🎙 [50 ] | [Clay Cleansing for Radiant Skin: The Amazing Qualities of Dirt that Heals ]

In this gritty (and glorious) episode of the Soap-Free Skin Series, I’m getting my hands a little dirty—in the best way possible. We’re talking about clay cleansing and herbal powder pastes, and why I swapped out my foaming face wash for something ancient, earthy, and God-designed.

If you're tired of stripping your skin with synthetic surfactants and wondering what on earth to use instead, this episode is your guide. We’ll unpack the benefits of bentonite, rhassoul, kaolin, and French green clay—plus soothing herbs like neem, rose, and tulsi. Whether you're detoxing from commercial skincare or just curious about clay, this one’s for you.

Tune in for:

• A breakdown of which clays are best for which skin types
• Simple ways to start clay cleansing (even if you’ve never tried it!)
• How to support your whole body with clay—baths, armpits, scalp, and more
• Encouragement for when your healing journey gets a little messy (literally)

✨ Spoiler: You don’t need foam to feel clean. You need minerals. You need God’s design.

📌 Plus, I’ll share how I use these recipes in my daily life—because healing can be simple, sacred, and sustainable.

👉 Read the full blog + resources at BecomingNatural.com

👤 Author: Penelope Sampler | Natural Wellness • Chronic Illness Journey • Faith & Wellness

🧩

• 🌿 Website & Podcast Hub
• 📩 Email Sign-Up
• 📧 Contact Penny
• ⭐️ Listen Notes Interview

🛍

• 💪🏻 Best Clean Supplements
• 🦠 Favorite Candida Resource
• 🌻  Buy Botanical Wellness Products (with $10 off)
• 🛒 Shop FullScript

⚠️

📌 Note: I’m just a girl with a wild story and a passion for sharing what has helped me feel my best during difficult times. I share personal experience, documented research, and a whole lot of heart. Always talk to a professional when making changes to your health routine.

Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.

🎙️ "Clay Cleansing for Radiant Skin: The Amazing qualities of Dirt that Heals"

🎧 INTRO

Hey sweet friend, welcome back to the Soap-Free Skin Mini Series on Becoming Natural. I’m Penny——occupational therapist, chronic illness overcomer, and let’s be real—recovering product junkie turned natural wellness warrior.

If you are just joining, be sure to go back to my episode Soap-Free Skin Care as this little mini series was created to offer you one solution at a time as you recover from the shock of not using soap. It’s our gentle rebellion against harsh surfactants and “squeaky clean” marketing. This is our 3rd Solution in the Series about Soap-Free Skincare. And today is a little gritty. And I mean that literally.

We’re talking about clay cleansing and herbal powder pastes—why I gave up those foaming face washes and trendy 17-step skincare routines for something that looks suspiciously like...dirt. And why it’s one of the best swaps I’ve ever made for my skin, my health, and my home.

**Mini Pod 4: Clay & Herbal Powder Cleansing – Grounded, Grit-Free, and Glorious**

It’s earthy. It’s ancient. And honestly—it might be the most biblical skin ritual we’ve talked about yet.

Because we’re not foaming. We’re not stripping. We’re not even trying to smell like beauty counter.

Nope. This one’s about clay cleansing—using the very dust of the ground God formed us from to draw out toxins, restore minerals, and heal our skin barrier the way nature intended.

We’re talking bentonite, rhassoul, French green, and kaolin, mixed with healing herbs like neem, rose, and tulsi. Together, they form a gentle, gritty paste that doesn't just clean your skin—it helps your body release, replenish, and restore.

You might be wondering:

“Is rubbing mud on my face really going to cleanse anything?”

Oh yes. And not only cleanse—it detoxes, nourishes, and supports the God-designed microbiome of your skin. Seriously.

Let’s step back a moment and catch you up on why we started this little mini series. I did a podcast last week on Soap-Free Skin care after discovering all the ingredients that go into cleaning our bodies that are harmful and unnecessary.

💥 What's Wrong With Commercial Soaps and Cleansers?

If you’re like me and used to love the foamy, fresh-scented kind of “clean,” here’s the problem:

⚠️ Many Ingredients to Avoid:

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) – Harsh detergent, strips the skin barrier.

Parabens – Linked to hormonal disruption (they mimic estrogen).

Phthalates – Often hidden under “fragrance,” disrupt endocrine function.

Synthetic fragrance – Not just smelly; it's a chemical soup with respiratory and skin irritants.

💡 According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), the average woman uses 12 personal care products a day—exposing her to over 160 unique chemicals. (4)

But clay doesn’t need preservatives. It doesn’t expire in 6 months. God designed it shelf-stable and self-cleansing. Come on now.

🧪 PART 1: What is Clay Cleansing?

At its core, clay cleansing means using natural mineral-rich clays (think bentonite, kaolin, French green, or rhassoul) to gently remove impurities from the skin.

Now before you think “That’s cute, but I need something that foams,” Mom. Im talking to you. Your skin wasn't designed to need a lather. That’s all marketing, not science.

✨ Benefits of Clay:

Draws out toxins: Clays are negatively charged, which means they attract positively charged toxins, heavy metals, and impurities like a magnet. (1)

Balances oil: Unlike harsh soaps that strip your skin and trigger rebound oil, clay naturally balances your skin’s sebum production.

Exfoliates naturally: Clay has a micro-exfoliating texture that helps slough off dead skin—without damaging your barrier.

