REVIEW: Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay

Besides Retin-a and Spironolactone, the other thing that has greatly helped my skin is the Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay mask. Like most girls, I've always loved anything like a mask or face peel that makes me feel pampered like I'm at the spa. Most masks I've tried make my skin feel clean, but I've never noticed an actual difference. This one is different. 

My boyfriend of all people is the one that introduced me to this mask. Lucky me he’s one of those guys that actually cares what he looks like, so we mask together and get facials together all the time! The mask is made of Bentonite clay that comes from Death Valley, CA. The clay is supposed to give a negative charge on the poisons and toxins in your skin which have a positive charge. It’s pretty cheap too. I always get mine from The Vitamin Shoppe for about $7 and it will last me several months of regular use. I’ve heard that they carry it at Whole Foods as well. It starts as a powder and you can mix it with either water or raw apple cider vinegar. I've only ever used the vinegar but I’ve heard it works just as well mixed with water. 

Mix the two ingredients together using a non-metal mixing bowl and utensil, supposedly the metals positive charges have an impact on the clay making it less effective. Apply to your (clean!) face and allow to dry. The instructions say for about 10-15 minutes but I usually leave mine on for 20-30. This is a mask that you can FEEL working! The longer it dries the more you can feel it. It has almost a suction type feeling and really increases the blood flow to your face. The label says you can feel your face pulsate which is totally true! Just be careful if you have sensitive skin as it is pretty powerful stuff and can start to hurt if you leave it on for too long.

 

It’s a good idea to get a washcloth wet with hot water and lay it across your face when removing this mask to soften it first. Don’t scrub this off your face! Just wet your face over and over until it’s all gone. My face is always very red after washing this mask off because of all the blood flow, it usually goes away within half an hour or so. Be sure to put a good moisturizer on afterwards as well as this mask does pull a lot of the moisture out of your skin. What I love about this is you can see results immediately. My pores look smaller and you can see that a lot of the blackheads were pulled out with the clay. Like I said this is  a pretty powerful mask so I wouldn’t suggest using it more than once a week. I use it about 1-2 times a month and still get great results! Happy Masking!