This post contains affiliate links from my favorite brand Mountain Rose Herbs. I love their high quality organic/fair trade products, and am blown away by their commitment to zero waste. 

If you've been following Minimalist Beauty for sometime now you will notice that I’ve written about rhassoul clay and its benefits a lot.  I've only mentioned bentonite clay on occasion.  If you’re wondering which clay I like best, it honestly depends upon what I'm looking to use the clay for, and what benefits I'm seeking. I actually enjoy them both.  Let's look at the unique qualities of rhassoul clay and bentonite clay. I’ll also share my experience with them both.

The Mineral Content of Rhassoul Clay

Silica- 58%
Aluminum- 2.47%
Iron- 0.64%
Sodium- 2.3%
Magnesium- 25.2%
Calcium- 2.34%
Moisture- 8%

Rhassoul Clay in Beauty Care

Rhassoul clay is wonderful for gently exfoliating and detoxifying the skin while softening hyperpigmentation and balancing both dry and oily skin.  Rhassoul clay is fantastic at unclogging pores without irritation.  Although very smooth and gentle when using, I've found that daily use of even rhassoul clay can increase dehydration in skin over time, yet is a fantastic weekly skin treatment.  There is such a thing as over cleansing skin.  Mixing rhassoul clay with raw honey is also an incredible weekly skin treatment as a face wash or mask.

Rhassoul clay makes a wonderful natural hair cleanser as well especially when mixed with aloe vera juice and hair nourishing herbs such as marshmallow root.  Using gentle cleansers for hair such as rhassoul clay is a very healthy alternative to chemical shampoos which contain toxic ingredients.  It's high silica content aids with detangling hair and increasing manageability.  If you have very dry hair adding humectants such as vegetable glycerin or honey, and small amounts of a carrier oil to your hair cleanser is very helpful.

The Mineral Content of Bentonite Clay

Silica- 61.4%
Aluminum- 18.1%
Iron- 3.5%
Sodium- 2.3%
Magnesium- 1.7%
Calcium- 0.04%
Titanium- 0.02%
Potassium- 0.01%
Moisture- 7.8%

Bentonite Clay in Beauty Care

Bentonite clay has a very powerful drawing effect where the negatively charged ions in the clay attract impurities and toxins which are positively charged.  When using bentonite clay for skin, you can actually feel the pulse of this cleansing and detoxifying attraction.  I have found that the intense drawing of impurities can be somewhat harsh for sensitive skin. 

To make bentonite clay suitable for sensitive skin, I add vegetable glycerin to clay with either aloe vera juice or apple cider vinegar so that the clay does not have the ability to dry on the skin while attracting impurities.  You don’t need to leave bentonite clay masks on for a long time to experience the benefits of this healing clay.  Even using bentonite clay as a weekly face wash would provide plenty of cleansing and healing benefits.

When using bentonite clay for hair, I prefer to mix it with apple cider vinegar for the best pH balance for hair.  The texture of the clay is extremely soft when mixed with apple cider vinegar.  Bentonite clay clarifies hair product buildup and removes synthetic ingredients from commercial hair care like no other.  I've also mixed bentonite clay with coconut milk as a DIY Cleansing Conditioner and smoothing hair treatment.

pH Balance

In general when using clays for beauty care it is important to know that most clays are naturally alkaline.  Bentonite clay has a pH of 8.3-9.1 and is best mixed with an acidic liquid like apple cider vinegar or aloe vera juice.  Rhassoul clay has a pH of 6.9-7.5 which is significantly lower since the pH scale is logarithmic which is 10 times more acidic or alkaline between each pH value step.  Mixing rhassoul clay with aloe vera juice, raw honey (average pH of 3.9), or another acidic liquid when used for beauty care is still recommended although it has a lower pH.

When deciding which clay to try or knowing which one is best for you will most likely come from trial and error.  It's nearly impossible to know if you prefer one thing over another if you haven't tried it.  I've found that I actually enjoy using both rhassoul clay and bentonite clay, yet for different things.  You can find high quality bentonite clay here and high quality rhassoul clay here.

Which clay is your favorite and why?

Image by Mountain Rose Herbs