Alaskan Glacial Mud in facial mask

[earlene]

Thanks to @dibbles' friend who de-stashed some Alaskan Glacial Mud (powder), I now have a supply and plan to make some facial masks to share with family.

In preparation, I started looking around the interwebs for DIY facial mask formulas and also how to make peel-off masks (because that's the kind I prefer.) I still have a lot more research to do on making face masks, and that may take me some time, but since I have the glacial mud powder, I figured it would be best if I tried it out on my own face first to at least see how it feels.

So I decided to mix up a slurry in oil and give that go on my own face. I simply took a spoonful of the very fine powder & made a slurry in Olive Oil this morning. I was amazed at how smoothly it went on my face, with no feeling of roughness or grit at all. I only left it on for about 5-7 minutes, though because my facial skin tends to be very sensitive and clays can be drying.

Perhaps I should have hopped in the shower to rinse of the clay, but what I did was use a wet very thick wash cloth, and wiped it off with warm water. I felt some roughness then, so I was careful not to rub excessively and fortunately did not have but the mildest feeling of roughness. And my face did not turn red, nor did I suffer any abrasions, but in future, I believe I will rinse with running water in the shower, rather than a washcloth just to preserve my delicate skin. Eventually, I would like to make a peel-off mask.

I am not sure how frequently a mask with clay would be safe to use on delicate skin; I'm thinking not very often.

Some resources I am looking into for more information: (no title) and Point of Interest – The home of SwiftCraftyMonkey! Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys). Often strange, occasionally useful, and always worth a stop as a point of interest on your journey through the Intertron..

If anyone has any other research suggestions or resource links, please advise!

 

[TheGecko]

Once a week at the most.

 

[AliOop]

The DIY Bath & Body recipe that I purchased starts with a foaming cleanser/syndet base. She adds to that the glacial clay, plus white kaolin clay, activated charcoal, and either bentonite or rhassoul. I plan to use rhassoul because bentonite is often way too drying for me. Everything gets mixed into a mud consistency and then stored in jars.

She recommends spreading a thin layer on the face and letting it dry for about 15 minutes. Then start massaging water onto your face until the product foams up and can be washed away. I haven't made it yet, but will report back once I do.

 

[cerelife]

I got my package of clay from Dibbles yesterday! I'm going to give it a whirl tomorrow and I think I'm going to try a 3:1 ratio of the glacial clay to egg white powder in almond milk. I don't have sensitive skin but do have largish pores, so we'll see...
I'll let you know

 

[cerelife]

I tried a mask today with a 3:1 ratio of the Glacial clay and pumpkin powder with almond milk as the liquid. I was looking at the blueberries on my counter and almost mashed some of those into the mask - maybe next time.
I had intended to use egg white powder but the first thing I saw in my powdered ingredient bin was the pumpkin powder and it's almost Turkey Time, so I thought "Why not?"
Not a great choice. The pumpkin powder is a little on the gritty side so it was more exfoliating than my skin really likes.
Almond milk isn't a good medium (too thin) for the clay IMHO, but I thought I would give it a try since it's what I had on hand.
I think I'll back up and do a 1:1 ratio of the clay with water/then honey/then yogurt to see what my skin likes best.

 

[Rsapienza]

I have seen those peel off masks made with gelatin powder. I believe I may have seen it on Pinterest.

 

[earlene]

The DIY Bath & Body recipe that I purchased starts with a foaming cleanser/syndet base. She adds to that the glacial clay, plus white kaolin clay, activated charcoal, and either bentonite or rhassoul. I plan to use rhassoul because bentonite is often way too drying for me. Everything gets mixed into a mud consistency and then stored in jars.

She recommends spreading a thin layer on the face and letting it dry for about 15 minutes. Then start massaging water onto your face until the product foams up and can be washed away. I haven't made it yet, but will report back once I do.

The foaming cleanser/syndet base sounds like a good idea. Do you purchase a base or have you found recipes for a base as well? I've been looking at different facial cleanser bases, but don't really have much of a clue.

I tried a mask today with a 3:1 ratio of the Glacial clay and pumpkin powder with almond milk as the liquid. I was looking at the blueberries on my counter and almost mashed some of those into the mask - maybe next time.
I had intended to use egg white powder but the first thing I saw in my powdered ingredient bin was the pumpkin powder and it's almost Turkey Time, so I thought "Why not?"
Not a great choice. The pumpkin powder is a little on the gritty side so it was more exfoliating than my skin really likes.
Almond milk isn't a good medium (too thin) for the clay IMHO, but I thought I would give it a try since it's what I had on hand.
I think I'll back up and do a 1:1 ratio of the clay with water/then honey/then yogurt to see what my skin likes best.

Honey & yogurt sounds like a good plan. I believe fresh whipped egg whites might help make it peel-able, but I'm not sure how well the clay would work with a peel-able medium. I do plan to give it a try at some point, though. I've never made face masks before, other than to use fresh food ingredients right off the rind (like avocado or mango straight), or purchasing store-bought ones, so this is an adventure for me.

