Moroccan Rhassoul Clay is HAIRmazing!

looks like chocolate pudding, doesn't it? 

Although I've been meaning to try the top two (bentonite & rhassoul) hair clays which have been recommended by many Naturalistas in the past few years, the difficulty in accessing these clays, as well as many other great products have kept me from trying them. Most of the these products can only be purchased online and since I don't really NEED those products, I just stick to the ones I can purchase from the store and save on shipping.

Luckily for me, I attended a mini workshop organized by Yemi of Shakara Natural Tips where I was surprised by the unique selection of products she sells. I noticed one of the hard to find products she had for sale at the event was Rhassoul clay, so I immediately purchased a 100g bag for $10.

It took me about 3weeks after purchase to try the product as I planned to do a major cleanse before I start another series of protective styling.  Had I known the amazing benefits of this clay, I would have used it on the same day I purchased it or paid the shipping fee to have it shipped to me a year ago when I first heard about it!

What is Rhassoul Clay?
Rhassoul or ghassoul is a natural mineral clay mined in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco since the 8th century. It is combined with water to clean the body and has been used by Moroccan women for centuries to care for their skin and hair. Rhassoul contains silicon, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, lithium, and trace elements (wikipedia).

Hair Benefits
Cleanse, softens, smooths, detangles, conditions and deep conditions the hair.

                                    5 key ingredients                         

Unlike the reddish/brownish refined powder you might have seen online or elsewhere, this soap-like clay comes out chunky when first mined. It is then further refined and grounded into a powder. I suppose the benefits I got from this mud was due to the quality and richness of the product as it was packaged and sold in it's purest form.

Clay Recipe, this is my personal recipe, so feel free to experiment and create yours. Your base should be Aloevera juice (AVJ) and Oil for their anti-dandruff, conditioning and hair growth properties.

2tbsp rhassoul clay (it swells when you add water to it, so a little goes a long way)

2tbsp Aloe Vera gel

1 tbsp olive oil

2tbsp castor oil

1/4 cup aloevera juice

I kept adding more AVJ to keep the pudding like consistency of the mixture because I found that it started to become more paste like the more I mixed and crushed the rocks. This makes sense because the clay had to absorb a lot of liquid in order to fully dissolve. The amount of AVJ you add is up to you as some like it paste like, others pudding like and others more liquidy.

I also applied it to my face to reap its skin benefits

Application
1. Apply clay directly to small sections of hydrated (not damp) hair, starting with your ends and working it down your roots. You could also spritz your hair with water during application to prevent it from drying out.
2. Cover your hair with a plastic bag or cap and let it sit for about 30min. I left mine in longer because I had to finish up what I was doing.
3. Rinse hair by letting the shower wash out the mud and then massage your scalp to exfoliate and cleanse. Do a final rinse in sections to ensure that you get the clay off your hair as much as you can. After rinsing in sections, I immediately twisted my hair into 8 chunky twists to prevent it from tangling when it dries and to also make moisturizing easier.
4. Moisturize and style as usual.
This is a one step, time saving process which doesn't require the multi-step and multi-product processes we are all used to. No need to prepoo, shampoo, deep condition and condition. Just apply one "product" and it does all the jobs of those 4 products and more!

NOTE:
*There's no need to detangle, prepoo or wash the hair prior as this clay does everything in one go. I applied it on dry, dirty twist out and my hair detangled during wash.
*DO NOT twist up your hair like you would when you wash in sections because you want to make sure the clay washes off completely from your hair. Also, the detangling properties of this clay prevents the hair from matting up during wash.

                                        Also applied on my back to help with my bacne                                      

Results
Clay felt like melted chocolate on the hair and even smelt like it. My hair felt melted, light, smooth and soft it was very surprising!  My twist out was more defined, fluffy and softer than usual. I've never experienced such results with a product and I was wowed for days, even up until now! I mean, you gotta try this product to really understand what I mean.
I heard some people experienced a drying effect with this clay, and I think it must have been due to the fact that they only used water or may be they used a refined clay. So for best result, I suggest using my recipe and ordering this unrefined clay from Yemi. 

                                             Hair looks visibly smooth and shiny. plus twists stayed put                                        

Verdict 
I had such a great experience with this product that I will certainly make it a staple product. I'm thinking of using it about every two weeks. Eventhough the product is a bit expensive, I think it's worth it as I saved so much time not having to detangle prior and deep conditioning after. I also saved using the products I normally would on wash days and after.

Shiny hair!

I'm surprised hair companies aren't capitalizing on this. I know what i'm going to be buying when I eventually make it to Morocco.