Feeds your skin minerals: Calcium, magnesium, silica, potassium—clay gives back what our skin loses through stress and exposure.

Supports acne healing: Many clays have mild antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. (2)

Let’s break them down so you can easily pick what’s best for your skin, season, or symptoms.

🪨 1. Bentonite Clay

Pronounced: BEN-tuh-nite

Best for: Oily, acne-prone, congested skin

Color: Pale gray or cream (never pure white!)

🌿 Key Benefits:

Deep detoxifier: Highly absorbent; swells like a sponge to pull out toxins, heavy metals, and sebum

Great for bug bites or armpit detoxes

Rich in montmorillonite, a volcanic ash-derived mineral

Can help calm inflammatory skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis when used sparingly

⚠️ Note: Bentonite is more drying, so not ideal for dry or sensitive skin types unless mixed with honey or aloe.

🧡 2. Rhassoul Clay (aka Ghassoul Clay)

Pronounced: Ruh-SOOL

Best for: Combo or mature skin, dry patches, dullness

Color: Warm reddish-brown

🌿 Key Benefits:

Balances oil while retaining moisture—gentler than bentonite

Loaded with silica, magnesium, and calcium

Naturally softens skin and improves texture

Lovely as a scalp mask or full-body soak

✨ Rhassoul is often used in Moroccan hammams and spa rituals. It's the self-care Saturday of clays.

🌱 3. French Green Clay

Pronounced: Just as it sounds

Best for: Oily, acne-prone, toxin-exposed skin

Color: Light to dark sage green (depends on mineral content)

🌿 Key Benefits:

Contains decomposed plant matter, giving it a green color + extra skin nourishment

Excellent pore shrinker—like a natural astringent

High in iron oxides and trace minerals

Supports circulation and cell regeneration

💚 This is your “get-it-together” clay when your skin is inflamed, overworked, or dealing with breakouts.

🕊️ 4. Kaolin Clay (aka China Clay)

Pronounced: KAY-uh-lin

Best for: Sensitive, dry, reactive, or baby skin

Color: Usually white, but can come in pink, red, or yellow variations depending on region and mineral content

🌿 Key Benefits:

Most gentle of all clays—non-drying

Soft exfoliator for fragile or rosacea-prone skin

Helps soothe irritation while lightly detoxing

Great for everyday use or when healing the skin barrier

👶 Think of kaolin as the “baby washcloth” of the clay world—soft, safe, and incredibly calming.

🧴 PART 4: How I Use Clay + Herbal Cleansing Today

Here are a few ways to actually use the clays. I know this is probably new to many. It’s very simple, just probably new ingredients to you! I will add a list of recipes to the end of this mini series, but when I first started using Clay, I used Aztec Bentonite Clay, mixed it in my hand with a splash of ACV and put it on my face like any other mask. You can even use water. So, you can use the recipes I post, but bottom line, the clay alone has so much goodness. Tomorrow’s mini series topic feeds into this one with the added amazing benefits of Herbal Powder Pastes you can use in tandem with Clays. Adding the powders certainly notch it up, but don’t overthink it if this is new to you. Get the clay and use water for your first time.

After the mask or detox depending on how brave you are and what clay you choose, follow it up with a little warm wet rag on your face and one of the organic oils we talked about yesterday to soothe and nourish your skin.

🌍 PART 5: Whole-Body Benefits (Not Just for Your Face)

Clay isn’t just for your complexion. Let’s talk whole-body wins:

Scalp treatments: Detox from product build-up

Armpit detox: Transitioning to natural deodorant? Clay can help.

Foot soaks: Pull toxins and reduce swelling

Poultices: Clay + turmeric over injuries or bug bites

Baths: Bentonite clay + Epsom salt = mineral magic

This is also a zero waste, travel-friendly, budget-saving, toxin-reducing hack for busy moms.

🙌 PART 6: A Word on Detox Reactions

Reminder. our skin might freak out a little at first.

This doesn’t mean it’s “bad”—it could be a purge, especially if you’ve been using synthetic ingredients. No detox have I done that didn’t start out a little rough.

Tips:

Start slow (1–2x/week)

Moisturize after with organic oil

Use soothing herbs like chamomile, marshmallow, or calendula

💬 Reminder: Healing isn’t always linear. Your skin works in layers—so be patient.

🙏 WRAP-UP: Dirt That Heals

When God created man, He formed him out of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7).

There is something beautifully redemptive about using earth—literal dirt, clay, herbs—as part of our cleansing and healing.

We don’t need 17-ingredient products or the latest influencer serum.

We need to return to what God created.

To trust that what’s simple is not simplistic. Its incredibly detailed in its design for sure.

And to remember: healing doesn’t have to come in a plastic bottle. And it doesn’t have to foam.

💡 KEY TAKEAWAYS

Clay cleansing supports detox, oil balance, and mineral replenishment.

Herbal powder pastes offer plant-based nourishment without toxins.

You can create personalized, seasonal, skin-type-specific blends.

God built healing into the earth, and we’re invited to use it—gently and wisely.

And if you loved this episode, friend—it would mean so much if you left a review or shared it with another mama who’s ready to ditch the toxins and get back to the dirt that heals. 💛

Until tomorrow! Go rub some dirt on your face!

🔗 SCIENTIFIC SOURCES (for Show Notes)

Williams, L. B. et al. (2011). Antibacterial properties of natural clays. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

EWG (Environmental Working Group). Cosmetics Database. www.ewg.org