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Rhassoul Clay for Shampoo
Posted on November 30, 2011 by Dawn Michelle in Hair
I have expressed my love for rhassoul clay over and over again. It is a major component of my skin care regimen, yet today I reintroduced it to my hair care again. Rhassoul clay is the perfect shampoo substitute as it gently cleanses hair without the strong alkalinity of no ‘poo options like baking soda. I can’t believe I wasn’t doing this all along. It is such an amazing clay and it is actually nourishing because of the higher ratio of silica, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and other trace minerals compared to other clays.I mixed 2 tbs of rhassoul clay to about 3 cups of distilled water (you can also try aloe vera instead of water with great results) into an applicator bottle which can be purchased at most beauty supply stores. Using an applicator bottle and diluting the rhassoul clay made it much easier to apply to my hair, and concentrate on my scalp for thorough cleansing. I washed my hair in about eight loose braids to avoid tangles during the cleansing process. I gently massaged the rhassoul clay and water into my scalp then lightly squeezed the rhassoul mixture through my hair and rinsed well. I followed up with my favorite DIY Herbal Hair Rinse which always feels like a luxurious spa treatment.
Using rhassoul clay as a no ‘poo hair wash gives my hair the extra bounce I love as well as a throrough cleansing without the dry queaky clean feeling that traditional shampoos give. Even for curlies that love to only use conditioners, mixing a bit of rhassoul clay with your conditioner would add that extra cleansing for the scalp that is necessary for healthy hair.
I am learning a lot about my hair using the no ‘poo hair method. I am no longer using any heavy leave-in conditioners, butters, or natural gels and prefer to use only natural oils. I don’t mind my curls not clumping which I was obsessed with when I was doing the Tightly Curly Method. Fluffy braid-outs or even blow dried hair is becoming my favorite styling methods. Mainly I’ve been wearing my hair in a high or low bun. I am finally letting my hair just be, versus coating it with many products or a lot of conditioner to shape it. So far I’m enjoying not using store bought products, and I expect this method to get easier and easier. I haven’t had too much of a transition using this hair care method, but it did take time to figure out what to use as a leave-in. I never thought only using a natural oil would be enough, but for me it is. Like I’ve said before, finding a more relaxed minimal way to create beauty is peace of mind and freedom. Plus it saves a ton of money!
Rhassoul clay can be found on Mountain Rose Herbs for an amazing price.
***Always use a plastic spoon to work with clays.
Read more about rhassoul clay here and see how I use it in my skin care regimen here.
(Image by Mountain Rose Herbs)
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26 Responses so far.
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Subscribe to Minimalist Beauty with bloglovin'. And find out what inspires me by joining me on Facebook and Twitter. Also check out my latest jewelry and knit designs on Etsy!
New Schedule on Minimalist Beauty!
beauty. simplicity. avant garde. art... handmade crochet accessories & semi precious stone jewelry
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Creativity is the greatest rebellion in existence.
~Osho
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have you tried detangling your hair with the clay on it? i use terressentials (clay) hair wash or a homemade rhassoul clay wash and detangling is easier with the clay. i love how my hair feels after washing with clay. peace <3
Hi Lana,
I haven’t tried detangling with rhassoul clay because I wash my hair in braids now. I also am using a very diluted rhassoul mixture. I noticed that the Terrasentials Hair Wash is a mixture or aloe vera juice, rhassoul clay, herbs, and essential oils. I love how pure the ingredients are although I have never tried it. How do you make your rhassoul clay hair wash when you make it? Do you use any other products or do you find it to be enough alone? Thanks for your comment!
Peace and Sunshine,
Dawn Michelle
This is interesting. I have very fine/thin hair which I stopped relaxing in September 2010. I find that any leave in conditioner, butter, oil makes my hair look even thinner and greasy, too, and what works best for me is to wash it with shampoo (just ordered the Terrasentials), then conditioner in the shower for 5-10 min, and then, leave it to air dry with a tiny bit of Aveda protein conditioner. I will try natural oils as well. I love your blog. Thank you.
Hi FH! Let me know what you think of the Terressentials Hair Wash. I hadn’t planned on buying any store bought products but I may give this one a try in the new year. I have more than enough rhassoul clay right now so I have no need to buy anything else yet. Terressentials is another company with pure ingredients which I love. Also I do understand the challenge with leave-ins. Have a beautiful day!
Now that’s why I had a bit of a hard time when rinsing…. lol I was using too much clay! I will dilute it more to make my life easier. I do love clay, it really is nourishing in a different way than oils are.
Hi Laura! Yes sometimes less is more with rhassoul clay. I’m still playing around with my no ‘poo hair regimen yet am really liking how soft rhassoul clay makes my hair feel.
