I grew up in Prague, in a country known as the land of healing springs and spas, where soaking in mineral water and mud was simply what you did when your body needed care.
The book behind this post
Here’s a really good book for you to read, and here’s the free PDF so you can learn what we’ve learned: “We Eat Clay (& Wear It, Too!)” by Neal Bosshardt (2024 edition, free PDF). Neal’s family has worked with healing clay since the 1930s, and almost everything I share below I learned from his booklet. I’m grateful to him for sharing it so generously. Please read it for yourself.
Read “We Eat Clay” free (PDF) →
Long before pharmacies, people used earth itself as care. Greek, Roman and Arab healers wrote about clay. European naturopaths built whole practices around it. During the First World War, some soldiers even carried it in their rations. Mahatma Gandhi was a famous fan of mud packs. And animals seem to know it instinctively: wild and farm animals seek out clay deposits and lick or eat the earth.
What is healing clay?
The clays most often used for body care are bentonite and montmorillonite. They are really the same family, just named differently in North America and France. When clay meets water, it swells into a soft gel and carries a natural negative charge. One popular theory is that this charge helps clay hold onto impurities so they can be rinsed away. Clay is also naturally alkaline and rich in trace minerals. Honestly, nobody fully understands every way it works, and people who have used clay for generations care more about how it feels than about the theory.
Clay in traditional cleansing
In his booklet, Neal Bosshardt describes how clay has long been part of traditional internal cleansing, and many natural health practitioners include it in cleansing and parasite-cleanse protocols, alongside supporting the gut biome and giving the body time to recover. This is what the book and those practitioners describe, not a recommendation from us. If you are curious, please read the source for yourself and talk to your healthcare practitioner before taking clay, or anything else, internally.
How I use clay at home
- In the bath, with magnesium. About ½ cup of clay under the hot tap with a scoop of magnesium bath flakes, then a 30-minute soak. It’s my favourite way to unwind. Almost all of our bath blends already have clay mixed in (every blend except our bubble baths and our plain magnesium bath), so you can skip the measuring.
- As a foot soak. Two tablespoons of clay in a basin of hot water, 30 minutes, feet up. Follow it with magnesium oil.
- As a face mask. Spread it as thick as frosting, relax for 20–40 minutes, and rinse before it cracks. We use clay in our own Clay Mask too, which is coming back to the shop soon.
Three clay rules
- No metal bowls, spoons or lids with wet clay.
- Never reuse clay bath water. Pour it out, and don’t give it to your plants!
- Use pure clay with nothing added.
Want to go deeper?
Neal Bosshardt’s family has worked with clay for generations, and his free booklet is full of their stories and practical tips. I also love “Upon a Clay Tablet” by Jason R. Eaton and Raymond Dextreit’s classic “Earth Cures.” These are on our Conscious Book Club list.
Sources & credit
- Neal Bosshardt, “We Eat Clay (& Wear It, Too!)”, 2024 edition (free PDF). The history, bath and soak amounts, mask timing, and the three clay rules come from this booklet.
- Raymond Dextreit, “Earth Cures” (originally “Our Earth, Our Cure”)
- Jason R. Eaton, “Upon a Clay Tablet”
- Michel Abehsera, “The Healing Power of Clay”
This post is for general education and isn’t medical advice. Please talk to your healthcare practitioner before using clay for any health concern, or before taking anything internally.
Shop the ritual: Magnesium Bath Flakes (incl. Hot Spring Blend) · Magnesium Oil
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