I like to start the year off with a clean slate.

Before the new year arrives, I not only give my house a deep clean surface wise, but I get into all the places that have been neglected - desk drawers that have become a home for anything I didn't know where else to put it, cupboards where jars and bottles have been crammed to the back and forgotten about.

Once everything has been cleaned and organized, I can then relax and focus on other things.

This feeling of wanting to cleanse and get rid of stuff extends to my skin. I love a good skin detox and there's no better time than now, after a holiday filled with overeating and sidling up to way too cocktails and champers. Urp.

One of the most brilliant lines I've ever discovered is Lava Love, a natural line of volcanic clay detox baths, soaps and facial masks. 

Co-Founders Elisabeth Dunham and Jennifer Clifton found that using clay healed many of their health ailments and created this line to help others.

They note, "The use of clay for healing and medicinal purposes dates back centuries, even to prehistoric times. Due to clay’s absorptive properties it is also widely used in industrial applications, primarily to clean up pollution and chemical waste. Lava Love aims to harness these very same detoxifying properties. Just as it binds up chemicals at factory sites, clay pull toxins from the body and naturally helps restore balance and wellness."

This is how to start the year off right, if you ask me.

Their products contain only natural ingredients including bentonite clay, zeolite and activated charcoal, all originating from Oregon volcanoes, that detoxify your skin. Don't believe it? Take just one ingredient, Bentonite Clay, for instance. Made from Oregon volcanic ash, it has a "negative charge that strongly binds to heavy metals and other toxins and pulls them from the body," according to the founders. Now that's powerful stuff. And that's just the beginning.

Let me introduce you to a combo that is going to revolutionize your skin, body and soul:

I have tried hundreds of face masks in my day, but never one like this. 

The first thing you'll notice is how soft the powder is. It's as soft as talc without the satiny quality. 

You mix a bit of the powder with some warm water into a paste (it took me a whole 3 seconds to get it to the right consistency). Then slather it onto your face. It takes on an olive green tinge, so I felt a little G.I. Jane when I was done ("Sir, yes sir!"). Don't worry, I waited until it was late at night so no visitors could possible drop by.

The texture of it going on was incredible - like a smooth, warm gel, it just glided over my skin. And then I just had to wait for it to dry. No biggie. I've got a pile of magazines, Netflix and margaritas at my side - I'm good for awhile.

It tightened and then tightened some more as it dried. Like when the blood pressure cuff expands to full tilt, just before releasing with a big whoosh. I've never had a mask tighten that much before. In a good way, though. In a really, really good way. It felt exhilarating. It was as if I could feel the toxins actually being extracted to the surface.

Washing it off with warm water, I look in the mirror and my face was completely clear, completely pure.

Wearing glasses since I was a young kid, I have had pretty permanent blackheads in the ridges of my nose. For the last few weeks, I've been testing various cleansers, masks and scrubs, and yet they remained. Ugh. So gross.

This one mask that I let dry for about 6-7 minutes got rid of them all. Not only that, my skin feels the cleanest it's ever felt.

What a rush!

The Grey Heart Soap too, goes to work on your skin, but this time there's grainy pumice involved (also from Oregon. p.s. I love you Oregon! Thank you for your amazing bounty!), so you get this intense (but not painful) exfoliation that leaves your skin shiny and squeaky clean. The shea butter ensures it is also soft, smooth, and oh-so nourished. And the scent is thanks to cedar, juniper, lavender and peppermint essential oils. Divine.

You can also buy them together. This one comes with Bath Powder. 

Thanks to Lave Love's extraordinary products, I've received a purification of the skin like nothing else I've ever tried.

I don't know how I'm going to go back to using other products after this. I'm a Lava Lover for life now.

Shop Lava Love now.