Using Clay For Oily Skin

The question about sebum is, if it is so important, why would anyone want to bind it with clay? The answer is that, even though sebum is important, it can be too much of a good thing. Overproduction of sebum leads to oily skin. One of the most common symptoms caused by oily skin is acne. In addition, excess sebum can combine with keratin (skin debris) to create plugs in pores, leading to the formation of whiteheads or blackheads.

What is Clay?

Clay is a term that refers to fine-grained soils with a combination of certain minerals and metal oxides, along with a small amount of trapped moisture. Together they form different mixtures of what geologists call layered silicates. There are more than two dozen major kinds of clay. Clays have a long history of medical, industrial, and agricultural uses. Up to four billion people worldwide live or work in buildings made with clay.

Clay as medicine originated in prehistoric times, when it was taken internally for soothing upset stomachs and to suppress hunger. Kaolin clay (also known as white clay, white dirt, or white chalk), is still taken orally for its health benefits during pregnancy. In South America kaolin clay is still consumed as a means to bind with toxins in wild potatoes. (Not to worry, our domestic potatoes do not contain these toxins except for a small amount in green skins.)

Another type clay, called bentonite clay, is also an important ingredient in many nutritional supplements for aiding digestion.

The versatility of different clays includes their uses in natural skin care products. The most important of these uses is their ability to reduce problems associated with sebum overproduction.

Clay vs. Sebum

Scientists have found that bentonite is such a powerful sebum absorbent that it can be used for measuring sebum secretion. The general method entails embedding a disk of fine Dacron mesh in fresh clay, then applying the disk to the forehead for up to 3 hours. Secretion rate is reflected by the amount of sebum extracted from one of these disks.

This method shows that those with acne have a three-fold higher rate of sebum secretion than people without acne. This kind of study points to a high sebum secretion rate as the predominant factor in inflammatory acne.

The use of bentonite clay for studying sebum secretion shows how useful it is for binding to sebum. This binding affinity is the underlying reason for including bentonite clay in natural skin care products for oily or acne-prone skin.

Combining Clay with Herbs

Focus on sebum secretion reveals a number of processes that interact with one another. Removing cellular debris, oxidizing triglycerides, and balancing microbe levels are the main ones. Excess sebum otherwise creates an imbalance in all of these processes, which becomes apparent when acne flares up.

Removing excess sebum is an important component for restoring healthy skin, although it is not the only one. It is equally important to provide antioxidants for controlling the degradation of triglycerides and for quenching the inflammatory response of the immune system when it reacts to bacterial growth.

The combination of processes that go haywire with too much sebum illustrates the need for multiple ingredients in skin care products that support skin health. The best natural skin care products should therefore include not only clay but also herbs that provide the necessary antioxidants and other ingredients for stimulating the healthy metabolism of skin. Good examples of such herbs include green tea, Artemisia, mulberry and many other herbs that are known for their benefits to skin health.

Natural skin care products available online at NaturalSkinRX.com focus on mixtures of clays and herbs in products such as the Cleansing Cream for Normal to Oily Skin by Jadience Herbal Formulas.

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