I have seen those peel off masks made with gelatin powder. I believe I may have seen it on Pinterest.

Yes, and for a vegetarian/vegan option, agar agar can be used instead, I think. I added some to my subscribe & save at Amazon, so I'll be giving it a try next month.

I bought some eggs yesterday so I can try it with egg whites in the meantime. I've never tried an egg white face mask, so I don't know if it will really peel off or not. One video I saw showed placing t.p. strips over the face after brushing on the whipped egg whites, then painting over the paper - much like creating paper mache, letting it dry, then peeling off. Adding t.p. to this process seems a little weird to me, though, so I'm going to try egg whites alone first & see if it peels that way then decide if it's worth it with the glacial mud powder.

For me, I guess my biggest concern is I don't want it to be drying to my face, which is rather sensitive. But can I make a mask that's good for my facial skin and still be okay for my granddaughter's facial skin?

 

[AliOop]

Hi @earlene,

The DIY B&B glacial clay mask recipe includes the recipe for the foaming cleanser base. Unfortunately, I cannot share that here because this was a purchased and copyrighted recipe. However, HumbleBee & Me has a few free foaming cleanser recipes on her blog, including this one. There are a few more on Susan's SwiftyCraftyMonkey blog, if you subscribe to that.

I believe you could also make a foamer cleanser base from whipped soap paste, like the one Soap & Clay features on her YT channel. But that is a dual-lye soap paste, so with your sensitive skin, I'm guessing you would not want to use that on your face.

 

[cerelife]

The DIY B&B glacial clay mask recipe includes the recipe for the foaming cleanser base. Unfortunately, I cannot share that here because this was a purchased and copyrighted recipe.

If you don't mind, could you share a link for which to purchase this recipe?

 

[AliOop]

If you don't mind, could you share a link for which to purchase this recipe?

Sure, the Etsy shop is DIY Bath & Body. But I just looked through her recipes and can't find that one! It's called Foaming Mud Cleanser. The owner is very responsive, so if you send her a message through Etsy to ask for the foaming mud cleanser with glacial clay, she can tell you if the recipe is still for sale. Maybe she updated it to call it something else.

I love all of her recipes so far except for the Hot Pour Shampoo Bar formula. I'm not giving up on it yet, but so far, it's ok but not great.

 

[lianasouza]

@AliOop, why don't you like her hot pour shampoo?

 

[AliOop]

@AliOop, why don't you like her hot pour shampoo?

It is not really that pourable. Also, the bars took days to firm up to where they weren’t dent-able with a soft press of the finger. The one shampoo I did with it seemed fine. I do plan to tweak my process a bit to see if I can get a better result. For instance, I will use a Pyrex measuring jug instead of a plastic one, with the hope that it will retain heat better and thus keep the batch from setting up as quickly.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I tried an Alaskan Glacial Clay mask a couple of daya ago.
I found this YT video helpful.



I normally wait until the mask is completely dry and my face is throbbing. Like the lady says, Noooooo, don't do that!

I followed her directions and got the most wonderful results ever. The clay dissolved so easily in water. Really nice. I don't see any reason to use anything else. I added enough clay to make a thick application which was ready to ready to remove about 5 minutes later. I bent over a faucet and did 5 rinses with warm water before patting dry with a wash cloth.

LOVE THIS STUFF!

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I tried an Alaskan Glacial Clay mask a couple of daya ago.
I found this YT video helpful.



I normally wait until the mask is completely dry and my face is throbbing. Like the lady says, Noooooo, don't do that!

I followed her directions and got the most wonderful results ever. The clay dissolved so easily in water. Really nice. I don't see any reason to use anything else. I added enough clay to make a thick application which was ready to ready to remove about 5 minutes later. I bent over a faucet and did 5 rinses with warm water before patting dry with a wash cloth.

LOVE THIS STUFF!

Wow her skin looks fantastic.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Wow her skin looks fantastic.

So did mine when I was her age!

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

So did mine when I was her age! View attachment 62523

I was thinking the same' bawhahaha . I'm wondering if clay mask removes DAS ' dreaded age spots'?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I'm wondering if clay mask removes DAS ' dreaded age spots'?

Good question! You know what? I haven't tried it but Phillip's Milk of Magnesia is said to help with DAS. I have some on hand. Hmmm I think I'll give it a go... next time I do this clay mask.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Here are some face masks from Majestic Mountain Sage. The one for Summer Fun with the Kids is especially helpful, IMO. It gives the "normal" options for using clay as a face mask.

https://blog.thesage.com/category/facial-care/

 

[lianasouza]

I normally wait until the mask is completely dry and my face is throbbing. Like the lady says, Noooooo, don't do that!

Vou can also spray some water, toner or hydrosol once it starts to dry and keep it longer on your face. Just remember to close your eyes!