I’ve been wanting to try rhassoul clay for a few months now but have never gotten around to ordering it. Great post! Another push for me to try it
Hi Amy, Rhassoul is amazing for skin and hair. I like to mix it with honey for my face and aloe vera for my hair. Let me know what you think when you try it. Peace and Sunshine!
Dawn-
Do you think Rhassoul is safe for use as frequently as every other day?
Hi Holly,
I do think rhassoul clay is safe to use every other day especially in a diluted form versus a hair mask so that rinsing will be very simple.
Best,
Dawn Michelle
hey dawn,
i just found your website and it’s wonderful! i just bought red moroccan clay to use as a shampoo. is it the same as rhassoul clay? do you think it would have the same effect on natural curly hair?
Hi Jennifer,
Red Moroccan clay and rhassoul clay are the same. Rhassoul clay diluted in aloe vera is very effective for cleansing curly hair. I prefer using the mix diluted versus as a mask so it will be easy to rinse out. I also enjoy adding a bit of rhassoul clay to my coconut milk deep conditioning treatments. I even use rhassoul mixed with honey to cleanse my face at night or as a body scrub although a bit messy. The options are endless!
Do you use the whole amount (2 T clay mixed with 3 cups of water) for just one wash or is this mixture for several uses?
Hi Grace, It depends on your hair length and how much cleansing your hair needs. I usually use the entire mixture. I also use aloe vera juice. Whatever portion you do not use refrigerate. Enjoy your day!
Hi,
I only have bentonite clay. Will a wash with bentonite clay remove the buildup and chemicals? How many washes are needed to fully remove them?
I recently used Suave Ocean Breeze conditioner as a cowash. It left a weird buildup on my hair. It feels stiff and strange. Plus the chemicals made me itchy and burnt feeling. Plus the scent gave me a headache
Hi aerith,
Bentonite clay will definitely remove the buildup and chemicals from your hair. You can mix bentonite clay with aloe vera or some apple cider vinegar and water. I’ve even mixed bentonite clay with coconut milk for a cleansing and moisturizing treatment. I kind of eye ball the measurements, but prefer it to be more of a liquid than a mask for easy rinsing.
Bentonite clay is very strong and has unique properties which draws out impurities rather quickly. I think it is perfect for monthly treatments to remove buildup if you use a lot of different products. As for conditioners you may find this article helpful.
Best wishes!
Thank you very much for your reply.
Hi!
I finally made the siwtch a few months ago to natural conditioners and shampoos (which I rarely use now). I decided to try this shampoo. But, I’m not sure if it has something to do with where I got the clay from, but I found it very hard to get through my hair. After putting the mixture in my hair in the shower, I’ve found it difficult to detangle with my conditioner (Treseme Naturals)…which is the complete opposite to what everyone else says about the clay.
I’m wondering if it has to do more with the amount of clay to water ratio? I used the ratio that you did. My hair is fairly long. I also find that it doesn’t wash completely out of my hair.
Help!
Hi Milessa,
What kind of clay did you buy? Also did you create a paste with the clay or dilute it heavily? I’ve noticed that when I’ve used Ayurvedic powders in my hair that were not finely grounded and as a paste it took forever to rinse it from my hair. When I’ve used finely ground clays or other herbs in my hair in a liquid like form I’ve had no problems.
When I was trying out Terresentials Hair Wash, it did not mix with any other conditioner. The ingredients in most commercial conditioners have a lot more synthetic ingredients and the clay may not be matching well with it. Even with more “natural” conditioners they don’t always match up. It just depends on the products. Also just know that rhassoul clay is amazing for skin so if you choose to not use it for hair you will still be able to enjoy the product. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Hi Dawn,
I bought an ounce to try from Country Soap Shack on Etsy. The first time I used it, I didn’t use as much water. The second time I used it, I used about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Rhassoul Clay to 3 cups of water. The second time around went better. I was actually able to detangle my hair with the conditioner. But, it was still a little diffiuclt to get my fingers through.
Afterwards I still felt like the clay was didn’t wash out completely.
I’m sure you’re right, the combination of products might not be matching well, and possibly it might not be as finely milled. Maybe I should add more water to the mix that I make? I’ll mostly likely take the plunge and try the Mountain Rose Herbs clay.
I’ve been trying pretty hard with the natural skin care as well. But the honey and apple cider vinegar just seems to be making all sorts of monsters appear on my face!
LOL
Thanks for your response!
Hi!
I also use rhassoul clay to cleanse my hair; I usually mix the clay with both water and aloe vera (my mixture is more on the thick side). I add a little grape seed oil, a small amount of pure vitamin e (only a tiny amount as this is the undiluted vitamin e oil), and then a few drops of lavender and/or tea tree oil. I’ve tried terressentials and really liked it, but the shipping costs are a tad high! So I enjoy making my own and tailoring it to my needs.
