How to use a Clay Mask—Important Instructions

Although almost every container of clay mask will instruct you to apply the clay to your face and let it dry on your skin, this is not how I want you to use a clay (or any drying-type) mask—ever. The following may be news to you but believe me—you do not want to let a clay mask dry and harden on your skin! 

Here are my instructions for utilizing a clay mask for the optimal benefit of your skin:

• On clean, dry skin, apply a thick layer of clay mask over your entire face, even under the eye area. (Clay can help with puffiness due to its anti-inflammatory properties.) Thick layer means thick enough so you can’t see your skin underneath. A thin application will quickly dry on your skin.

• Unless your neck is broken out, you don’t need to put clay there. Instead, you can apply a hydrating mask or a thick layer of your moisturizer to include your neck in this treatment.

• Don’t forget to get some clay directly under your chin as well as that place between your jawbone and earlobe. I normally apply the clay right up on my earlobe. This whole little area tends to collect debris, and sometimes blackheads will form. Using a clay mask in these hard-to-reach areas will lessen the chance of congestion.

•  Leave the mask on for 15 minutes or so. If you don’t have 15 minutes but you really need the benefits of clay, keep it on for 5 to 10 minutes. Using it even for short amounts of time is better than not using it at all.

Never let a clay mask dry on your face. In fact, you don’t really want anything to dry on the skin’s surface—this will simply dry out the surface of your skin, which is never a good thing. It’s like taking one step forward, two steps back.

Clay doesn’t need to dry in order to draw impurities to itself. There are actually cleansing fasts that require you to ingest certain types of clay. Obviously the whole time the clay is in your body, it remains moist yet it still draws out toxins while it’s going through your system. Here, you’re just applying clay to your face, but the principle is the same. Clay does not need to dry on the skin in order to draw out superficial debris. Keeping the mask moist (see below) may contradict how you have always been told to use a clay mask, but hopefully this new information makes sense to you.

• After your time is up, rinse the clay off with tepid water (not hot or cold)
  
• Pat your skin dry
• Use your spray toner
• Apply your day or nighttime moisturize

When it comes time to rinse the mask off, you’ll be glad you kept it moist. A dried-on, hardened clay mask is very difficult to remove.

How to keep the mask moist. As I stated earlier, you want to keep the clay mask moist the entire time it’s on your face. If you don’t already have your toner in a spray bottle, at your local beauty supply or grocery store, purchase an empty spray bottle. Fill it with clean, filtered water. 

• Immediately after you’ve applied the mask, spray your face thoroughly with the water.

• After five minutes or so, you’ll feel the mask starting to dry (especially around the peripheries where the mask is thinner), so grab your bottle and spray your face again.

• During the 15 minutes you have the mask on, you will probably spray 3 or 4 times—whatever it takes to keep the clay moist. 

This application missed the all-important under-eye area.

Using clay is an integral part of keeping your skin clean and clear, as well as helping to stimulate blood circulation. For more of the benefits of using a clay mask, see:

• What is a clay mask and why use one?
• How NOT to apply a clay mask
• Ideas on when & where to do a clay mask

Do I really need to use a toner?

I use a cleanser and a moisturizer every day, morning and night. Do I really need to use a toner?

Yes, I believe you do need to use a toner and here’s why. Whenever you cleanse your skin, even with a quality product (one that is not stripping your skin like soap does), you are slightly disrupting the skin’s pH balance, while removing some oil and water from the surface. Your skin in normally acidic (about 5.5 on the pH scale) and this acid state helps keep bacteria away. This is the way nature intended your skin to be.

So by cleansing you are slightly disrupting this natural balance and you want to restore that acid mantle back to the surface of your skin. Toners are (or should be) acidic. Therefore using a toner after you cleanse helps to rebalance the skin and replace the acid mantle. Also, toners are primarily water, so using one helps to superficially hydrate the skin as well. After using your cleanser and toner, you are ready to use a hydrating cream (moisturizer).

As I recommend to all of my clients, use a toner in a spray bottle. In the product line I use (Yonka-Paris), their toners are in spray bottles. The toner comes out in a fine mist that makes using it refreshing as well as serving the important purpose of balancing the skin’s pH. And using a spray toner makes it very easy to use: after you cleanse and pat your skin dry, you simply pick up the bottle of toner and spray your face, then apply moisturizer. It couldn’t be easier.

