Happy Holidays from The Raw Spa!

Hey gang! We here at The Raw Spa wish you happy holidays and a brand new year! We’ll be delaying this weeks “WTF is…” Until January 2nd while we try to sleep off the massive holiday hang…nail. Hangnails. From mixing stuff so hard. Yeah. That.

The store will still be open and you can still support us on Patreon as well! you can find our Patreon here, at The Raw Spa Patreon! Or if you just want to chat you can email us and we’ll wish each other happy holidays!

See you in 2016 folks!

-The Raw Spa Team

WTF is…Rose Clay?!

This week we here at The Raw Spa decided to keep with the theme of earthy goodness and cover another type of clay that should be part of your regular skin routine, Rose Clay.While it’s cousin French green clay is a fantastic cleanser with a hint of utility, rose clay is more of a balanced package. But before we get into that, let’s take a closer look at the actual contents of rose clay.

Jack of all trades among facial clay! Image via brambleberry.com

Bet you didn’t know this:the gentle rosy pigmentation in rose clay comes from the many iron oxides contained within the clay. Does that chemical name sound familiar? It should, because iron oxide goes by another name: Rust. Now before you go and throw out everything with iron oxide on it’s label, know that the iron oxides present in cosmetic products are first, not harmful and second mostly used to get the rich range of red and orange pigments iron oxides naturally produces.

The only connection between this and your cosmetics is the chemical reaction that gives them color. The more you know! Image via abeautifultrenchitwas.com

Now natural coloring aside, rose clay is one well balanced hunk of earth if we do say so ourselves. The main function of any good clay mask is to utilize the clay’s naturally absorbent properties to pull toxins, impurities, and excess oils out of the skin. But Rose clay, in addition to doing all those things, also reduces inflammation, reduces skin irritation, tightens pores, and removes dead skin cells. Hunk of earth indeed.

You will find us here at The Raw Spa utilizing rose clay in our Nefertiti products from the Jewel of the Nile line. In particular, Nefertiti Bath Cupcake, bath truffles, salt bar and exfoliant bar. Most of our Red Room products from the Erotica Sensualis line also utilize rose clay.

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WTF is…French Green Clay?!

We all know that old cliché on sitcoms where the wife walks out with a mask of green goop on her face, hair all bundled up in curlers. Husband does a spit take and queue artificial laughter.Chances are that green goop was a french green clay mask, and the wife from [insert sitcom name here] was doing herself a favor by wearing it [insert laugh track]. Seriously though, French Green Clay is mega healthy for your skin. So let’s dig in.

Talk about a cleanse! This stuff will pull all the yuck out of your skin! Photo via http://www.circulating-oils-library.com

Let’s start with a fun fact: Just because it’s always called French green clay does not necessarily mean it’s from France. The name comes from the fact that a while back rock quarries in southern France pretty much monopolized the stuff once they started digging it up. When similar deposits of the clay were identified in China, Montana and Wyoming it became a much more common commodity.

Below are granules of unprocessed French green clay. Above is your basic French green clay mask gel. Picture via http://www.eytonsearth.org

But why would people go gaga over this green goop? Well French green clay is an extremely powerful cleanser. French green clay is so powerful it is sometimes used in Europe as an internal cleanser. Basically it acts as a sponge for any impurities and toxins in or on the body. In fact a study by Arizona State University reported French green clay as an effective inhibitor of E-Coli, Salmonella, and other serious bacterial pathogens. It also stimulates blood flow if applied topically. So to answer the previous questions, because the fancy french ladies wanted it to look young and healthy FOREVER.

Selene from our Jewel of the Nile line is what you want from us if you’re looking for French green clay. Selene salt bars, Selene exfoliant bars, Selene bath truffles, Selene bath cupcakes. Yeah, Selene is your girl. We also use French green clay in Aftercare from the Erotica Sensualis line. YOu’ll want to check out our Aftercare exfoliant bars and salt bars for that deep cleansing scrub. And for those of us who have time to draw up a bath, check out our Aftercare bath salts, bath cupcakes and bath teas!

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WTF is… Rice?!

Pop Quiz: What is the most widely eaten food for over half the worlds population? Seriously, stop copy pasting the question into google and just guess. If you said wheat, close but no cigar. IF you said corn, well not for lack of trying. The answer is in fact good old fashioned rice! That right rice is the predominant energy source for the entire planet. And since thats a lot of rice to eat, we found other uses for it as well. Skin care for example! So lets take a second to get to the bottom of the top grain.

So much rice! All the rice! All the goodness! Image via en.wikipedia.org

Today, the majority of all rice produced on the planet comes from China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Korea and Japan. And though it can be grown in wildly different environments, Asian farmers account for 87% of the world’s total rice production. Which is fair seeing as they had it available the longest, and even may have been the first to domesticate rice. Chinese legend attributes the domestication of rice to Emperor Shennong, a cultural hero in Chinese culture who invented chinese agriculture.

Eaten, used, and appreciated all over the world! Image via food.ndtv.com

Now pseudo-mythological sovereigns aside rice is good for you inside and out. Nutritionally it provides more energy per 100 gram serving than every other major staple food. And outside well…Rice Bran Oil is the healthiest oil according to the recommended most fatty acid levels by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Linoleic, and oleic acid, rich in vitamin E, an anti-oxidant AND medically proven cholesterol-lowering abilities? You do the math.

Back to pseudo-mythological sovereigns, all our Hatshepsut and Selene products from the Jewel of the Nile line contain both rice AND rice bran oil to help in keeping your skin as healthy as it can be.

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