The ‘multani mitti’ of the mountains.

I’ve been using multani mitti since I was a teenager.
It’s the one thing I’ve always gone back to when my skin is acting up and breaking out.
It sops up all the excess oil to help dry up and clear the zits away.

Now that I’m in my 30’s (shriek!), I stopped using it as I felt it was too harsh on my skin, which though still oily, is not as greasy as it used to be.

But then Pahadi Local launched their Markalak Mineral Rich Himalayan Clay mask – which is essentially multani mitti from the mountains, I got myself a jar because I absolutely love their Gutti ka Tel (you can tell from my review), and I wanted to see if this stuff was just as good.

You have to take a spoonful of the powdery clay and mix it with a few drops of rosewater (I used my favourite Forest Essential’s Toner Pure Rosewater) to make it into a paste before applying to your face (and body, if you like).

I noticed tons of differences between this Himalayan clay and the regular drugstore multani mitti that I had been using in the past.

1. The texture was velvety.

I really liked the texture of the Markalak paste. It was kind of smooth and velvety – not as gritty as the regular multani mitti. It blended beautifully and literally glided on my skin. It felt a richer and creamier.

2. It didn’t crack like a desert.

My chemist-bought multani mitti dries up super fast and gets all hard and cracked up. Before, I used to think that’s was great, only to realize that it’s actually really bad for skin when the mask cracks up – it can lead to fine lines!

So when this clay mask dried up quickly soaking up all the extra oil, but didn’t crack, I was impressed.

3. My skin was deep-clean but not dry and tight.

I’m used to my skin drying up and getting really tight after a multani mitti pack – again something I used to enjoy earlier, until I figured out that over-drying your oily skin actually makes it oilier as it starts producing more oil to make up for the loss! So when this clay mask mopped up all the oil, but still left my skin feeling soft afterwards, I knew it was a keeper!

MY VERDICT: It’s a good deep cleansing mask that takes away the oiliness and puts back skin-loving minerals. It’s like a mini-spa on your face.

So now, at 30+ years, I’m back to using multani mitti once a week – the only difference is that this one comes from the Himalayas packed with skin nourishing minerals.

If you want to get your hands on some Pahadi goodness, go to www.pahadilocal.com.