My Experience with Bentonite Clay: One of My Healing Tools for Over 17 Years
By Liana Werner-Gray
One of the most powerful healing tools I discovered when I was at rock bottom in my health was bentonite clay.
When I was 21, over 17 years ago, during one of the hardest periods of my life, I was desperately searching for natural ways to support my body. I had a golf ball-sized tumor, parasites in my blood, Epstein bar virus, severe digestive system issues, acne scarring, inflammation, exhaustion, addiction to refined sugars and fast food, and my body felt completely overwhelmed.
At the time, after a live blood test revealed I had as riddled with parasites (in my blood), a naturopath introduced me to bentonite clay and encouraged me to begin using it both internally and externally, to remove the parasites from my blood and draw out my the toxins from my skin topically. Looking back now, it became one of the most important natural wellness tools in my healing journey.
I started drinking it regularly, bathing in it, using it as a face mask, and even creating clay pastes to place directly over the tumor and other areas of my body that felt like they needed extra detox. It became part of my daily healing practice because of how deeply cleansing, grounding, and purifying it felt for my body.
What Is Bentonite Clay?
Bentonite clay is a mineral-rich healing clay formed from ancient volcanic ash (including lava) that has aged over time while absorbing naturally occurring trace minerals like calcium, magnesium, silica, potassium, and iron.
The primary mineral in bentonite clay is called montmorillonite, which is what gives the clay its unique ability to expand and become highly adsorptive when mixed with water.
For centuries, cultures around the world — including the ancient Egyptians — have used healing clays for beauty, wellness, cleansing, gut health and skin support. It’s one of the oldest natural wellness remedies in history, and now modern wellness is rediscovering just how powerful it can be.
The “Magnetic” Properties of Bentonite Clay
One of the reasons bentonite clay is so fascinating is because of its natural electrical charge.
When hydrated, bentonite clay develops a negative charge. Many toxins and impurities can carry a positive charge, which allows the clay to bind to them through a process called adsorption, meaning substances attach to the surface of the clay.
This is why bentonite clay is often described as “magnetic.”
As the clay moves through the digestive tract, it can help bind to unwanted substances including heavy metals and support the body’s natural elimination pathways while the liver, kidneys, digestive system, and lymphatic system continue doing the deeper detoxification work the body was designed to do naturally.
Supporting the body’s ability to eliminate waste is such an important part of healing because when the digestive system is supported, everything else can function more efficiently too.
Why Bentonite Clay Became Such a Big Part of My Healing Journey
In 2009 I had my first experience with bentonite clay. At the time I was in Australia and drinking bentonite clay from Western Australia called “Australian Healing Clay”. And then in 2010 when I first came to America and was working on continuing to detox and get stronger and healthier, I knew I needed to find a local bentonite clay here.
I also noticed improvements in my acne scars, inflammation, and overall skin texture over time, which is one of the reasons I started calling bentonite clay “Nature’s Botox.”
How I Personally Use Bentonite Clay
Drinking It Internally
One of my favorite ways to use food-grade bentonite clay is internally as part of a short-term wellness and detoxification routine.
Because of its binding properties, bentonite clay helps to support the body’s natural detox pathways by binding to impurities within the digestive tract.
This has personally been one of my favorite wellness rituals for over 17 years.
Why I Love Using It Internally:
• Supports the body’s natural detoxification pathways
• Helps support digestive wellness and gut balance
• Provides naturally occurring trace minerals
• One of my personal healing tools for over 17 years
When I was healing the tumor for 3 months, everyday I drank the clay. I would mix about one teaspoon into a glass jar of water, shake it well, and drink. You cannot use metal with the clay because it will weaken the magnetic properties to bind toxins. That’s why I like to use a glass jar and just shake it up. Sometimes there would be thicker clay left at the bottom, and that’s completely normal. You can keep adding water on top of the thicker clay at the bottom. If you don’t like the taste of the clay just use a little bit less in water. It really has a mild and pleasant taste to me, kind of like clean chalky water. Now I drink it regularly, every other day. If you are healing I would suggest drinking it daily, and then can do it less frequent when you are in maintenance mode.
How to Use It:
Mix 1 teaspoon of food-grade bentonite clay into filtered water in a glass jar using non-metal utensils.
Bentonite Clay Baths
At the same time, I was also bathing in bentonite clay constantly. Those baths became one of the most relaxing and grounding parts of my healing journey. My skin felt softer, calmer, and deeply cleansed afterward. For a bath, add 1 cup of clay to a warm bath and soak for 20–60 minutes.
