Are “clay” and “ sand” the same thing?

[akseattle]

Are “clay” and “sand” the same thing?
I noticed in @Mobjack Bay ’s February entry, she said she used Brazilian red clay and in parenthesis wrote “sand”.
When I used my sand from Celestún last month, I noticed that little amounts left on the spoon or that dropped onto my mat just looked like powdered dirt after it dried. When wet, it looked like fine sand.
After I unmolded my entry, even though my 600g loaf had 3 oz of sand, which I thought was quite a bit, I couldn’t see the sand. But, after curing for a week or so, I could see the little granules of sand. Although I have NEVER tested out any soap before curing at least one month ( initially cuz I was afraid of lye and then cuz I have so much soap, there’s a lot of cured soap in front of uncured soap I can try.
But, my curiosity got the best of me. I tried this soap and it is wonderfully scrubby. Unfortunately, It seemed to disappear pretty quickly in my shower. I hope that was only because it wasn’t cured.
But, I digress.
I have some Brazilian red clay I have never used. I also have French green clay -in parenthesis , it says “sea clay” and some other French red clay. The French red clay says “silt” in parenthesis . I have some kaolin clay that doesn’t say anything in parenthesis. To be honest, they all look the same in terms of how fine they look to my naked eye. These all look about the same as my celestun sand- when dry. I literally scooped this sand up with my hand from the ocean bottom. Are all of these clays just fine sand??

Are all these clays exfoliants?? I thought these clays were just natural colorants OR if a little more used, would draw toxins out of one’s skin.
If I use 3 oz of any of these clays, are they an exfoliant, just like the celestun sand- which to me looks- literally like fine sand when it’s wet, and right now in my soap.
If I put this Brazilian red clay in water for a long time, would it puff up and look like fine sand? Right now, these clays all look like really fine dirt, like powdery dirt.

I would love to make some scrubby bars with these clays.

 

[Vicki C]

Clay vs. silt vs. sand has to do with the particle size and structure. I have bought some clays for soapmaking that have a sand element, which is ok, but sometimes the sand is too sharp as an exfoliant.
As far as drawing toxins out of one’s skin, I’d be cautious making that claim - definitely not if you are selling. I don’t think you are.
Here’s a visual showing the comparative sizes of different grains. Clay is different in that the particle structure is flatter than silt and it holds water better than silt.
@Mobjack Bay did some fascinating experiments separating clay elements with fine sieves and can speak to your questions.
There’s lots of info on the internet about clay vs silt vs sand. It’s not specific to soapmaking.

 

[artemis]

Are “clay” and “sand” the same thing?
I noticed in @Mobjack Bay ’s February entry, she said she used Brazilian red clay and in parenthesis wrote “sand”.

In that post, @Mobjack Bay used a different scrubby ingredient for each layer. She is listing the colorant followed by the exfoliant in parentheses used in that color of batter.

Colorant (exfoliant)
Brazilian red clay (sand)

 

[Mobjack Bay]

@Vicki C and @artemis provided most/all of the answers. Imagine my surprise when I found a very familiar sediment grain size chart posted on SMF. I still have a wallet-sized version of that chart somewhere in my possessions, along with my pocket-sized magnifying lens .

Sand, silt and clay are size classes, not types of minerals. As @vicki noted above, the mineral composition also changes with size. White beach sands are rich in quartz (mostly from weathering of granite) while the mud in estuaries and quiet coastal bays is rich in clay-sized particles of kaolinite, illite, montmorillonite, etc. that are mostly from the weathering of granite and basalt.

There’s well-researched info on cosmetic clays in skin care here:
https://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsalve.com/blogs/idas-soap-box-blog/cosmetic-clays-in-skin-care