Therapeutic Living Clay is a calcium based all natural Bentonite
clay of the Montmorillonite/Smectite group. Unlike other clays,
only Smectites can absorb and adsorb. It is
characterized by its expandable properties. TLC is often
referred to as a green swelling clay.
This rare natural desert clay, obtained from a sub-surface mine
in California, has been protected from leaching by the climate.
In addition this particular clay deposit was sealed away and
isolated from the natural elements by a cap of zeolite minerals
for forty-three million years.
Because its adsorptive properties have not been
compromised by air or ground water contaminants, this highly
charged all natural Calcium Bentonite Clay has a drawing power
of 33 times its molecular weight. Its extremely strong adsorptive
and absorptive properties make it ideal for use in deep
cleansing, clarifying of the skin, facial masks, body wraps,
detoxification and many other uses.
Adsorption and Absorption
The two words are similar but their differences are fundamental
to understanding how clay minerals function and how clay works.
Clays having the ability to absorb and adsorb are
called Living or Active clays, because they are capable of
changing and exchanging. Adsorption describes the process
by which the charged particles of other substances combine with
the charged particles on the outer surface of the clay
molecule. First imagine the structure of the clay molecule to
be similar to a stack of business cards with spaces in between
the cards. The clay molecule has unsatisfied ionic bonds around
its edges and naturally seeks to satisfy those bonds. For this
to happen it must come into contact with a molecule of another
substance with unsatisfied bonds that carry an opposite
electrical (ionic) charge. When the two molecules meet, the ions
held on the outer surface of the clay molecule are exchanged
with the ions held on the outside surface of the molecule of the
other substance.
Clay molecules carry a negative electrical charge while
impurities carry a positive charge. With the clay the positively
charged ions are attracted to the negatively charged surfaces of
the clay molecule. An exchange reaction occurs in which the clay
mineral ions are swapped for the ions of the positive charged
substance. The clay molecule is now electrically satisfied and
holds onto the positive ion until our bodies can eliminate both.
Absorption is a slower and more complex process. Acting
like a sponge, the clay molecule draws other substances into its
internal structure. Absorption can only occur when the
foreign substance has undergone a chemical change and is then
allowed to enter the clay’s molecular inner structure. Once the
foreign substance has undergone the chemical change, it enters
into the spaces between the clay’s inner structures. So the ions
that were formerly only sticking to the surface of the clay’s
outer structure through ionic bonding, are now pulled inside the
clay molecule. This is the primary reason why absorptive
clays are labeled as mobile layered or expandable clays. The
more the clay expands and its layers swell the more substances
that are pulled into the clay’s inner structure.
All absorbent clays have a charge on their inner layers.
This means that charged ions sit between the layers of the clay
molecule surrounded by water molecules. The clay expands as
foreign substances are absorbed and fill the spaces between the
clay molecule’s stacked layers. Absorbent clay will absorb
positively charged ions and impurities and ignore negatively
charged nutrients.
On a molecular level, Robert T. Marin, a mineralogist at MIT,
points to Bentonite’s minute particle size that creates a large
surface area in proportion to the volume used. “The greater the
surface area, the greater its power to pick up positively
charged particles of ions.” Mr. Marin stated that one gram of
this clay has a surface area of 800 square meters. That equates
to about 8 football fields in size. Thus the greater the surface
area the greater the power to pick up positive charged ions many
times its own weight.
The pH of Therapeutic Living Clay is 9.7, and thus it acts as an
alkalizing agent for the body. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14,
with 7 being neutral. Below 7 is acid and above 7 is alkaline.
Clay helps balance the body’s pH level. Clay baths are
increasing popular for detoxing, cleansing the skin and
balancing the bodies pH levels.
To sum it all up, Therapeutic Living Clay supplies the best, all
natural, most effective clay available today. We are very
pleased to be able to offer it to you in all of our products.
You can't buy more potent clay from any other source in the
world, and therefore, it is the ONLY clay we will use in our
products. We settle for nothing less than the BEST for our
customers!
For more information on how clay works, and
it's many uses, we highly recommend the book, Living Clay.
CLICK HERE for details
Also,
please visit AboutClay.com for more information on clay and its
uses
