6 Ways Self-Love Will Help You Crush Your Goals
From breaking free of external validation to creating joy-based goals, discover a more sustainable and fulfilling path to success.
Secret Ingredient: Volcanic Clay
Volcanic ash clay (also known as sodium bentonite clay) is created when volcanic ash mixes with water. The resulting clay contains a combination of minerals that can provide numerous health and skin benefits.
by Staff
February 1, 2009
2 min to read
What it is: Volcanic ash clay (also known as sodium bentonite clay) is created when volcanic ash mixes with water. The resulting clay contains a combination of minerals that can provide numerous health and skin benefits. It is often referred to as “living clay” because of its rich, natural mineral content.
Where it comes from: Many years ago, a chain of volcanoes stretched from Mexico to southern Canada. Their powerful eruptions produced dust-sized particles. As this volcanic “ash” descended back to the ground, the minerals in the volcanic ash reacted with elements of salt water, forming a substance commonly known today as sodium bentonite clay. Over the years, sodium bentonite clay beds became buried by deep, dense layers of silica and mud. In time, however, natural erosion caused the bentonite layers to be re-exposed, allowing volcanic ash clay to be discovered.
Properties: Volcanic ash clay is highly absorptive (it can absorb seven to 10 times its own weight in water) and calming (it’s a natural anti-inflammatory). It is thought to help visually improve the look of blemishes, cellulite, sun damage, stretch marks, wrinkles, age spots, and more.
What it’s good for: The minerals in volcanic ash clay are known to exfoliate the skin, lifting dead cells and revitalizing the skin. It is also believed that volcanic ash clay helps to draw out toxins from the body. It can help reduce cellulite, stretch marks, and fine lines and wrinkles. It improves the appearance of crow’s feet, under-eye puffiness, scars, and blemishes. Volcanic ash clay helps replenish dry, dull skin and helps hide an uneven skin tone. For teens, the clay can help improve skin acne.
Where you’ll find it: Volcanic ash clay used to be the best-kept secret of most elite health and beauty spas in the world. But now, it’s more affordable and it can be found in facial masks or eye and lip masks. These masks help to hydrate the skin, tighten upper skin layers, and draw out toxins to create soft, clean skin.
Other uses: Due to its all-natural nature and the fact that it is a “living clay,” it’s actually safe enough to be ingested, sometimes in the form of a supplement to repair and rebuild tissues.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
More Wellness
The Invisible Hazard in Every Nail Salon and How to Fight It
From acrylic monomers to airborne bio-dust, the air inside a nail salon carries risks most professionals never see coming. Aerovex Systems reveals the source-capture and room-purification strategies that are setting a new standard for salon safety.
Sponsored by Aerovex Systems
Nail Safety Council Warns Holiday Shoppers About Toxic 'Magic' Gel Polish Removers
Products marketed as 'magic' or 'burst' gel removers may contain methylene chloride, a federally banned, highly toxic chemical.
How Beauty Pros Can Prevent Pain: Somatic Movement for Career Longevity
Working in beauty doesn’t have to hurt. Learn how Somatic Movement helps hairstylists, lash artists, and other beauty pros release tension, improve posture, and extend their careers.
Spa Day, Safe Day: Stop Fungal Infections in Their Tracks
As a spa or salon professional, your clients expect more than just beauty—they expect safety, hygiene, and peace of mind. Fungal infections like Athlete’s Foot and Nail Fungus are more common than you think, especially in environments where tools and footbaths are reused without proper sanitation. This blog covers how to stop these issues before they start, using proven infection prevention strategies for salons and spas.
Federal Research on Nail Salon Safety Concludes Due to Budget Reductions
A federal initiative aimed at studying chemical exposure in nail salons has ended due to staffing and budget changes. Here’s what the project set out to do—and what its conclusion means for salon professionals.
by Anne Moratto
Opinion: What You Need to Know About Pedicure Safety
For many people, a pedicure is a relaxing beauty ritual. But what most don’t realize is that this simple service, if done without proper hygiene and sanitation, can cause serious infections and long-term health issues.
Onycholysis: What Nail Pros Should Know About Nail Separation
Onycholysis is the separation of the nail plate from the nail bed. While it may look painful, it typically isn’t—at least not at first. But without proper care, this common nail disorder can lead to infections, deformities, and long-term damage.
What to Say--or Not Say--to Someone Grieving
Mckenzie Kool, Psychologist, MC, RPsych provides us with guidance on what may or not be helpful in speaking with someone who has suffered a significant loss.
Protecting Your Clients From Viral Infections
Clients come to you to feel their best—not leave with a viral souvenir. Warts and cold sores can spread fast in busy salons, but a few smart habits make all the difference. Let’s talk about what’s really lurking in your salon (and how to kick it to the curb).
Beauty Professionals, It's Time to Take the Green Pledge
As Earth Day approaches, The Green Beauty Community Foundation and the Green Spa Network invite beauty pros to step forward and embrace sustainability through the Green Pledge--a powerful initiative designed by and for beauty industry leaders.
How Not to Be Cynical About Valentine's Day
Don’t cancel Valentine’s Day altogether, urges Jill Palmquist. Instead, think of it as a (frilly, flowery, Champagne-bubbly) wake-up call to fall deeply in love with your own life.
Temporary Burnout or Time to Hang Up the Shears?
Life coach and Culture Ambassador of Sam Villa, Andrew Carruthers, outlines how to tell if your burnout is temporary - or if it's time to make a bigger career change.
Nail Care and Cancer Treatment: 6 Tips for a Safe Nail Service
Cancer treatment can create very specific challenges for your guest when it comes to hair, skin, and also nails. Here are some tips for working with your salon client who is going through cancer treatment to help you provide a relaxing, enjoyable, and also safe experience.
Sun Patch Protects Hands from Sun Damage
For those clients concerned about exposure from UV lamps, the Sun Patch might be a solution. Sun Patches are waterproof, reusable (up to 10 wears) block 98% of UVA/UVB rays, and maintain their UPF 50+ rating all day long.
by Anne Moratto
The Nail Doctor: Onycholysis, or Nail Separation, Has Different Varieties
One of the most common conditions that affects the nail is onycholysis, which is the separation of the nail plate from the nail bed. Onycholysis occurs as a result of or along with a great variety of nail traumas and disorders. Probably the most common cause of onycholysis is a fungal infection of the nail.
Standing Stretches for Physical Longevity
Hairdressing is a physically taxing career integrating simple stretches into your daily routine can reduce the strain repetitive motion puts on your body, help you stay flexible and strong and eventually prolong your career.