Toners, although sometimes misunderstood, are an essential component to your healthy skin care regime. So the answer to the question, “Do I really need to use a toner?” is an emphatic yes!  

For more information, see:

• Proper pH & your skin care products
• Quick Tip: How to use a Toner 
• TONER: What to use and what NOT to use

Thoughts from a client after reading Timeless Skin

Thank you for your book, Timeless Skin. It opened my eyes to simple ways in which I can care for my skin better. It was so easy to read, well written, and very informative! Thank you for sharing your wisdom. The things that I have changed since I read your book are many:

• I now wash my face with only lukewarm water. I LOVE hot water; that will never change. However, now I will be much more protective of the delicate skin on my face and chest when I use hot water.
• I love using geranium oil on my breakouts! It really clears them up quickly without drying out my skin. I think that I like it more than other blemish control products, so for the price and the aroma, geranium oil is my pick!
• I am excited about your suggestion to take chlorophyll, as it has been recommended to me on several occasions. I am going to start that next month. I did not want to change multiple elements of my routine at once, so I am waiting for a few more weeks to start. 

Thanks so much for all your help with my skin :)

For more information, see:

• PLEASE—No Hot Water!
• Geranium (or Lavender)—spot remover for breakouts: Q & As
• How chlorophyll can help your skin (and ease constipation)

 

What is a clay mask and why use one?

What is a clay mask?

A clay mask is a deep-cleansing treatment for your pores. It is usually a mixture of different clays in an emollient or creamy base. The mask has a thick consistency and may be brown, green, white, or even blue. Clay is stimulating, helping to improve blood circulation yet calming to the outer skin (especially redness caused by breakout or capillary issues). Foremost is clay’s deep cleansing abilities. It is good for all skin types and can even be used on irritated skin. Clay is a contact healer and was used by Native Americans as a poultice (a clay “pack”) on wounds to stop bleeding and speed healing. Using a clay mask is another important step in keeping your skin clean, clear, and healthy.

Why use a clay mask?

A clay mask will help keep the skin clear and the pores cleaned out, which is of paramount importance. Clay helps lift debris and impurities from the pores with its strong drawing ability. Clay has a stimulating effect on the circulation. This brings in oxygen and nutrients from the blood to feed and nourish skin cells.

As mentioned above, clay also has a calming effect. Used on skin that is broken out or couperose (broken capillaries making the skin appear red), it can help to temporarily alleviate the redness, leaving the skin looking radiant. After using a clay mask, your face should be very clean, and the surface should be clear with a healthy glow.

I’ve read skin care books that discourage the use of clay masks. I suppose this is because the authors haven’t come across good masks that are truly effective. But effective clay masks do exist, and they are an essential step in your skin care routine, especially if you have clogged pores or problem skin.

I highly recommend reading the following articles to get you on the right path when using clay:

• How to use a Clay Mask—Important Instructions
• How NOT to apply a clay mask
• Blemish Help Quick Tip

The Basics 1-2-3 Program for proper skin care

You mention the 1-2-3 program a lot. What exactly is that?

In my first book, Timeless Skin: Healthy Skin for a Lifetime, I came up with what I term The Basics and The Extras for everyone’s daily and weekly skin care programs. (Everyone includes women and men.)

The Basics 1-2-3 Program is just that: the basic steps you need to do twice daily—every day—in order to have clean, healthy, hydrated skin. These three steps consist of:

1. Cleansing the face with a gentle milk cleanser or face wash
2. Toning, using a spray toner
3. Moisturizing with your day and night hydrating treatment creams (you may be using one cream for day and night, which is fine). Included in the hydration step is using an eye cream to moisturize that specific area

Any and all products you use on your face must be pH balanced (or acid on the pH scale). Please read the article listed below to determine the proper pH of your skin care products. (This is very important!)

Also, always use your skin care products on your neck as well as your face. Although the tissue on your neck is different (fewer oil glands, thinner skin), it still responds to care and will show signs of neglect. So include your neck in everything you do.

Skin care doesn’t have to be complicated. It also doesn’t require a lot of time. The best results will be found by being consistent. So your basic daily routine consists of the aforementioned cleansing, toning, and moisturizing; every day, twice a day. You can get by just doing The Basics, but there are a few additional steps I highly recommend, called The Extras.

For more information, see:

• The Extras—Do more to have healthy skin 
• Skin care is not rocket science—Back to The Basics
• Proper pH & your skin care products