This invention relates to a liquid or soft-solid personal cleansing composition that utilises the detergency properties of new materials which are more efficient, more inexpensive and are an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional soaps or synthetic surfactants. It more particularly relates to a cleansing composition in liquid, gel or cream formats. The present invention provides for a personal cleansing composition comprising (i) 1 to 50% of treated clay particles and (ii) a cosmetically acceptable base wherein said treated clay particles are asymmetric 1:1 or 2:1:1 clay particles having alternating tetrahedral and octahedral sheets terminating with a tetrahedral sheet at one external surface plane and an octahedral sheet at another external surface plane, with a fatty acid of carbon chain length 10 to 22 attached to coordinating cation on one of said exterior surface planes.
