Pure Mud #MarkandJos

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

Time for another DIY day, and today, I'm making masks - my favorite, with Pure Mud!  If you've never slathered some clay all over your face, then you are missing out.  I have a few tips and tricks, and some of my favorite things to add to a mask to tell you about today, too!

Mark & Jo's Pure Mud is pretty pure - like 100% pure.  It's Natural Calcium Bentonite, and nothing else.  Bentonite clay gets a natural electrical charge when mixed with water, but that charge isn't going to shock you.  It creates a natural magnet for all the dirt and debris that are lodged in your pores.  That's why it's such a great mask, and it's also good for adding to bath water and foot soaks.

I won't lie - this stuff is a little messy.  You can see what a finely milled powder it is.  Great for skincare, not so great for the shirt I was wearing when I opened the jar to take this picture.  Poof! Just be careful when you're handling it, like any jar of dry powder.

There's supposed to be a scoop in there, but I haven't found it.  I actually just used the lid as a scoop, and it worked just fine!

As a person with aging, oily skin, I love the detox and oil-sucking properties of a clay mask.  You can just add the clay to water or apple cider vinegar and get a great mask for cleansing and toning.  But, I want my mask to do a little more, so I add a touch of honey for its ability to hold on to moisture, a dollop of Aloe Vera for its healing and soothing properties, and a few drops of my favorite essential oil to add to masks - Green Tea with a touch of citrus.  Green Tea is a natural antioxidant (adding pure matcha would also be great!) and I love the soothing scent of the orange rind in this oil.  Clary Sage is another one that is just so soothing and uplifting, and Peppermint is a common favorite.

That's one of the best things about DIY'ing your own mask - you can add whatever ingredients your skin likes, and whatever scents you like.

When working with dry clay, I don't recommend adding water straight to the clay.  If you've ever tried to make gravy by adding cornstarch to a liquid, you'll know why not! It tends to lump up, and you have to work harder to get the lumps out.  I usually find that clay dissolves really well in Apple Cider Vinegar, but it also dispersed perfectly when I added it straight to the Aloe first, mixed it well, and then added the other ingredients.  Even when I added more clay, it mixed in with no lumps because there was a nice base mixture.

I usually crop my hair out of these pictures, but I'm so loving that sassy side-pony, 80's style I have going on.  Who says you can't look good in a mask?

Here's another masking tip that you can use with any mask, whether you DIY or not - use a toner before you mask.  I love to spray on either a Rosewater or Herbal water toner first - toners usually help topicals go deeper into the skin, which is what we want a mask to do, too.  Also, it keeps the mask wetter longer, and a dry mask doesn't do anything for your skin.  You can use the toner to periodically re-wet the mask to keep it working!

I was inspired by the gradient on this packaging to do my own! I started with Zoya Pippa at the cuticle line, and went to Butter London Sozzled towards the tip.  I layered Glitter Gal Soft Transitions Green over it all to give it a little shimmer.

My skin loves this Bentonite Clay mask.  You can see how much brighter and cleaner my skin is, and it's so soft.  All the dead skin and debris are gone, and my pores look smaller and tighter.  Regular masking keeps it looking better, longer!  If you're interested in getting your own jar of Mark & Jo's Pure Mud, you can find them on Amazon, where this 1lb jar currently retails for $10.50.

Do you DIY your own clay masks?  Do you like straight clay and water, or what are your favorite things to add to it?