What is Clay?
Clay is a smooth, loose, fine-grained earthy substance primarily found in mineral deposits that lie on or below the Earth's surface.
Clay has a tiny particle size and is typically less than 2 micrometres in size. A micrometre is 1000 times smaller than a millimetre and is also known as a micron.
It is also a rock made mostly of clay minerals, including ceramic clays, mudstones, sands,
glacial clays (including significant quantities of detritus and transported clays), clay shales and deep-sea clays.
These are distinguished with different quantities of organic and detritus content along by the presence of one or more clay minerals.
Clays gain plasticity when wet due to water molecules covering the clay particles as film, but become stiff, brittle and non-plastic when drying. They are a reservoir of potassium oxide, calcium oxide, and even nitrogen and give flowability, oxidation, and hydration.
Importance of Clay
It’s Natural: Muds and clays are a natural resource, and it nips many problems from the bud without any side-effects which modern-day medications often leave behind.
Healthy: According to Ayurvedic belief, Earth is among the five components that make up the human body and has the ability to regenerate the body from within because of the fact that mud and clay (Earth) has a lot of vital minerals that battle toxins in our body.
Proven Benefits: Mud and clays have a powerful effect on our body. It can help heal our body holistically from improving digestion and pacing up metabolism by applying a layer of mud around the stomach to clearing away toxins and controlling the bad effects of ‘Pita’ in the body by indulging in mud therapy. Natural is just the best way to go!
Nature’s Prescription: Mud and clay are recommended by naturopaths and alternative therapists to treat problems such as nervousness, sleep disorders, anxiety, stress, sciatica and post-traumatic disorders. Not only can muds and clays clear blocked or tensed pathways around the brain, but they can also help to rejuvenate the area around our eyes that promotes good eye health. It reduces stress and anxiety, also can aid with allergies and infections. Some studies suggest that mud and clay can help reduce the risk of glaucoma as you age.
Immunity Booster: In India, kids grow up playing in the mud and with clay. This is one of the reasons why people in India grow up with a stronger immunity since muds and clays have a lot of vital minerals in them. The same can be said for African natives. In India, kids are encouraged to go out and play. Getting dirty playing in the mud is something that every kid intrinsically knows how to, and they are not discouraged from doing so. This is akin to the concept of vaccination. Kids are exposed to certain natural pathogens and bacteria from an early age and grow up to develop strong immunity against the most commonly found pathogens and bacteria.
How is Clay formed?
Clay is formed over long periods as the result of weathering which involves –
The primary agent of chemical weathering is water. Feldspar, one of the most common rock-building minerals, reacts chemically with several elements in water to form Clay. Feldspar typically occurs as colourless and odourless crystals which consists of aluminosilicates of potassium, sodium and calcium.
Several weak acids in water form Carbonic Acid, when Carbon Dioxide (in the air) combines with rainwater. Acid rain is also produced by Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen gases that serve as chemical weathering agents.
Compounds called Oxides are formed when oxygen interacts with other substances found in the rocks. For instance, rust is Iron Oxide. These oxides undergo oxidation as rocks are exposed to the atmosphere (air and water), destabilizing the rocks and breaking apart.
What affects the mineral content of the Clay?
The structure and makeup of the soil and the area from where the Clay was mined
How extensively the Clay was extracted
The sort of rock that it was derived from
Weathering chemicals
The existence of organic substances and active enzymes
Uses of Clay
No other earth material has such broad significance or extensive applications as the clays do. It is the Earth's oldest stone material that provides past civilization's human history.
Pottery: The useful properties of Clay were discovered by prehistoric humans and used for making pottery.
Clay Tablets: The first known tool for writing was clay tablets.
Industries: Clay is used in a plethora of different industrial processes, such as manufacturing paper, producing cement, and filtering chemicals. Clays have been used in the filtration system; calcium and magnesium are removed from the solution by the Clay and replaces sodium.
Construction: About two-thirds of the world's population live or work in buildings constructed with Clay, usually baked into bricks.
Animals: Even animals use mud to shield themselves from insects and diseases, protect themselves from direct sunlight, and cure their skin in particular. They provide the natural habitats for almost all plant growth and thus for nearly all life on Earth's surface as soils.
