How to Wash Your Hair With Rhassoul Clay

If you're a green beauty purist, you may prefer making all your own personal care products using minimally processed ingredients. And even though it means full control over every ingredient and process, going the purist route can sometimes be laborious, fiddly, and time consuming.

But not today.

Today, we're going to make a purist-friendly, environmentally-friendly, instant hair wash that is suitable for all hair types.

You: All hair types, Lise?? From thin, straight fly-away hair to super curly 4c hair?

Me: Yup.

Although this may sound impossible, I have yet to hear from anyone who has tried this and didn't find it effective for their hair - regardless of hair type. If you do give this a try, I’d love to hear your feedback.

Here's the coolest (and most purist) part of this whole exercise: you only need one ingredient.

Rhassoul Clay

This is also known as Moroccan Lava Clay, Ghassoul, and Moroccan Soap Clay.

There's a reason it has earned the name 'soap clay'. Not only will this rather boring-looking brown substance cleanse your hair and scalp effectively, it's recommended to help prevent dandruff. And if you have a tendency to itchy scalp after using a normal shampoo, prepare for non-itchy scalp bliss.

Are you ready to give it a try?

Tools and ingredient

1. Rhassoul clay (in powder form! The chunks shown above may look great but they are fiddly to work with)

2. Scale

3. Small bottle (50-60 ml) for short to medium long hair

4. Large bottle (75-100 ml) for long, thick hair

Tip: A dispenser cap will make application easy. Check the cap pictured at the top of this post.

Extra things you might want

• Your own label (cuz you're awesome at making instant hair wash and want to show it off)

How Much Rhassoul

Depending on your hair type, the amount needed for a single application ranges from about 5-6 grams (approximately a teaspoon) to about 20 grams (approximately 2 tablespoons).

For short, fine hair, 5-6 grams does the job.

If your hair is thick, super-curly, and long, you'll probably be needing the max amount – about 20 grams.

The specific amount that works best for your hair will come down to a bit of trial and error.

Method

1. Place a piece of non-stick paper on the scale

2. Weigh the necessary portion of rhassoul for a single application

3. Transfer the rhassoul to your empty bottle

4. Apply your own label (if you so desire)

You now have a ready-to-go handy dandy hair wash in a bottle. All you need to do is add water when you want to wash your hair.

Mixing For Use

1. Add water to the bottle until it is 4/5 full.

2. Shake vigorously to disperse the rhassoul.

3. Your hair wash is ready to use.

Tip: Do not add water until immediately before use as there is no preservative!

How to Wash Your Hair With the Mixture

1. Wet hair

2. Apply the rhassoul mixture directly to the scalp

3. Work the mixture around the scalp and to the tips of the hair

4. Let sit for a minute or 2

5. Rinse thoroughly

6. Dry and set hair as usual

Note: The liquid will feel a little 'slippery' on the scalp and will not make any suds. Even though it doesn't lather, it will cleanse both hair and scalp.

Tips

• This hair cleanser can take a bit longer to rinse out than 'normal' shampoo, so don't rush when rinsing.

• Depending on your hair type, you may find your hair has no need of conditioner.

• For extra soft and shiny hair, add a splash of vinegar to the water when preparing the mixture for use.

• Allow the bottle(s) and lid(s) to dry completely before next use.

Enjoy!

Where to Get Rhassoul Clay

Aroma Zone (France)

Mountain Rose Herbs (USA)

New Directions (Australia)

The Soap Kitchen (UK)

Soap and More (Canada)

Skin Dewi (Jakarta)

Do Tell

Feel free to share your experiences with this hair wash by dropping a comment below and remember to include your hair type.

If you prefer making shampoo bars, there’s a book in a shop to show you how. Click the picture below to learn more.

Make Your Own Naturally Balanced Shampoo Bars

When Rhassoul Isn't Quite Rhassoul

This happened a while back, but is a great example of how important it is to know your ingredients.

In an online meeting with a (lovely) client, we were chatting about the rhassoul clay she was working with and her comments caused raised eyebrows. She said she was using 'white rhassoul’.

White rhassoul?

I'd never heard of white rhassoul before.

