Cleansing with Clay

I recently tried bentonite clay in my hair, as a shampoo replacement. Bentonite clay is a mud that draws out impurities (like dirt and bacteria) from the hair. It's a great hair "detox" in the sense that it completely cleanses your hair.

I have a naturally dry scalp, and while I've had luck with Whole Foods 365 herbal mint shampoo, I wanted to see if something else worked better for my scalp. I've used Terressentials, an organic bentonite clay wash, in the past and liked it, but not enough for continued use.

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay was recommended to me, so I decided to give it a try. I mixed equal parts clay, which comes in powder form, with apple cider vinegar to create a wet paste. I wet my hair before applying the mixture, and made sure to get the clay directly on my scalp in addition to my hair. My scalp tends to get particularly dry around my edges, so I was careful to apply a lot of the clay mixture to my hairline. Once my hair was completely covered in clay, I gathered all my hair and sat it on top of my hair in a makeshift bun.

I let it stay in my hair for about 45 minutes or so until it had completely hardened. I then followed up by rinsing the clay out of my hair thoroughly and deep conditioning my hair. I feel like a deep condition following the use of this product is especially important because the clay not only strips your hair of dirt, but also of moisture.

In the end, my hair had a lot of shine and more defined curls and teeny ringlets. My scalp still became pretty dry throughout the week, though I wonder if that might change with continued use. I'll probably use this bentonite clay as a cleanser 1 or 2 times per month to see if my dry scalp woes come to an end.

Have you ever used bentonite clay to cleanse your hair? How was your experience?