gunk out from oils to gels and conditioners.

As for still having clay in your roots it could be that you did not rinse thoroughly or maybe your making your clay treatment to thick (a little really does go a long way) try wetting your hair before applying the clay to each section. This will help the clay not be as thick. Also you can try cowashing after you rinse and focus on your roots to be sure you've gotten all the clay out.

I hope this helps.
 
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