Not All Clay Soaps are Made Equal

Recently, upon reopening, a mom and daughter duo came into the shop.The young teen was combating acne and they were looking for more natural skin care. 

“My daughter’s acne is really acting up. She is using a clay soap that I bought at a health food store. NO washes or gels because they seem to make it worse. Her shampoo is natural too, yet her acne is in a flare up. On her back too…maybe it is the winter weather? Do you have any suggestions?”

I smiled at the young teen through my mask and said, “Yes, winter weather can aggravate many dry, itchy skin conditions. So can stress, Covid, school and other issues you have to deal with as a teen. Our masks don’t help either. I love the fact that you do not use a lot of commercial products that may contain irritants. And the fact that you choose clay is a good idea.” 

I then explained that ‘Not all clay soaps are made equal’ After our discussion, the young teen left with our skin management program and our charcoal clay soap.

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Health food stores do have many varieties of soaps from bars to liquids.  While the use of clay on the skin has been around forever, clay soaps have been making a big splash for several years now. Prices range widely from under $2.00 to upwards of $40.00. 

There are some beautiful blends out there. Osmia Black Clay Facial Soap made with Dead Sea mud and Australian Black Clay.  It is available in Canada but is in the higher price range. I found another from Obakki for $20.00 which reads well. I love the avocado and castor oil. I believe these are both good buys.

But many clay soaps have ingredient listing such as:

Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Palm Kernel Acid, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Bentonite Clay, Brown Iron Oxide Colour, Parfum essential oils

Sodium Palmate may be drying.
Sodium Palm Kernelate can also strip the skin of oils
Colour and parfum are usually synthetic versions
The $2-3 price may be  attractive, but many of the ingredients not so. 

For our charcoal clay soap, we decided to invest in Glacial Marine Clay from BC. Not only are we happy to source Canadian, but we also are proud of the renowned quality of the clay’s precious minerals. Over 60.

"Our glacial marine clay can also help with clearing acne, removing dead skin cells, reducing fine lines and wrinkles, reducing the signs of eczema and rosacea (along with other common skin disorders), whitening the skin and improving circulation.'
Making Earth to Body’s Charcoal Clay soap an amazing buy.  All over. Hair too. An all in one cleansing experience. Soap From the Earth