I would not use it as a facial! Clay used for facials is probably sterilized. As a potter I would perform a few tests.

1. Does the clay hold together when you squeeze it in your hand, 2. Can you roll out a coil with the clay and wrap it around your finger without cracking? . How much debris is in your clay, roots, stones, etc. The process for removing the foreign material involves picking out the larger items. Then spread the clay out on an old sheet. Let it dry completely! When it is dry , break it up in smaller pieces and put into a bucket. Fill the bucket with enough water to cover the clay. DO NOT STIR THE CLAY. Allow it to slake. It will "dissolve" into a smooth slip mixture. The next day pour the slip through a coarse sieve into another bucket. This will remove all the small debris. Allow the mix to settle and scoop out the water. Spread the remaining slip out on a plaster surface and let the plaster absorb the extra moisture. The clay will stiffen to the point where you can make something with it. I use the clay in my back yard and it fires to a beautiful brick color. Why cannot I make clay outta this river bed clay.?..When I dig deep into the banks you can clearly see the clay and = smell it

How to Make Pottery From Natural Clay

Hand building with natural clay is fun Natural clay comes from stream beds, lake shores and even from your own backyard, depending on where you live. When wet, it is a gushy, but pliable, form of dirt; when dry, it is rock hard, but crumbly. Processing natural clay will take more than one day and will require table and floor space. You will probably want to do this somewhere like the garage or basement instead of the kitchen, as this is a messy and long term project. However the end result is worth the wait. Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions
Things You'll Need

Clay dug from the ground Newspaper or kraft paper A rubber hammer

A piece of heavy canvas A wire sieve or window screen A siphon tube, cup or ladle Appropriately sized containers to put the clay into A large putty knife A wire rack (optional) A large amount of surface space (table or counters). Clean sand or commercial ball clay, powdered or processed. A wedging board (or a board to wedge on) A cutting wire.

Cleaning the Clay

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1 Spread the clay out on a clean sheet of paper covering a counter, table or a supported window screen, to allow air flow from all sides. Let the clay dry out completely.

2 Wrap it in a piece of heavy canvas and pound on the canvas to break it up. Pound the clay until it is powdered. Remove rocks, sticks and other debris.

3 Sift the powdered clay through a sieve, or window screen, into a container double the size you would need to hold the current amount of powdered clay. Remove any extra unwanted debris, such as pebbles or small bits of extraneous matter.

4 Pour water into the clay. Make sure there is enough water to cover the clay entirely. Let the clay sit for a couple of days without stirring or disturbing it. If the clay has soaked up all the water, add enough to cover the top of the clay by about 1 inch. This will allow all of the clay to become soft and mushy, breaking up any hard chunks. Leave it alone until the clay has settled entirely to the bottom and is thoroughly "slaked."

5 Stir the clay so that it becomes about the consistency of whole milk or cream. This is referred to as "slip."

6 Strain the slip through a sieve or window screen into another large container. This is the final "cleaning" of the clay, ensuring that there is no unwanted debris in the clay.

7 Allow the clay to settle to the bottom of the container so that there is clear water on top of the clay and the clay is a chunk of mush below the water's surface.

8 Siphon or dip the water off of the top of the clay.

Processing the Clay

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1 Take the clay out of the container and spread it out on the piece of canvas so that the clay is 2 or 3 inches thick. The clay will be very mushy, about the consistency of frosting. Smooth the top of the clay so that it dries evenly.

2 Allow the clay to dry out to the point where it holds together when you try to pick it up. You can assist the clay's drying by putting the clay on the canvas onto a wire rack or using a fan set on low. The clay will be ready when its consistency is a little wetter than regular clay.

3 Take the edge of the canvas that the clay is on and flop it over onto the clay, so that the clay has folded onto itself. Pull the canvas away from the clay. A good test of clay readiness is if the canvas pulls away easily.

4 Roll the clay up into a big tube to get it off of the canvas. Alternatively, if the clay is not coming up easily, use a large putty knife to scrape the clay off of the canvas.

Put the clay onto the wedging board. A wedging board is commonly a metal table top, a slab of rock or a wooden board covered in canvas.
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6 Take the cutting wire and cut the clay into smaller chunks. A cutting wire is usually a length of wire with a small piece of wooden dowel on either end, but can be as simple as a long piece of fishing line.

7 Take the smaller chunks of clay and throw them onto the wedging board. This helps to eliminate air bubbles and helps the clay to dry out to a more elastic consistency. Cut the clay and then throw it onto the board several times until the clay feels pliable.

8 Wedge the clay. This is similar to kneading bread dough -- pushing the lump of clay forward and pulling it back. However the ideal is to get a spiral pattern going, making the lump of wedged clay look a bit like a seashell.

9 Once the clay is wedged and feels pliable, it is ready to be made into pots, using any method of hand building or throwing you choose.

Step 15: Take the clay out of the cans when you are ready to use it. You must "wedge" the clay (take the air bubbles out) before you can use the clay. Step 16: Wedge the clay by cutting off small pieces of clay and throwing it on a table several times until all the bubbles are removed from the clay. The clay is now ready to use for making pottery. Step 17: Improve clay that does not hold its shape by adding a bit of clean sand to the clay. Do not add too much. If the clay crumbles then you added too much sand and will need to discard it.

