bentonite is my new facial cleanser…

07 February 2009 ~ 21 Comments

bentonite ($7 4 oz container that lasts 6 weeks, has replaced proactiv ($45 system that lasts 2 months) as my new facial treatment. i just add water to a pinch of bentonite, rub it on my face, wait till i feel it dry/tighten my pores, then rinse it off. i do this every morning and night. (i also drinks looots of water every day.)

my skin has never been brighter, my pores never tighter.

it just makes me wonder how many beauty products i’ve been bomboozled into buying, when there’s a cheaper, more natural, more effective alternative available.

has anyone else tried bentonite on the face? thoughts?

***update 2/9/2009 @ 11:34 a.m.***
since bentonite clay is so strong, i’m using it every other day instead of twice a day. also, i’m mixing it with apple cider vinegar instead of water.

21 Responses to “bentonite is my new facial cleanser…”

Tia 7 February 2009 at 7:18 pm Permalink

I’ve been using bentonite clay about a week now and I also love it! it is bringing out stuff in my skin I didn’t know was there. I use it maybe twice a week. I mix it with apple cider vinegar (braggs) and it does pulsate my face just as it says on the container. I have also tried it in my hair just last nite and that was great too! can’t wait to try it over my body like a mud bath!!!

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Moni 7 February 2009 at 7:24 pm Permalink

Even though I use it on my hair all the time, I’ve never used it on my face. I need to get on that!

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Ebony Intuition 7 February 2009 at 7:30 pm Permalink

Where can this be purchased.??

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Laquita 7 February 2009 at 8:11 pm Permalink

Thanks for sharing – I have some leftover after putting it on my hair- I am going to try it on my face :o)

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SA 7 February 2009 at 9:22 pm Permalink

Same here Moni. I’ve never used it on my face, but my mother swears by it. I love using it on my hair.

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Rubinstein 7 February 2009 at 9:54 pm Permalink

Im glad you discovered the wonders of bentonite clay but i'm not sure using it everyday is such a great idea!
I've been using it for years now, and i've always been adviced to use it AT THE MOST twice a week (just the same as when you exfoliate your skin)
Just like with any product, your skin might get used to bentonite clay and respond less to the (good) effects. It might also get tired to get stretched & tightened! (im not sure but you might also get the contrary effect in the end: greasy skin; coz you're removing ALL the sebum and not just the excess of it)
hope it helped!

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jenteel 7 February 2009 at 10:01 pm Permalink

isn’t it wonderful?
i’ve been using it on my face for about a year. i use it with rosewater or acv depending on my skin needs. it shrinks my pores also. i use it once a week but more in the summer.

i only tried it on my hair last month

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Karua 7 February 2009 at 10:29 pm Permalink

I switch between Bentonite Clay, Kaolin Clay and French Green Clay and I love all three. However, I found that my skin loves bentonite and/or French green clay mixed with apple cider vinegar rather than water. I don’t know why but it fizzes a bit when you mix the two and it makes my skin so smooth and soft! You should try it at least once and see if you like it :D
I haven’t yet tried it on my hair but I’ll get on that when I go back to Whole Foods

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Ayomide 7 February 2009 at 11:09 pm Permalink

I love it. It does wonders for my oily/acne prone face.

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Nellie D 8 February 2009 at 12:07 am Permalink

Sounds good. Where can I get bentonite clay?

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Nicole 8 February 2009 at 1:28 am Permalink

Where do you get bentonite clay?

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Black girl with long hair 8 February 2009 at 1:54 am Permalink

@ everyone: you can find bentonite clay at most health food stores. it’s most commonly used for internal cleansing.

@ jenteel: really?! what did you think? i’ll try mixing my bentonite with acv, starting tonight

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Taters 8 February 2009 at 2:53 am Permalink

I’ve been using the Aztec brand bentonite clay as a weekly mask for a couple of months now, and my skin has never been clearer. I mix a few spoonfuls with some apple cider vinegar and water, rub it into my face, and let it dry for about 20 minutes. I also use it as an overnight spot treatment when I get a blemish. I used it on my hair (mixed with water, honey, and oils) and my hair was super smooth and had amazing, great coil definition.
While I couldn’t recommend this more, it can be a bit drying to the skin, so I recommend rubbing in a bit of jojoba or extra virgin coconut oil to dry patches of skin before applying.

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Yuki 8 February 2009 at 10:29 am Permalink

@ Taters: Thanks for the advice. My skin is prone to dry patches so I will try the olive oil idea for sure.

@ BGLH and everyone else: Thanks for turning me on. Gotta get me some now! : )

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Lina40 8 February 2009 at 9:46 pm Permalink

used it on the face — love it! Somehow it seems to take off months of aging — seriously! I get a lot of compliments whenever I use the clay (although they dont know that)..
and I have normal to dry skin… so it seems to be great for all skin types! i do add a little olive oil around the nose, cause its sensitive there..

used it on the hair and liked it too, but I wasnt too gung-ho because i love it more for my face and dont want to make my henna jealous, lol!

Lina40

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Black girl with long hair 8 February 2009 at 9:49 pm Permalink

@ lina,

yeh… lol. i really want to use henna on my hair, but i’m afraid i’m going to use my color if i do.

my hair has a lot of different shades of brown… my understanding is that henna will darken it, and make it one uniform color :(

i actually had it as a new year’s resolution to try henna… but when i realized i would have to relinquish my color, i decided against it

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Da Jadedpoet 9 February 2009 at 3:03 pm Permalink

Ohh think I’ll use this as a weekly facial I just switched back to nasabb’s black soap and their moisturizer but I really wanted a weekly exfoliater, maybe i’ll try this out instead. I used to use proactiv * i switch back and forth depening on my location* and their clay mask worked great too! ^_^ *too bad after the pregnancy it (proactiv)doesn’t seem to work as perfectly as it did before* :-(

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Hijabi Apprentice 9 February 2009 at 5:20 pm Permalink

I tried your method last night. LOVED it! I’m going to blog about it!! Thanks for sharing.

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SouthernG. 9 February 2009 at 6:37 pm Permalink

Just to let y’all know: you can get a whole pound of bentonite for $7.25 at mountainroseherbs.com!

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FlowerChild 10 February 2009 at 6:38 pm Permalink

Hey,

I paid like $8 at vitamin shoppe for 1 lb.

Here is the link to the one I use:
http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=SW-1001

I mix it with ACV. It works wonders. I don’t use it everyday though. Maybe once a week. Daily I use a baking soda dilution to wash my face. It’s crazy to think how much I spent on my Neutrogena face wash and Ponds skin cream. I have like a 4 lb box that cost me around $3.50. It’s going to last forever, lol. Afterwards I follow up with literally a drop or two of grapeseed oil.

The great thing about baking soda and bentonite is that I can use them on my hair too. I’ve saved a pretty penny so far.

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Gina 14 August 2009 at 10:24 pm Permalink

My husband used to have constant acne and dandruff. I found a cleanser containing Bentonite by Avon, but now they've discontinued it. It cleared up his acne and dandruff, even though he didn't use it on his scalp. So I'm going buy the powder at the health food store. Bentonite soaks up impurities. You can't "get used to it" so it doesn't lose it's effectiveness. Another product that works a similar way is Milk of Magnesia. Put it on til it dries like a mask, then rinse it off.

Bentonite also comes in liquid formula that you can use as a natural mouthwash for healthier gums. Tastes nasty though!

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