HELP!!! Rhassoul clay will NOT wash out!

[Talma]

Ok, Someone has got to know how to get rid of this stuff! I washed my hair with rhassoul clay today. It's also known as Red Clay, Morroccan Clay, Ghassoul Clay, "Spawn of the Devil", etc.


It was diluted to a milk like consistency but I still have red traces in my hair after 5 washes with Conditioner (I'm CO) and using my *gasp* nails to try and scrape it off of my scalp as well as standing under the shower jet until my hair felt completely stripped of any moisture. I'm trying to avoid shampoo which will absolute destroy my hair by making it crispy and dry for longer than I care to think about.

After washing and applying leave in conditioner, I braided my hair into four plaits. My hair doesn't look red head on, but after a few hours I took a tissue and blotted at one of my braids a couple of times and it came away a pale russet brown each time. Sorry to all of those who just wanted to gag and faint at the same time with that one.

I need something that will work very well but gently on dry hair that has already been made even more dry because of that stupid powder. (I am about to go set the whole jar of it in the driveway so that I can back over it a few times with the family car and then dance on the remains!)

Any and all help would be GREATLY appreciated. :pray:

[Audrey Horne]

Hmmm strange. I haven't used this particular clay but I've used some other. I found it fairly easy to wash off. How exactly did you wash? I applied it to my scalp and hair, put a plastic bag for 20min, washed off with water.

You can look into shikakai, it's quite cleansing. Combined with something moisturizing it can give a wonderful wash IMO

[Talma]

Hey Audrey,

Thanks for replying. I put roughly equal parts clay to water. Let the clay fully hydrate before mixing and putting it into a squeeze bottle. I then wet my hair and scalp thoroughly in the shower. Applied the mixture to my scalp and hair while divided into four sections. Scrubbed well...or so I thought...for a few minutes. Rinsed out. co washed 4 times. Rinsed and scrubbed until water was getting too cold and hair was feeling stripped bare. Applied more conditioner, detangled, rinsed again and squeezedexcess water from hair.

On all the Youtube channels and blogs I referenced before trying this, no one else seemed to have this problem. I'm so glad I didn't buy this in bulk online but found a small jar at a local store!!!

[auburntressed]

Maybe you could try a mermaid rinse first, then try just rinsing again? Like... soaking your whole head in water for a bit to soften it all up.

[wendylai]

What conditioner you use?

Maybe it has gotten stuck on the CO? Maybe the easiest thing would be to use clarifying shampoo and then oil afterwards?

Or maybe oil first and then ACV rinse? Oil could separate the clay from the CO...

[Talma]

Maybe you could try a mermaid rinse first, then try just rinsing again? Like... soaking your whole head in water for a bit to soften it all up.


That's a very good Idea. I did notice that the heavier particles of clay did settle to the bottom of the bottle when I let it set for a few minutes. If I could find something to use as a basin I could kind of hang out upside down and swish for a while. I've heard some horror stories about UTI infections when using mermaid baths (I guess it throws a gals' PH levels off in some cases) so I'm trying not to submerge my whole body into the water while rinsing this stuff out. I've found more traces in my ears too *shudder* I'll never be clean again! lol

[Talma]

What conditioner you use?

Maybe it has gotten stuck on the CO? Maybe the easiest thing would be to use clarifying shampoo and then oil afterwards?

Or maybe oil first and then ACV rinse? Oil could separate the clay from the CO...

Hi Wendy,

I use VO5 to wash with which is a cheap runny conditioner. It usually does pretty well and I haven't experienced build up while using it. I skipped my usual coconut oil pre-wash treatment before using the clay because I knew it would just stick to that. But my hair feels completely stripped right now. I'd say even more stripped than what it feels like when using SLS shampoo so I don't think there's any washing conditioner left on my hair but of course I can't be sure.

I may have to just whip out the shampoo bottle *cue horror movie scream* and do as you suggested by oiling afterward. If I do go that route though, I'll have to wait a few days since my hair is really dry already and is extremely fragile. I don't want to do two harsh washes back-to-back.

Thanks for all of your help everyone! Has anyone else had this issue or have any ideas?

[Talma]

Ok so here's an update:

I've been thinking a lot about what wendylai said and I think that the conditioner is part of the problem. Not the washing conditioner like I was thinking earlier but the leave in. I used AO Honeysuckle Rose as a leave in for yesterday's wash and the one before that.

Usually I could literally put more than two large palmfuls of conditioner in my hair if I wanted to and after braiding it up and letting it dry over night it would all be soaked up by the morning. Because I am so used to being heavy handed with the condish, I did the same with the AOHR (not two handfuls but I was generous). Well, today I've noticed that my hair is super dull and when I rub my hands in it it feels waxy. Like my hair doesn't want to take the product in so instead it just sits on top.

Since I'm careful not to apply conditioner to my scalp, that doesn't explain however why each time I scratch my scalp I get a nasty little red brown gunk blob under my nail when normally I have no buildup after co-washing. Especially doing it 5 times in one shower. Or why when I went out into the sun and saw my nails in natural lighting they have been dyed a translucent orange. Also I think some of it may have settled into my eyelash line because ALL DAY it's been feeling like there is dust or a hair in my eyes but when I check the mirror it looks clean. I kid you not people. This is ridiculous. :thudpile:

So in the hopes to get rid of the "Red Gunk from Hades" I've purchased a castile soap bar to try tomorrow. If there are still traces maybe I'll dunk a bottle of water and baking soda over my head and scrub followed by an ACV rinse. And if that doesn't work then in another day or two I will bite the bullet and SLS the crap out of my hair....wait, did you hear that? I think my hair just hissed at me! *gasp* The nerve!!!

[Audrey Horne]

Could it be that clay started to dry and it got tangled in your hair? if it strips your hair so much maybe you could add oil in it? try to make a search on LHC, I think there was a clay thread before.

[Mesmerise]

Maybe you could try a mermaid rinse first, then try just rinsing again? Like... soaking your whole head in water for a bit to soften it all up.

Yes, this! This is how I remove henna and it is so much easier. I actually just run a bath and lie down in the bath and swoosh through my hair with my hands.