Clay baths became one of the most comforting rituals during my healing journey.
There’s something incredibly grounding about soaking in mineral-rich clay after a long day. It leaves my skin feeling soft, refreshed, calm, and deeply nourished.
Why I Love Clay Baths:
• Helps leave skin feeling soft and refreshed
• Creates a deeply grounding wellness ritual
• Supports relaxation and self-care
• Helps the body feel calm and restored
How to Make It:
Add approximately 1 cup of bentonite clay to a warm bath and soak for 20–60 minutes. I like to mix the clay into the water with my hands to help it dissolve evenly before soaking.
Face Masks for Skin Support
Bentonite clay has also been one of my favorite natural skincare tools for years.
I’ve used it consistently as a face mask to help absorb excess oil, cleanse pores, and support clearer-looking skin. It also helped soften the appearance of my acne scars over time.
Why I Call It “Nature’s Botox”:
• Helps draw out impurities from the skin
• Supports clearer-looking pores and balanced skin
• Helps improve the appearance of uneven texture
• Leaves skin feeling fresh, smooth, and glowing
How to Make It:
You can make your own clay face mask by mixing bentonite clay with a little filtered water or apple cider vinegar until it forms a smooth paste. Apply to the skin, leave on for about 10–15 minutes, then rinse with warm water. You can also use ready-made options like Redmond Clay Facial Mud for an easy at-home mask.
Clay Paste Applications
During my healing journey, I also created clay pastes to apply externally to specific areas of my body needing extra support.
This was one of the wellness practices introduced to me very early on during my natural healing journey, and it became something I returned to often.
How to Make It:
Mix bentonite clay with a small amount of filtered water until it forms a thick paste consistency. Apply gently to the desired area, allow it to sit for 20–30 minutes or longer if preferred, then rinse off with warm water.
Oral Care
I also love using bentonite clay in oral care products.
There are now beautiful natural toothpastes like Redmond Earthpaste and their newer toothpaste line, Redmond Leaf Toothpaste, made with bentonite clay to help support healthy gums, clean teeth naturally, and maintain balance within the mouth.
How to Make Your Own:
You can make your own natural tooth powder or toothpaste using bentonite clay as the base. Simply combine bentonite clay with ingredients like baking soda, mineral salt, coconut oil, and a few drops of peppermint essential oil for a refreshing natural oral care routine. Store in a glass jar and use with a non-metal spoon or toothbrush.
Why I Personally Trust Redmond Clay
The clay I personally use and trust is Redmond Clay.
What I love most is that Redmond Clay comes straight from ancient volcanic ash deposits in Utah and is carefully filtered to remove impurities while preserving its naturally occurring minerals.
It’s food-grade, which means it’s safe for both internal and external use — something that was incredibly important to me during my healing journey and still is today.
I’ve even been to the Redmond clay fields in Utah myself, and honestly, it was one of the most incredible experiences. Seeing where the clay comes from firsthand gave me an even deeper appreciation for how pure, natural, and untouched it truly is.
There’s something really special about using products that come directly from the earth with minimal processing and no unnecessary chemicals or fillers.
Redmond’s philosophy aligns so deeply with everything I believe in through The Earth Diet — supporting the body naturally with real ingredients from nature.
Final Thoughts
Bentonite clay has been one of my personal healing tools for over 17 years. I attest this to being one of the main reasons I have excellent gut health, the perfect gut microbiome, and no gut parasites or worms! Parasites cannot live in an environment with bentonite clay. The two cannot exist together.
It supported me during one of the most difficult chapters of my life when I was focused on naturally healing my body, reducing inflammation, supporting detoxification, improving my skin, and creating an environment where my body could truly begin to restore itself.
Healing is never about one single thing — it’s about consistently supporting the body with nourishing foods, lowering toxic burden, supporting detoxification pathways, reducing stress, and creating a healthier internal environment overall. But bentonite clay alone has helped heal so many of my clients and thousands of people.
For me, bentonite clay became one beautiful piece of that puzzle. It is worth you trying and incorporating.
And after all these years, it’s still something I use and love today.
With love,
Liana
P.S Click here for 15% off your next Redmond purchase. And keep in mind it’s always better to buy straight from a company’s website to support them as much as possible. But I do understand for some Amazon is just more convenient.
*This is a sponsored blog post
