Thanks to my farm-raised mother, as a kid I always loved to run thru rainy puddles with my bare feet. I developed a special appreciation for pressing my toes into the squishy, coolness of mud and would later enjoy pulling night crawlers from their muddy holes during late nights in my neighborhood. My siblings and I earned money doing the latter from local fishermen and bait stores! While I still don't mind walking into cool wet grass with my bare toes, I'd given up playing in the mud for more girly things like clay. Crafting ash trays and vases from clay was a favorite activity in art class and I always thought I'd pick it up later. While on the back to natural journey, I learned that many naturals wash their hair with mud/clay! If you didn't know there are popular brands such as the one by Terressentials which can be ordered online. But you can also make your own, saving big $$$ just as I did last weekend. I already owned some clay which I use for homemade facials. In preparation, I wet my hair with a spray bottle:
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| Wet hair with spray bottle |
You can buy Aztec brand clay at many local health stores, including Whole Foods. Looking around on the internet I found some recipes. When determining a recipe, I sort of pick and choose the ingredients that I know my hair likes or NEEDS. I create my mix based on that information. This time, in the following order and in a plastic bowl (do not use metal as it changes the properties of the mix), I mixed:
2 tbsp Aztec Secret Healing Indian Clay (about $5)
1 tbsp Olive oil
1Tbsp of honey
Essential oils (depends on my hair needs - this time I used peppermint and basil)
1/3 c. of water or aloe vera juice (you can warm it a little for easier mixing). You may use more or less as it should be the consistency of pancake batter.
I then poured it into a bottle (must get a funnel for next time!). I applied the mixture to my hair and scalp which I'd dampened earlier. I saturated my hair with the clay wash and rubbed it into my scalp. The basil and tea tree oils are stimulators, so it felt tingly! After applying, I put a plastic baggy on my hair and allowed the wash to perform magic on my strands! You can see from the picture that when I finished, I pinned the sections with bobby pins.
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| Let mud sit for 20 minutes! |
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| Mud applied |
20 minutes later I washed it all out in the shower. Remember- this is actually for washing your hair so you don't need to shampoo afterward. Don't allow the clay to dry on your hair as it will become more difficult to rinse. Thoroughly rinse the clay from your hair with a cheap conditioner. I just took care of it in the shower which is how I lost my eyeshadow and lipstick! LOL
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| Mud rinsed (ahhh shrinkage!) |
Afterward, I applied my leave-in and styled per usual. Now... this "shampoo" really does remove any product build up from your hair. You may not even know that you had any especially if you're using products with sillicones. For me, the wash encouraged my shrinkage (see the pic above) but left my hair clean, soft and shiny. I loved it and will do it once a week as I long ago abandoned shampoos. They leave my hair feeling stripped and dry which is why I mostly co-wash. Below is the twistout I got after styling. It's full of shine, body and bounce!
That's it folks! Will you or have you given mud washes a try? Share what were, or are your results!
Peace and love, naturally!
