Make Up Monday: DIY Sea Clay Mask

Holy crow, Make Up Monday and a DIY in the same post? GET OUT OF TOWN. No seriously, I have been slackin' major on the Make Up Monday posts. I really am just super consumed with other projects *cough*Spellbound Soaps*cough* and blogging is on the back burner. :/ But I shall make it up to you today because I am going to teach you how to make your own mud mask!

Sea Clay, also known as Dead Sea Clay, makes for a fantastic facial mask and it's something I use in my soaps. For example, my Green Monster Bar is made with sea clay and naturally colored with it. Sea Clay has high levels of calcium, potassium, magnesium and sulfate, making it fantastic for the skin & ideal for a face mask. The bonus is that you can tweak this in any way you'd like, using products that are geared towards your specific skin conditions. If you'd like some anti-aging melt a little shea butter and mix the sea clay with shea butter. If you'd like to tighten the skin mix in a little bit of ground coffee (the grinds will also exfoliate your skin). The most important ingredient is the Sea Clay. It will cause the mask to dry on the skin and give you the consistency you want in a facial mask.

Sea Clay Mud Mask
For this particular recipe you will need:

• 1/4 Cup of Sea Clay (Bentonite and Kaolin are also good alternatives too)
• 4 Drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil (Optional)
• 2 tsp. Water PER treatment 
• Other optional ingredients to add to your mask mix: 2 T. Dried/Ground herbs, 2 T. milk powder or 2 T. Honey.  
• You can also replace water with milk, herbal tea or aloe vera juice.

A word of caution before you go mixing a bunch of stuff together and glop it on your skin. If you have sensitive skin, don’t mix too many ingredients that you’ve never used before.  Do a test spot. The best place is in the crook of your arm. If no irritation occurs proceed with an application on your face. It's fun to play around but no one wants to make something that irritates or makes their face swell.   Try this basic recipe the first time and then add or replace one ingredient at a time. For example, powdered goat's milk is great for the skin and could be used as a substitute for water (you'd actually add it to the water but go with me here). Don't add honey, goats milk and green tea to the mix and put it on your face. First try a treatment with the goat's milk. If everything works out fine, next time you do a treatment add the honey. Then switch out the goats milk and honey and try just the green tea.

Steps:

• For each application use a 1:1 Ratio. That is mix 2 tsp. clay mix with 2 tsp. water (or alternative liquid).
• Apply to skin and let dry for 5-15 minutes. 
• For sensitive skin, leave on for less time (5 minutes). 
• If you have oily skin, keep on longer (15 minutes). 
• Rinse with warm water and moisturize.

VIOLA! You are done and you should have lovely skin to show for it. I would do these at max once a week. You do not want to over work your skin.

If you cannot find Sea Clay, Benonite or Kaolin clay at your local health food store (I'm about 85% sure that Whole Foods does not carry these and I know Sprouts doesn't. I have a "Mom & Pop" that carries Sea Clay and Benonite but no Kaolin down the street.) then I would order some online from one of these suppliers:

• Wholesale Supplies Plus - For every dollar you spend you get a rewards point that you can later use to purchase items with.
• Brambleberry - they give out free fragrances every month which is lovely. Also, if you have any questions Anne-Marie (owner & CEO) is VERY on top of social media. She replies to most tweets and youtube comments.
• Soap Goods - They don't offer incentives but have a HUGE selection and great prices.

Have you ever made your own beauty supplies?

If you make this, tweet me pictures!