Curing: Absorptive and adsorptive powers of Clay are used to cure several skin problems. Absorption occurs when the liquid enters internal layers or pore spaces within the clay substance like a sponge that soaks up oil and impurities. Terminologically, adsorption is the mechanism of attraction, association and aggregation of molecules to a solid surface like a magnet. Clay is negatively charged which attracts, binds, and draws off positively charged impurities.
These are just a few uses of Clay.
Clay's study is a dynamic topic that soil chemists and other scientists devoted themselves to researching and understanding throughout their lives.
I'm not a Pedologist, and by no means I compare myself with them. Because of my profession, I have spent days studying the subject to understand the advantages of cosmetic Clay and got this job done for you about "Need To Know" information. Whatever little yet important I could learn and understood, I am presenting it before you.
Continue reading to know more about the difference between Clays and Cosmetic Clays...
What is the difference between Clays and cosmetic clays?
The majority of pure clay minerals are white or light, but natural clays possess many impurities. Shades, such as a reddish or brownish colour in the clay is due to the presence of small quantities of iron oxide. Natural iron oxides are not safe to use on the skin till they get treated and purified in the lab after it has been obtained from earth.
After extraction, clays are processed mechanically, like crushed and ground to fine particles. Fortunately, this process doesn't change or lessen the mineralogical or chemical properties of the clay. They are then exposed to heat and oxidation gas treatment to destroy microbial contamination to ensure that they meet the necessary requirements.
Cosmetic-Grade Clay has been highly processed and examined for use in beauty care products. They are enriched with minerals and commonly used in handmade soaps, dry shampoos, facial masks, bath soaks, scrubs and even homemade baby powder.
What is the difference between Mud and Clay?
Mud is basically a term for a mixture of water and some blend of soil. It comprises of small rock particles of different sizes, plus organic compounds. Mud comes in numerous forms and types and is graded according to the size of the rock particles such as clay (less than 0,002 mm), silt (0,002 mm to 0,05 mm) and sand (.05 mm to 2 mm).
Clay is a special type of mud—a naturally formed combination of fine-grained dirt, clay minerals and organic compounds. Clay is found worldwide with different shapes, colours and properties.
Any provided clay is typically a mixture of clay minerals with one or two predominant minerals. These predominant minerals enrich the clay and assess the form and strength of the clay.
Are Clays and Muds good for skin?
Clays have been used in personal care since the earliest recorded history for their medicinal and cosmetic benefits. It is the most powerful and natural way to cleanse, relieve, and cure skin and wounds.
Clay is best known for its remarkable detoxifying properties for all sorts of skin types. it is considered to have a lot of positive effects like clarifying blemishes and skin cell regeneration.
Clays have the potential to exfoliate and absorb excess oils when mixed with water. It cleanses dirt and attaches it to impurities and removes them from the skin and hair pores.
It stimulates circulation and gives the skin a smooth, safe glow and invigorates the skin.
This wonder beauty dirts are an absolutely necessary part of skincare, commonly used in scrubs, cleansers, soaps and soaps all over the world.
Are all clay the same?
Let's not overlook the fact that clays are not equal, that they are not formed similarly, and that they will not function the same way.
Their specific mineral content and physical structure, such as colour, indicate the variety of minerals that may be found in a given clay. Each type of clay has different properties and water absorptive ability. They are typically made up of many different minerals containing one or two primary minerals. Thus, the number of deposits and their dimensional structure provide the skin with a different advantage.
Depending on their mineral composition, they also have a different electric charge that helps to attract and bind other contaminants and metal ions to the layer of the clay particles.
All clays, however, can remove oil from the skin, although some have better drawing skills than others.
For example, those who seem to have dehydrated skin may find that white clay better. On the other hand, people with oilier skin could prefer Fuller's, Earth Clay.
There is no "pure one" mineral clay found in nature as clay is a mixture of a number of minerals with one or two predominant minerals. Clays are thus categorized on the basis of their key mineral components.
For example, a high percentage of Kaolin clays, Illite, and Montmorillonite can be present in Bentonite clay.
The above-provided information is purely based on my own research and study, and I hope this is a useful resource for you!
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