Sitback and hold on because I have ventured into territory which to me has always been, self imposed I have to add, forbidden. The territory of Clay Masks, I dipped my toe in with a French Green Clay mask. Honestly I have never wanted to do anything with clay for my face or otherwise because it’s, as the old title said, dirt. The old title was: French Green Clay Mask; Putting Dirt On Your Face For Facial Benefits. You are literally putting dirt on your face while trying to do something that is beneficial for your face. Do you notice the contradiction? Anyways, here we are. Me telling you all about how I *successfully* treated myself to a french green clay mask.
French Green Clay Skin Benefits
As you can already suspect I did not venture out looking for green clay or any type of clay when I got recommended to try a french green clay mask. I went out looking for a face wash because I had run out. In true me fashion I love DIYing my beauty products so I set out to find the products to do just that and boy did I succeed. My list of demands for the facial oil included:
- Antibacterial
- Not acne inducing
- Oil Control
- Purifying
What I just summed up are the benefits of french green clay, my absolute horror story. I couldn’t believe what I heard.
Let me backup and explain my hatred towards clay, no matter it being french green clay or bentonite clay or any other clay for that matter. Clay, to me, is basically glorified dirt. I simply fail to understand how after using that you can feel like you have a clean treated skin. It doesn’t make sense. I know the benefits have been proven through research but cognitively I still just see glorified dirt everytime I look at the bag. Currently side-eyeing the bag as I type this.
Since I now have an entire bag of french green clay I thought of doing some more research into the benefits of green clay for the skin. The most important and most frequently cited french green clay skin benefits are:
1. Great for Acne
2. Restoring The Skin Balance
3. Drawing Out Impurities
4. Oil control
5. Polish The Blemishes
6. Lots Of Helpful Minerals in French Green Clay
- Magnesium
- Calcium,
- Potassium
- Silicon
- Selenium
- Aluminum
- Titanium
- Cobalt
- Sodium
- Phosphorus
- Copper
- Zinc
7. Exfoliant
8. Clean Pores
All those clay skin benefits do sound great, even I have to admit that. So the next logical step is to figure out how to make your own french green clay mask.
French Green Clay Mask Recipes
I’m not one to easily turn down what could potentially be good for me so I decided to give it an anxious try as a mask not as a face wash as I was unwilling to deal with ‘’dirt’’ everyday.
Important PSA Regarding Face Masks
Before continuing I have to alert you to something very important. The bowl I use to make my recipes differs between recipes. This is completely depending on what I am putting in the mask.
Since the french green clay has lots of minerals in it you should not use a metal bowl. The minerals can attach themselves to the bowl and end up on your face. Next to that it can also render the clay less useful as new bonds have been formed within the clay. There are people (scientists) who say the PSA is needed and others say it is not. I believe it is so that’s why you got it.
I am going to give the french clay the best chance and use a wooden bowl. Also, I don’t want to risk my face for something I already have anxiety about trying (& neither should you ever)! Another reason is that I am using essential oils in one of the recipes for the masks which could cause damage as well, so there’s that.
You also cannot use a metal spoon either, use a wooden spoon or the brush you use to apply the mask to your face.
French Green Clay Mask Recipe 1
In a wooden bowl I mixed the following to create my green clay mask:
- 2 Tablespoons of French Green Clay
- 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
- 2 Drops of Tea Tree Oil
- 1 Drop of Lavender Oil
French Green Clay Mask Recipe 2
I wanted to try the french clay mask without the essential oils in it and with different oils to see if I got different results.
- 2 Tablespoons of Green Clay
- 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
French Green Clay Mask Recipe 3
- 2 Tablespoons of Green Clay
- 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Mask Application
When you first put any of the french clay masks on, you will notice them being really smooth and kind of velvety, which is really nice I must say. When you have the right clay consistency it spreads easily so that is a bonus too. The right consistency is really like liquid clay, it’s not supposed to be runny in a way that it drips but also not stiff that you can’t spread it easily over your face. A soft paste is what I would describe it as.
Well I let the clay masks sit for respectively, 10, 15 and 15 minutes each. It is here where things started getting dicey as the mask dries to the point you can’t really move your face. When you do move your facial muscles the green clay mask kind of crumbles off your face. I did look it up and this is supposed to happen, so the crisis was sort of averted upon receiving that peace of knowledge. However some say you are not supposed to let it dry completely. I have tried doing this but the parts that I put on first always dry out a bit, so there’s that.
The stiff feeling of the clay mask is uncomfortable when you don’t know it’s going to happen. For example the gold mask I use quite often has the same effect as does the baking soda face mask but for those I know it’s going to happen. I suppose it’s more about mental preparation than anything else really. Either way what you have to know is that the drying is sort of supposed to happen.
Recommended: Baking Soda Face Mask – Oldie but Goldie
Treat Yourself To A Gold Mask & Feel Like Cleopatra
Another thing you might want to know is when clay masks dry they change color. Basically a lighter color of the one you started with. Nothing too serious but something I thought you should know as I almost sat myself in front of the mirror to make sure my face was still okay.
Green Clay Mask Skin Results
As much as it pains me to say I have to admit that my skin responded really really well to the glorified dirt that is french green clay. Let me walk you through how the process went because there was another moment where I was incredibly freaked out. Yes, beyond the french clay drying to the point that I couldn’t move my face.
How To Wash The Green Clay Off Your Face
I have one of those facial cloths from the body shop that I use to normally wash off my baking soda masks. I wet it and put it on my face to kind of add ‘’moisture’’ back to the mask to then in circular motions gently rub the mask off. The actual wiping of the mask I do either with my fingers or with a konjac sponge both in the circular motions just mentioned.
Recommended: Trying out The Brand: Beauty Kitchen
You can read more about my love for the konjac sponge there! Been using the product for years.
Well I thought I’d follow the same steps to take off the french clay mask. Seemed logic to me after discovering it behaves, texture wise, the same. That was a horrible idea as both the cloth, which is white by the way and the konjac sponge got stained.
Now the cloth I washed an ungodly amount of times and it is back to ~less stained, but the konjac sponge can’t be washed as many times as it will rip apart sooner than it is supposed to so that one needed replacing.
Also, just for the record I don’t put my cloth in the laundry as I don’t want detergent on my face. I never understood why people do that. I wash mine manually.
The Process Of Washing A French Clay Mask Off
Either way going in circular motions helps to immediately exfoliate the face as well. And boy did the mask do a good job. Now I know it seems like all that was due to sponge, but no you’re wrong. I tried the green clay mask again and this time took it off with my *clean* fingers and my face felt the same. Exactly the same.
After the french green clay mask my face felt hydrated, juicy and silky smooth. I’m telling you the stuff works really well. The glorified dirt is good. I have to own up to that. Avoiding it like the plague was doing myself a disservice. Also around the T zone my pores were really visible beforehand and after the mask they had gone down significantly. Significantly enough for the french clay to be one face again as I am typing this.
The Verdict On French Green Clay Masks
In the end the mask gave me exactly what I went out looking for.
- Antibacterial
- Not Acne Inducing
- Oil Control
- Purifying
I did not break out afterwards, my skin is hydrated but not oily and kept that up for quite a few days and my stuffed pores were significantly less after use of the french clay. Would I say that you should try it, yes I would. The first time wasn’t as relaxing as it could’ve been due to my own stresses and worries but all the times afterwards have been incredibly relaxing. This clay mask has officially been put in my rotation.
Who knew playing with dirt would turn out as such a good thing.
Love,
DCPR.
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