I asked her to read the INCI on the packaging. It said 'white rhassoul'

I then asked where she had purchased it.

'Amazon'.

Hmmm.

This needed to be examined further, so she sent me a small amount so I could check out her clay. It wasn't long before I received a sample in the mail. That's it up there on the right. My own rhassoul is pictured on the left.

The ‘white rhassoul’ is definitely lighter than the clay I know and have worked with for years.

Here's how I put the white rhassoul to the test.

The Nose Test

A careful nose test revealed no discernible scent of any kind. It was as scentless as my rhassoul.

The Eye Test

The color is obviously lighter, but looking closely revealed something else.

See it?

There are pure white bits here and there.

I drew rings around a few of them below:

Hmmm.

I've worked with rhassoul from numerous suppliers – and never have I seen pure white bits in rhassoul, regardless of whether it was in chunks or powdered form.

The Touchy Feely Test

I rubbed a bit of the white rhassoul between my thumb and index finger. It felt quite a bit grittier than expected. When I noticed the powdery residue on my finger, the niggle of doubt I had about this product got worse.

My rhassoul was tested in the same fashion with middle finger. It felt smooth – not a trace of grittiness – and there was barely any residue on the finger. Here's a pic of my unrinsed fingers.

The Rinse Test

Finally, I rinsed the rhassoul off, and discovered 2 things:

1. If you are very careful, it is actually possible to rinse off a finger at a time.

2. There was a tangible difference in the 'afterfeel'. The white rhassoul left my skin feeling dry. The dark rhassoul left my finger feeling clean and normal.

Never Ignore a Niggle

Even though I had never heard of white rhassoul before, I'm willing to hazard a guess based on the highly scientific comparative test you have just been witness to that there is no such thing as white rhassoul.

I suspect the company selling this product mixes some portion of Fuller's Earth or Diatomaceous Clay (or some other less pricey and more readily available clay that may or may not be cosmetic grade) with rhassoul (which is not among the cheapest clays), labels it 'white rhassoul', and charges an arm and a leg for it.

But hey, I could be wrong.

It has happened.

On occasion.

The Moral?

Buy cosmetics ingredients from suppliers who specialize in cosmetics ingredients - not from massive all-in-one shopping sites that offer everything under the sun with no regard for authenticity or quality. Can you tell I am not a fan of sites that focus more on quantity than quality?

Do Tell

Have you ever seen or worked with 'white rhassoul'? Where did you buy it?

More Clay Stuff by LisaLise

Rhassoul - Cleansing with Mud

LisaLise Guide to Cosmetics Clays

How to Distinguish Between Moroccan Soap Clay and Moroccan Red Clay

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Take advantage of the Self Preserving Bundle and save! Available in the shop now.

Self Preserving BUNDLE

€92.50

How to Make Soap Free Cranberry Cleansers

If you think these look like white chocolate with a berry cream filling, I would absolutely agree with you. But I am pretty sure you would rather use these no soap cleansers to gently and effectively cleanse your face rather than take a bite.

The simple mix of clay and fats makes these cleansers great for all skin types (even sensitive) and will leave your skin feeing clean, refreshed, and moisturised. If you tend to have drier skin in the winter months (or your skin normally feels 'taut' after cleansing), these cranberry hearts might just become your faves.

Although these are ‘layered’, it isn't strictly necessary to do the layering part. The batch is split up and half is tinted with violet clay – just for fun.

Top Tip: Use a mold that is generally used for chocolates to make single-use sized cleansers. Molds for small guest soaps can also be used.

This is an updated version of my original formula (developed 10 years ago). Holy moly time flies when you’re having fun formulating!

This batch size will fill a single tray

LisaLise's No-Soap Cranberry Cleansers

Ingredient	Grams
Cocoa Butter	22.0
Shea Butter (raw or refined)	20.0
Castor Oil	18.5
Sweet Almond Oil or Apricot Kernel Oil	18.5
Cranberry Powder	5.0
Kaolin White Clay	26.0
Violet Clay	13.0

Method

1. Melt the cocoa butter and castor oil slowly over low heat (a water bath is ideal). Remove from heat

2. Add shea and sweet almond oil and stir until the shea is melted.

3. Pour half of the mixture in another container.

4. Add cranberry powder, violet clay and 6 g of the kaolin clay to one half, and the remaining kaolin clay to the other half.

