Easy Bentonite Clay Hair Mask Recipe

Tools and materials:

• Bentonite granules
• Pestle and mortar
• Plastic container for mixing
• Plastic spoon
• Unfiltered apple cider vinegar
• Alligator clips

1. Prepare your bentonite clay

I was able to find the Aztec clay only in granule form, but it was cheaper!

If you bought the granules, grind them into a powder with a pestle and mortar before making the mask. It didn’t get very fine, but do your best. Prepare about ⅓ cup.

2. Add apple cider vinegar

Pour the powder into a plastic container and cover with unfiltered apple cider vinegar.

Mix with a plastic spoon since the bentonite clay has a reaction with metal.

I’m not using measurements because you just need to eyeball it until it reaches the consistency of a lighter deep conditioner.

Here’s the consistency that we need:

3. Wet your hair well

Make sure all of your hair is completely saturated with warm water. 

If you have low porosity hair, this could take up to 5 minutes to wet each section.

4. Section your hair

Use a few alligator clips to separate your hair into a few smaller sections.

5. Apply the bentonite clay mask

Choose one section and start to apply the clay from the bottom, moving up the hair as you go.

Use your fingers to work the mask in and help it absorb.

Keep in mind that this is a cleaning process, so this bentonite clay mask is instead of a shampoo. 

Continue to douse your hair in the clay until every piece is covered. 

Clip back the sections that already received the mask and then re-wet the other sections right before applying the clay if they dried out.

Bentonite clay is beneficial for your hair because of its magnetic pull. All the dirt and grime from your hair attaches to the clay resulting in clean hair that’s free of build-up.

You’re going to be tempted to use it every wash day. However, this is a very intense treatment so you should only apply the bentonite clay mask about once a month.

6. Rinse out the clay

Rinse out the mask in sections by squeezing in a downward motion.

Once you remove the bentonite clay, you won’t believe how soft and moisturized your hair will look and feel. See for yourself:

It feels like my hair is squeaky clean but not in that dried out way. Even my curls feel more defined from the roots. Even with the granule form of the bentonite clay, there were no clumps left in the hair. 

Post application

After rinsing out the bentonite clay mask completely, I applied a nourishing mask, put my hair in braids and went under heat for 30 minutes.

To see my entire post-routine to this bentonite clay mask, check out the video from 9:45 until the end.

Bentonite clay hair mask

I would definitely try this bentonite clay mask again for the healthy hair benefits but I might tweak the post application stages. I hope this tutorial was eye-opening for you!

For another healthy hair hack, check out my easy rosemary water recipe for impressive hair growth.