Tips & Warnings

To make the clay more elastic, during the wedging process you can spread a little bit of clean sand onto the wedging board and it will get mixed in as you wedge the clay. Add very small amounts of sand at a time, allowing it to mix in thoroughly. Too much sand will dry out the clay and make it crumbly and unusable. This mixing process can also be done with powdered ball clay, the standard clay powder that gets mixed up for commercial clays. Alternatively, you can take regular, prepared commercial clay and add it to the cutting and slapping process. All of these additives help make the clay more elastic. Choose only one additive for your clay mixture. Processing and working with clay should be done in a fairly well ventilated and easy to clean area. This is a dusty and a messy process. Breathing in large amounts of clay dust is unhealthy. Make sure that you completely cleaned the clay to remove any foreign objects from it, including rocks, plant material and sticks. Any remaining debris could leave an air bubble when it burns away in the firing process, causing the pot to break.

Step 1: Choosing your clay - you may prepare raw dug up clay or much preferred material for consistency purchase commercial clay. Taking into consideration the temperature needed to turn clay into ceramics by way of a kiln, it is important to know the minerals that are present within the clay paste. (You can either use a beginner's chemistry set or preferably refer to your local yellow pages for experts in this field.) Keep in mind, certain materials need very high temperatures to turn. Please read information on firing temperatures for commercially prepared clays below for an idea of choosing the right temperature to turn your freshly prepared clay into ceramic. - If you prefer to dig up and prepare your own clay, you can follow the guidelines below for best product: a) Freshly dug up clay will have impurities such as plant material, stones, insects, even air pockets. Let your clay air dry before breaking it up for cleaning. b) Next, make sure the dried clay is in small pebble like pieces. Use a hammer, mortar for grounding these pieces into powder. To get the right consistency for the next step, make sure to weight your powders in a plastic bag and set aside. c) Third, Get a bowl, pure the powdered clay in bowl and slowly pour water to form a paste. Use a wooden spatula to knead. If the powder floats or does not seem to mix with the water, let it set for a while before kneading again. Remember it must form a thick paste. If it does not, possibly too much water was added or not enough powdered clay. d) Fourth, the cleaning process is about to begin. Press your clay paste through the your 80mesh sieve to remove all impurities.

e) Place your cleaned clay onto to a plaster bat and smooth. The clay will begin to harden, you will need to move the paste around frequently to prevent hardening. f) Using a strong flat stick remove the stiff clay from the plaster bat by peeling it off. Now you can knead your clay for modeling and firing. - If you prefer to purchase your clay it will come in the following form to choose from: a) Earthenware - red or white (kiln fires from 1830 to 2160 degrees Farenheit); b) Stoneware - beige to white (kiln fires from 2190 to 2370 degrees Farenheit); c) Porcelain - white (kiln fires from 2340 to 2460 degrees Farenheit); d) Grogged stoneware - slate (kiln fires from 2190 to 2340 degrees Farenheit); e) Raku body - slate (kiln fires from 1830 to 2340 degrees Farenheit); or f) T Material - cream color (kiln fires from 1830 to 2370 degrees Farenheit); Unfired clay is quite flexible. By kneading and handling it you can determine what that lump of clay is best suited in making. Look for shrinkage rate, and strength to determine durability. Primary clay is extremely pure however it is not very pliable. As an FYI, there are about 6 types of clay: Red clay - very common to find. Its high iron oxide mineral content gives the clay its rich red color as well as makes it very easy to use. Fire clay - can be fired to extremely high temperatures. Has a beige to medium brown color when fired. Usually found near coal seams. China clay - used as glaze with other clay products. It is considered as primary clay meaning that it has minimal pliability. Ball clay - extremely flexible, but breaks easy. It has to be combined with other types of clay to maintain its strength, shape and durability. Commonly used for porcelain and decorations. Bentonite -Small amounts are combined with primary clay such as China clay to make it more pliable for molding. Stoneware clay - Rare. This is high mixed mineral content which when fired turns gray to white. Step 2: Your clay is not ready for kneading. (This includes both freshly dug clay that has been cleaned and commercially bought clay.) a) Place your clay on an absorbent firm surface for kneading and throwing the pockets of air out. Take a wire and cut clay in easily handy wedges. Pick up 1 piece of clay at a time, with cut edge facing you, heartily throw or slam clay on bench to remove pockets of air. (It is extremely important that no air pockets are present in the clay so as to prevent explosions, or other mishaps that can occur if clay is firing in kilm.) Continue to knead, slam and pivot clay until all sides of clay

are thoroughly kneaded. Repeat about 10 times or more to be sure. As a check at the end of kneading, use your wire and cut the clay in half. Take a look to make sure the surface is completely smooth. It should not have bumps, lumps, or wholes. It should be absolutely smooth. b) Use a damp sponge and wet your pottery wheel lightly so that your clay will adhere but not slip. c) Next, slam a ball in the center of the wheel. With both hands lightly on clay use forward and backward motions to see if clay is sticking to the wheel. If the clay is slipping or sloshy, wipe moisture off wheel. Turn wheel on or begin kicking wheel. Place both hands steadily on either side of clay and begin pushing inward slightly and upward. The clay will resemble a cone. d) At the top of the cone, use your thumb to flatten and eventually use one hand;makes sure the other hand supports the sides of the clay. While the wheel is turning, use 3 fingers with the flat hand at the top middle of the cone to form a pocket. Remember to keep supporting the sides. You will see a bowl forming. Now both your creative hand on top or by now in the middle of the bowl and on the side hand are working in unity. How you wish your bowl to appear is part of the creative process. When done, use wire to remove clay bowl from wheel and place on drying rack. When bowl is completely dry it is now ready for the kiln.