5. Stir each until homogenous.

6. Pour a thin layer of the white clay mixture into the mold and chill for a few minutes.

7. Pour a layer of the violet clay mixture (use the entire portion) and chill again for about 5 minutes.

8. Finish by adding the remaining white clay mixture.

9. Chill a few hours (or overnight) until fully set.

10. Unmold.

Your cleansers are ready to use.

Ingredients Tips

• The shea in this formula is either raw or refined shea butter. If you want to substitute with shea nilotica (which is quite a bit softer than shea butter), lower the amount of shea to 14 g and increase the cocoa butter to 28 g.

• Both the violet clay and cranberry powder can be bought right here. (If you don't speak French, you may want to go through Google translate). This supplier ships worldwide.

Storage Tip

Store dry and dark (some prefer storing in an airtight container in a cool place)

These cleansers are anhydrous and as such do not require a preservative but will need to be kept free of moisture for optimal shelf life.

How to Use a Soap Free Cleanser

For one application to face and neck you will need approx 3-4 g (1 heart).

1. Soften the cleansing bar by rubbing it between your palms, then apply the softened mixture to face and neck and massage gently. (Optional: some prefer to moisten the skin lightly before applying)

2. Wipe off with a moistened cotton round or washcloth.

3. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry.

4. Enjoy your fabulous skin

Make a Whole Collection of Products

If you want to make more preservative free skincare, there’s an entire collection of beginner free formulas in the e-book below.

Make Your Own Preservative Free Natural Cosmetics With 21 Ingredients

Honey and Fruit Vitamin Rich Cleanser

This color of this cleanser reminds me of a lipstick color I like to wear and haven’t made in a while. I created this vitamin-rich honey cleanser using the template in the natural cleansers book (pictured below).

The fruits are all vitamin rich and have been added either as powders or as handcrafted glycerites. Included is amla, cherry, hibiscus, and orange.

These are super easy to make and there are endless ways of putting ingredients together to constantly renew the concept.

Do Tell

Do you make your own honey cleansers? What are your favorite ingredients?

Self Preserving BUNDLE

€92.50

Self Preserving Blue Spirulina Honey Cleanser

While we’re on the subject of playing around with ingredients and natural colorants, how does this little number grab you? This is a self preserving honey cleanser with a mix of 2 self preserving handcrafted glycerites (pomegranate and lemon), kaolin clay and botanical powders that include blue spirulina.

This batch is from April of this year and remained color stable throughout. I just finished the last bit of this batch but will be making another one pronto. There is something incredibly satisfyling about applying blue stuff to your face that both smells great, cleanses without drying the skin, and temporarily transforms you into a giant smurf-like creature.

To create this batch, I used the formulation guide that is in the Natural Cleansers book (where I show you how to compose your own self preserving cleansers with your own fave ingredients).

And because so many of you have asked, I’ve paired the Natural Cleansers book with the Glycerites book so you can get busy formulating your own ingredients and skincare using Hurdle Technology.

Self Preserving BUNDLE

€92.50

Rich Rose Cleanser

I seem to have a thing for developing cleansers. There’s something about the ritual of cleansing the face that makes me feel luxuriously pampered - whether it’s a morning or evening cleanse.

Above is an experiment that includes a medley of rose ingredients: rose powder, rose essential oil and rose-infused oil. To round out the rosiness, I also added rose clay (which does not include rose but gets its name from the color). I probably don’t need to describe the fragrance for you, but if you are a fan of all natural rose, then I’m pretty sure you’d love this.

This is an anhydrous product that rinses away without leaving the skin dry. And even though it ‘lives’ in my bathroom and is – in effect – exposed to moisture to some degree, I have not included a preservative. The packaging is carefully selected to ensure the product is squeezed out and not dipped into.

Do Tell

Do you take packaging into consideration when you formulate preservative free products? Please share in a comment below.

Psst! Enrollment for this course closes on August 22nd and classes start on August 24.

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