Bentonite Clay Wash Day.

I'm a Rhassoul clay kinda girl but today I decided that I was going to use Bentonite Clay instead - just because! (Plus I have this pound of clay that's been sitting in my bathroom for ages) I wanted to keep it simple so my liquids of choice were Aloe Vera Juice and Apple Cider Vinegar. Didn't add any oils as that would come later in my regimen.

I don't really measure stuff - just eyeball them as I go along so I added some clay to my mixing bowl then poured in a little Apple Cider Vinegar. When you add ACV to bentonite clay, it creates a sort of frothing action before settling. When it was settled, I added a little Aloe Vera Juice at a time till I got the consistency I wanted (not too thick and not too thin either)

The night before, I'd pre poo'd with my Bringraj hair oil but I didn't want to put clay on dry hair so I first misted my hair with water to get it a little damp - that way it would be easier to get the clay through my strands without struggling and even damaging my hair.

After I'd gotten it all over, I covered my hair with some saran wrap and went about a few house chores for about 30 - 40 minutes. I then rinsed it out with warm water and I was pleasantly surprised!!! Now I hadn't even deep conditioned my hair and I know bentonite is meant to cleanse, clarify and detoxify your hair so I had prepared myself for the possibility of dry strands but nope! My hair was soft, it was easy to separate and most of all, curls were very defined!

Hair before bentonite mask

Hair with Bentonite Mask

After it's been washed out

I was so tempted not to deep condition because honestly my hair felt so good! Alas, I'd already blended my mix together plus I didn't want to take any chances so I got on with it.

Deep Conditioner Mix

For my deep conditioner, I used an overripe avocado, coconut milk, pureed banana (baby food) and some cocoa powder. Avocado is rich in monounsaturated fats and has been used for centuries to promote hair growth and increase the shine and suppleness of hair. Coconut Milk has a rich protein content and is also high in fats.When used in the hair it helps to promote hair growth, increase shine, strengthen, and prevent excessive shedding and breakage. Cocoa powder is rich in magnesium and is also a great anti oxidant - it helps to strengthen hair,promote hair growth and shine while increasing volume. Bananas are rich in potassium and vitamins A, C and E making them a healthy and beneficial addition to any hair mask.

Blended everything together, and decided to use my manshanu in my deep conditioning step instead of as a pre shampoo treatment which I did last week. Slathered the oil on my hair (now I really didn't want to add anything else as my hair felt so lush!) and added the mix on top of it. It was quite messy and I quickly wrapped it all up. I guess my body heat must have melted some of the stuff in my hair further because by the time I took off the wrap 40 mins later, I had the mix literally running down my back!

I rinsed everything out and I must say the smell was..... interesting lollll. The mix of bananas and cocoa powder AND the manshanu was quite much. I knew I had to rinse everything out as much as possible if I didn't want to smell like baby throw up later. I also didn't want to use any commercial conditioners to mask the smell so after rinsing, I spritzed my hair liberally with rosewater mixed with a few drops of Lavender and Mandarin Essential Oil. I followed up with that divine bamboo milk leave in from Shea Butter Cottage  and sealed it in with my oil mix.

I braided my hair down with some of my KL's Naturals whipped shea butter and my hair is nice, shiny, soft and detangled. Best of all, it smells nice! lollll

soft and shiny!!

I will most definitely be doing this bentonite clay wash again and will keep using the manshanu in various parts of my regimen. I'm really loving my hair now that I'm using a lot more natural stuff and less commercially produced stuff. My shedding was almost negligible today compared to other wash days so that's also a great plus.

I shall be returning to protective styling this week (halleluyah!) and hope to keep that for another 6 - 8 weeks (fingers crossed lol)

Till my next post

xoxo