Alright, I’ll admit it. I have a clay problem. So, when I discovered that Bulk Apothecary carries a clay I’ve never tried before… well, guys… it called to me. A siren song of powdery, pore cleansing goodness, and I was powerless to resist. The clay in question is Sea Clay, and it’s from the Dead Sea. I find there’s no better way to get to know a new clay than a face mask, and hence was born this Salty Sea Mud Face Mask.
Make sure you go outside and take some selfies with your face mask to confuse your neighbours.
Since it’s from the Dead Sea, Sea Clay is loaded with minerals—over 35 of them! It’s a fine greenish grey powder (much darker than the photo on the Bulk Apothecary website), and on the heavier side, as clays go. Not as heavy as bentonite, but nowhere near as light as the French clays or kaolin. I’d group it with rhassoul, weight-wise. It’s a bit sandy, but not overly so, and blends relatively easily with water to create a creamy paste. I decided to blend it with a bit of white kaolin to make for a slightly creamier, less drying mask, as I found the Sea Clay to be a bit strong for my tastes on its own.
From what I can tell, Sea Clay is Dead Sea Mud in dry form, which has a couple advantages, my favourite being that it doesn’t come with a preservative in it. Because Dead Sea Mud contains water, most varieties you’ll find for sale come with an added preservative. I don’t have anything against preservatives, but it’s nice to start with ingredients that are preservative free and add your own if they’re necessary. I’ll always use a face mask immediately, so there’s really no need for a preservative.
I elected to keep the rest of the face mask super simple. I added a wee bit of sea salt to the water, and some raw manuka honey. Sea salt amps up the mineral content in the mask, boost its cleansing power, and soften the skin. Raw honey brings lovely beneficial enzymes to the mix to help boost healing, as well as keeping the mask from drying out too quickly and dropping powdery bursts of dry clay onto your shirt.
Everything comes together quickly and easily to create a wee pot of creamy, honey-scented goodness. I spread it on my face, took some goofy selfies for y’all, and washed it off about half an hour later to find my complexion smoother and clearer than before, but not too dry or red. Consider me a fan of salty sea mud face masks!
Yes, your hair will stick to your face mask…
Salty Sea Mud Face Mask
5mL | 1 tsp warm water
1/8 tsp sea salt (I use these tiny measuring spoons for tiny measurements like this)
1/8 tsp raw honey (I used manuka, but you can definitely use plain raw honey as well)1 tsp white kaolin clay
2 1/2 tsp sea clayKick things off by measuring the water and sea salt into a small bowl, and whisking in the honey. I like to dip a small wire whisk into my honey to grab it—the exact measurement isn’t that important, just eyeball it—and then use that whisk to whisk everything together. Easy!
Whisk in the white kaolin clay (USA / Canada) first, and then the sea clay, adding it about half a teaspoon at a time. I find it’s best to sprinkle it over the water and let it wet out for a few seconds before whisking it in. It is a little prone to clumping, and you’ll probably think you’ve overshot the clay addition a couple times when you first start to stir after an addition, but the clay will break down and incorporate nicely.
When you’ve got a wee bowl of creamy grey paste that’s roughly the consistency of a soft frosting, spread it all over your face, avoiding your eyes, nostrils, mouth, and eyebrows (well, the eyebrows really only need to be avoided if you don’t want to look like a zombie Mona Lisa in photos).
Let it dry for at least twenty minutes before washing it off. This one’s a slow to dry mask, so I left it on for quite a bit longer (closer to 40 minutes) and really only washed it off because I was tired of having it on my face, not because it got extra tight or itchy like some masks can.
Follow up with a few drops of a hydrating serum—I’m in love with this one right now!
Want to make this mask in a big batch to use later? Read this!
New to face masks? Check out this video!
If I substituted powdered honey instead of raw honey, would you still use the same amount? Or would you have to use more/less of the powdered honey?
Honey is about 20% water, so I’d just 80% the amount of dried honey since it doesn’t have any water in it 🙂
Would love to try making! When you say 80% of powdered honey. What are you referring to?
Hey Cindy! Honey is 20% water, so when you dehydrate, you lose 20% of it by weight. So, if you purchase dried honey and want to use it in a recipe that calls for regular honey, just use 80% of the amount.
Hey there! If I wanted to remove the water for an oil and the honey for something else not water based, do you think it would last a while? I love the Dead Sea mud and would love to try making my own without having to preserve it. What do you think? Thanks in advanced!!
Dead sea mud already contains water, so that right there is going to be problematic for adding things and extending shelf life. You can always try it, but be safe!
Lol! I just bought some sea clay last week! I guess that means I must try this mask! I found out my favourite new liquid in face masks, horsetail/Shavegrass tea. My skin is in lurve!
Thank you so so so much for the introduction to all sorts of new ingredients!
OOoh, cool! I should give that go 😀
Oh, I like this one very much. It was smooth and silky and smelled nice, and indeed left my skin feeling soft and clean without being red or dry.
Fantastic! I’m so glad 🙂 Thanks for DIYing with me!
What should be the precautions if we make this mask in bulk quantity and preserve it?
Please don’t—I have an FAQ on this 🙂 If you are determined to it is an absolute must that you hire out professional challenge testing to ensure your preservation system works!