Have you had your clay today?
Getting lathered in mud is not just child’s play any more. Adults and the savvy spa goers of the world are re-discovering spa muds (or more technically correct) clays thanks to research that supports their therapeutic qualities.
Since the earliest Antiquity, earth and water have been used to heal ailments and alleviate pain. Animals instinctively use clay when they are wounded or ill: they eat earth and roll in clays. It seems that these muddy places around which they gather are the source of some of the best clays. Used by indigenous cultures around the world as an important medicine and cosmetic since before recorded history, around the world, spa clays are used externally to absorb excess oil, dirt, and toxins from the skin, for exfoliating and improving skin circulation, and some are ingested to detoxify or treat mineral deficiencies. Considered sacred by Egyptians, clay was prescribed by their doctors for external and internal uses to heal wounds and burns as well as a multitude of gastro-intestinal diseases. In the 5 Elements Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is considered to focus telluric and cosmic energies and allow the entry of the Element Earth in the global dynamic of an organism. Indeed, during its very long process of birth, Clay has accumulated lots of different energies (electric, magnetic and chemical thanks to all the minerals and trace elements of which it is composed) which contribute to making Clay a unique natural remedy adapted for a wide array of purposes.
Our skin is highly porous and will absorb anything that is put on it, so by applying clay, your skin will absorb minerals and nutrients while simultaneously removing toxins.
Spa clay’s come in a range of textures from coarse to fine and in a range of colors from red to green, white, yellow, blue, grey and black depending on the natural mineral content. Red clays are high in iron, green clays are high in silica, while coloured clay contain iron oxides, Bentonite, hematite and a long list of other minerals such as sulphur, magnesium, potash, aluminia, ferric oxide, lime, soda and titania, humic acid, salicylates, phytohormones etc. etc. depending upon the type and source of the clay.The Maori reserve of Hells Gate, Tikitere is arguably New Zealand’s best known source of spa clay. The geothermal reserve was formed some 10,000 years ago and today is a major tourist attraction, with private and communal clay baths on site, or you can take some clay home for self application. Australia offers environmentally clean and geologically ancient clay with some dating back as far as 300 million years, and Abundant Springs claim that they are more absorbent and more active than other similar clays on the market. Casselman, Ontario Canada is home to the Golden Moor bog, which produced clay taken during the winter months from a depth of 5 – 15 meters under the frozen surface, uncontaminated by modern day pollution and where the thermal current circulates constantly. Cervia in Italy claims to have very rare, lagoon clay whose special properties derive from mineral salts and organic substances present in seawater. Many other countries around the world offer clay of varying types and purities to the growing number of spa goers. If in doubt about is purity, always ask for confirmation of its mineral content before purchasing.
Clay will purify, stimulate, invigorate and regenerate. “Have you had some clay today?”