I also use Rhassoul as a facial cleanser and a body “soap” using much the same materials and usually a bit of raw honey. It’s wonderful! (although a bit messy). Rhassoul clay is a staple for me.
Cheers,
Tia
Hi Tia, Rhassoul clay is absolutely amazing! It is definitely one of the best clays that I have used so far. It is wonderful that you created your own body wash with it too. That’s awesome!
I’ve been natural for one year, it’s a battle! My scalp itches all the time and my hair is dry and brittle, just found out my hair is lw porosity and protein sensitive and that a high ph balance hair products is needed.. I’m wondering what do u use to moisturize your hair, do you use any creams..
Hi Alicia,
I very recently had another reader ask about low porosity hair care so I’m going to literally cut and paste the reply I gave her so that maybe it will also help you. Also I do use creams sometimes to moisturize my hair yet also use aloe vera. I wrote an article that explains my hair regimen in detail here.
Here was my reply to a previous reader:
“I hope that I can help out some with your hair care. For starters let’s try not to focus on curl definition and instead on moisture retention. Moisturized hair will in turn be happy hair since most curly coily hair is naturally dry. Also it’s no fun having oily hair from products sitting on the hair shaft so we’ll look at that too. It is important to create a simple hair regimen and take notes in a journal when you are first learning what works and what doesn’t along the way. Also I just finished this series with Part 4–Building A New Regimen.
Deep Conditioning:
You want to use heat every time you deep condition your hair. Hot oil treatments with olive oil or coconut oil or even a combination of the two may work best. Warm the oil then apply to damp hair and cover with a conditioning cap. Or you could do an oil treatment to freshly cleansed hair and sit under a hooded dryer. No matter when you decide it’s best to deep condition just make sure you use heat in some form.
Cleansing:
You may want to try using bentonite clay with apple cider vinegar for your herbal hair cleanser. You can add slippery elm powder to the mix since you have it as it will aid in the detangling process. I love using slippery elm powder. You may also want to see how the bentonite clay and slippery elm works for your hair mixed with water. Rhassoul clay may not be strong enough for your hair, yet feel free to try it again and take notes during the learning process.
Moisturizing:
If the oils and butters are sitting on your hair, begin moisturizing your hair with aloe vera juice first then allowing your hair to dry some before applying a lighter oil like jojoba oil which you already have or a bit of coconut oil. This DIY Leave-In Conditioner may be the perfect hair moisturizer for you and contains water, aloe vera, vegetable glycerin, and jojoba oil. Using humectants such as vegetable glycerin, honey, or agave nectar may work really well for maintain moisture in your hair without being greasy. Here’s a DIY serum that may help with the same ingredients that I’m already mentioning.
Wheat germ oil is one of my absolute favorite ceramide oils which makes hair strong and flexible. Definitely mix it with your favorite essential oil if you are using it as a leave-in as it has a strong scent. Just note that wheat germ oil can not be heated on the stove or in the microwave a maintain its properties so I wouldn’t use it necessarily for a hot oil treatment in that way. At the same time it may work well applying first and sitting under a hooded dryer.
I believe that stretched hair is more manageable than wash-and-go styles. I love how wash-and-go styles look, yet fell that braiding or twisting my hair makes it so much easier to handle and also helps my moisturizer and oils soak in my hair better. Try deep conditioning prior to and after cleansing hair to see what works best for you. I hope that this helps some and please keep me posted!”
I hope that this information will also be helpful to you and give you a few bits of info to get started with. Also know that when using bentonite clay as a cleanser with water the pH will be higher than when using with apple cider vinegar. You may find that using water with a higher pH may work better yet feel free to try both. Possibly an ACV rinse after wards if not using it in the mix will work wonders too.
Best wishes,
Dawn Michelle
I just found your blog and it’s amazing!
In fact, I was searching alternatives to the BS and ACV method because its alkalinity (my scalp is irritated and my hair is a mess right now). I have red clay which I use to exfoliate my face, so I wonder if I could use red clay for shampooing my hair. Have you ever used it? I will try it! Meanwhile, I’ll be waiting for my rhassoul to come soon!
Thanks a lot for this entry, I have found the solution for my hair! ^^
P.D: Sorry if my english is not good, I’ve forgotten a lot since I left school
Thank you Irina! The pH levels of baking soda and apple cider vinegar can create an imbalance for healthy hair. I think it is mainly the baking soda as you mentioned it is too alkaline. I do hope that you enjoy using rhassoul clay. Also check out this article on different herbal hair washes that you can create as well. Wishing you best and your English is fantastic!