For 10 years, I thought I was pampering my hair with a homemade clay mask, I was wrong! I’ve tried rhassoul clay, pink clay, red clay and bentonite clay. Mixed it with anything my heart desired from aloe vera juice to vinegar and sometimes oils to prevent dryness.

My jaw dropped when I read a post in the Facebook group of a holistic hair practitioner who said clay was horrible for hair.

No, Clay does not clean hair. Clay does not detox hair. The only thing clay takes away from your hair is moisture. Additionally, it deposits a concentration of minerals on your hair which can further block moisture.

Proceed with Caution Clay Masks on Natural Hair

Have you ever tried a clay mask on your face? They are great for clearing out pores, but they leave a residue. This residue requires you to follow up with a face wash. Clay masks are also leaving residue on your hair, so you need to follow up with a shampoo to remove the residue. Your hair is a little different from your skin because it doesn’t really have pores. So I felt like clay was depositing a film on my hair with little to no cleansing properties.

Alternatives to Clay Washes for Hair

I will Get into the details more in the post below, but here is a quick cheat sheet of some of the alternatives if you are looking for a deeper cleanse/detox for your hair.

Giovanni Tea Tree Shampoo	Clarifying Shampoo that I normally have on hand
Malibu Undo Goo	Another Clarifying Shampoo that is used by the salon that I visit
Malibu C	Hardwater Treatment for hair to remove mineral buildup
shower filter	Shower Filter to Prevent Mineral Deposits on Hair

What about store bought Clay Washes?

To be blunt I’m done with clay hair treatments in any shape or form… but commercial clay washes may be more beneficial than homemade ones. Some companies have clay washes that contain actual surfactants that can clean hair but I’m still not interested in them…I will get into that more below.

The Truth about Clay and why I won’t be using them on my Hair

• Clay is an ingredient for Cat Litter because it binds to moisture and pulls it away, the exact opposite of what I want for my hair.

• Clay contains a concentrated amount of the same minerals in hard water…again the exact opposite of what I want.
• Clays contain no surfactants so they can’t clean hair
• Clay can’t be used to style hair

In summary, clay is drying, clay makes non-beneficial mineral deposits, clay has no hairstyling benefits. It does not fit into my simple cleanse, condition, & style routine.

What Can you Use to “Detox” your Hair

Here are the 3 things to do, what I actually thought I was doing with clay.

The first thing I did was install a shower filter to reduce mineral deposits on my hair. I picked up a shower filter from amazon, it took all of 10 minutes to install. I chose this one because my water contains chloramine and some shower filters are not compatible with chloramine.

The second thing I did was start clarifying with a clarifying shampoo AS NEEDED. For me, that is about every 6 to 8 weeks. I am currently using Giovanni Tea Tree Shampoo because it is what I have on hand. When that runs out I will be using what my Stylist uses in the Salon which is Malibu Undoo Goo

The third thing I do is use a Hard Water Treatment as needed. For me, that is about once every 10-12 weeks. I use a hard water treatment from Malibu C. The Malibu C hard water treatment is available on Amazon. The Malibu C treatment is a powder that comes in a packet, when I emulsify it in the shower it becomes creamy and frothy and I can easily spread through my hair.

I NEVER use the clarifying shampoo and the hardwater treatment during the same wash day. I don’t want to over-cleanse/Detoxify my hair.

Do You use Clay Masks? Have you found them to be beneficial for your hair?