How to Detox with a Clay Body Wrap

When I was in my 30's, my health was horrible. I had severe toxin overload. Among many other symptoms, I had a chronic rash on my chest and back. When I started doing clay wraps, I LOVED them. I craved them. I remember laying there for that blissful hour, actually feeling toxins being pulled from my body. Mud wraps were a major part of my journey back to health.

A bowl of warm bentonite clay, ready to apply.

Do you have toxin overload?

Signs of toxin overload include:

• persistant rash or other skin problems

• frequently getting sick

• yeast/fungal infections

• fatigue

• headaches

• constipation and other digestive issues

• brain fog

• weight gain

Becoming healthy requires a whole system approach. You need to heal all parts of your body that are damaged and restore healthy microbes to your gut. Removing toxins from your skin may help seemingly unrelated symptoms go away, because the body functions as a whole and each member supports the others.

Your body has several major pathways to eliminate toxins. It primarily depends on organs like the liver, colon, kidneys, and lymphatic system to send waste and poisons out. But when those avenues get clogged or compromised, your body will send garbage out through your skin.

This is why you get skin problems. Yeast, rashes and other manifestations are signs that your skin is trying desperately to get rid of bad stuff. If you have chronic skin problems, not only will your skin be happier, but your whole body will benefit from doing clay wraps.

Using clay to detox is nothing new. Animals eat clay when they don't feel good. I supply clay to my cows free choice along side their minerals. Indiginous cultures around the world consume clay to absorb toxins or apply it to treat skin conditions.

You can eat clay if you have an upset tummy or if you accidentally ingest some sort of poison. It tastes like mud, but it works!! If you don't like the taste of it, you can buy it in capsules that go down a lot easier. (Be cautious as too much clay can cause constipation.)

Technically, clay doesn't aBsorb toxins, it aDsorbs them. Clay has a negative charge. Most toxins, heavy metals and bacteria have positive charges. Adsorbtion happens when the negative clay particle binds to a positive particle and they become a neutral particle, at which point it can be removed by simply washing away the clay.

You have probably seen pictures of a woman with a strange green mask covering her face. Maybe you ARE a woman who has done strange green clay masks on your face! Clay is not limited to women's beauty. It is a powerful way to detox the whole body when applied to the whole body. If you have hot spots of irritated skin, be sure that you apply it there. Also apply it generously to your armpits which have a large concentration of lymph glands.

Two kinds of clay that you should be familiar with are bentonite clay and kaolin clay. Bentonite clay is the more powerful of the two and is great for acne prone, oily skin. Kaolin clay is more gentle and is good for dry skin.

You need to mix the clay with liquid to create a paste. If you use water, be sure that it is pure water, not city water. You can make make tea with your favorite herbs prior to adding it to the clay. Another option is to use aloe vera juice in place of water.

I personally use 2 cups of bentonite powder with 2 cups of hot water. This yields a smooth paste with the consistency of yogurt. If you want it to be a bit thicker, or if you use kaolin, you might prefer a little less water. I weigh about 135 lbs. You may need to use more or less clay depending on your size.

Until the writing of this blog, I have always asked my husband to help me do clay wraps because it is easier to have a helper apply it to your back and cover you up with the shower curtain. For the sake of this blog, though, I decided to do it solo so that I could tell you with certainty that if you don't have a helper, you CAN do it yourself. The only thing my husband did this time was to take a photo of me all wrapped up.

Please be cautious about slipping and falling. If you are at risk for getting badly injured if you slip, then you should have a helper.

How to Do a Clay Body Wrap

You will need:

• 2 - 4 cups bentonite or kaolin clay powder

• up to an equal amount of hot water, tea, or aloe vera juice

• non metallic bowl and spoon for stirring clay

• 1 or more full size towels

• 2 wash cloths

• bowl with 2 quarts of hot water

• optional pillow for lumbar support

• phone for music and timer

• plastic shower curtain

• combo bath tub and shower, if possible

All the items, ready to start mudding myself.

1. Mix your clay with the hot liquid. It may take a few minutes to completely absorb.

2. Get your space ready by laying a towel in the bottom of the bath tub and up the side where you will be reclining. Consider putting a rolled towel or pillow there for lumbar support. Spread the shower curtain over the towel so that you will be able to wrap it over you once you are mudded and ready to soak. If you have long hair, tie it up.

3. If you want, play relaxing music on your phone. Start a timer before your hands get muddy. Give yourself 20 - 60 minutes of soak time, and allow 10 minutes of prep time, which means setting the timer for a minimum of 30 minutes.

4. Now disrobe and stand on the shower curtain in the bath tub. Begin smearing warm mud all over your body. Cover every square inch, except for the obvious exceptions like eyes, nostrils, etc., and maybe don't do your scalp if you have thick hair. You don't need a thick layer of clay, just enough that it turns you grayish. If you can't reach your back, either have a helper do that for you or smear it on the part of the shower curtain where your back will lay. Do the soles of your feet last, once you have sat down.

Take a moment to imagine how gorgeous you look right now!!

Just me and my mud.

5. Fold the shower curtain over your legs and body. Dunk the wash cloths in the bowl of hot water. Don't wring them out, put them on piping hot and dripping wet. Fold one in half and lay it over your neck. Lay the other one flat over your face. It will tent over your nose to provide a natural breathing hole.

6. Get as comfy as you can. Relax and think happy thoughts.

7. When your timer goes off, peel away layers of wash cloths and curtain. Set aside the towels to wash later. Turn on the shower and wash away the mud from your skin. Once you are mud free, hold the shower curtain in the stream of water and wash the mud away from it too. Finish as you normally would in a shower.

When you get out of the shower, you will feel not just clean, but fresh. Your skin will be extra soft. It feels so good!

If you are trying hard to heal, make clay body wraps a regular part of your routine.

Clay is medicine from the earth.

I used to get sick constantly. I had a rash on my chest and back that never really went away. I had leaky gut. I felt like my body was losing the battle.

All of that is in my past. I overcame it and you can too.