I am a super sucker for a good spa treatment. Its been a couple years now since one of the perks of my job was having to receive a massage every week to give out grades. (I’m wondering now why I gave that gig up! :)) One of my personal favorites are wraps. I love how soothing it feels to be wrapped up and feel all the yucks get pulled from my system.

I’ve recently been reading alot about bentonite clay and discovered its simply awesome for a variety of reasons. Wellness mama has a great post showing all the benefits of bentonite clay and how to use. What especially peaked my interest about it was using it in bath water to reduce the negative impact of the chemicals in the water that my daughter loves to splash and play in. I’m finding now that adding a tablespoon or so of a mix of bentonite clay, Epsom salts and dead sea salts to my daughter’s bath water makes me feel better about her playing in the water (our water is terrible, definitely not drinkable by any means except if you are almost 2) and I’m finding that my daughter is sleeping better!

I’ve written on my love of epsom salt baths in the past but I’m really enjoying the addition of the bentonite clay and I don’t think I’ll ever feel the need for an expensive burrito wrap at the spa now that I can make clay masks at home.

This was part of my week-long ritual to prepare myself for a new decade.

Bentonite Clay Mask

Equal parts clay and apple cider vinegar.

A little goes a long way! I was able to add about 2 tablespoons of each for a mask and body rub. When the clay is mixed with water or apple cider vinegar it expands and asks like a porous sponge that draws toxins from your body. It feels cool to the skin and eventually hardens and then leaves your skin feeling firm and smooth. A simply luxurious treat!

I left the mask on for 10 minutes or so and then washed it off. I massaged the remaining clay all over my body and then drew a warm epsom salt bath and soaked for 20 minutes or so. It was fantastic! Its my plan to do this at least twice a month.