If this is your first attempt at a Master Cleanse – congratulations! You are about to take a major step towards improving your health. I did the Master Cleanse for ten days in August, and I really wished I had done it years before! You can read all about my experiences starting here: The Day Before: Preparing for the Master Cleanse.

Many people try the Master Cleanse each year, but few make it past the first three days. The reasons for failing are many, but not having adequate preparation or following the Master Cleanse instructions are two major reasons for failure.

Before I discuss the basic Master Cleanse instructions, you should know that there are several things you should do prior to starting the Master Cleanse: First, you should read the original Master Cleanser book by Stanley Burroughs. You can actually download this book online for free here (just click the blue link that says “Click Here to Read the Original Full Text by Stanley Burroughs).” You can also order it directly from Amazon by clicking on the book image above as well (it is quite cheap, less than $7). In his book, Burroughs outlines the complete Master Cleanse instructions.

Second, keep in mind that instructions on what to drink and when are not usually enough to succeed. Unfortunately, Stanly Burroughs provided little help in terms of learning how to deal with food cravings or information about what to expect in your body during the cleanse.

You may think you have it in you to “power through” ten days or more on the Master Cleanse, but you may be surprised at how strong your cravings or how strange your detoxification symptoms may be. For this reason, you should seriously consider purchasing a Master Cleanse guide that helps you through the cleanse. I suggest “Master Cleanse Secrets“ as it is what I read when I recently did my cleanse and I found it to be very useful and affordable as well (you can download it instantly too!).

Third, or more tips and advice on how to prepare for the Master Cleanse, I suggest you also read my post “Preparing for the Master Cleanse.”

Now here are the basic Master Cleanse instructions:

1. Starting the night before the first day of your cleanse and continuing each night of the cleanse, you should drink an organic herbal laxative tea, such as Smooth Move. An important part of the detoxification process is cleansing the colon, and you should aim to have two or three bowel movements a day every day of the cleanse.
2. When you first get up in the morning, you should also do a Salt Water Flush, which will aid the tea in cleansing your colon. To do a salt water flush, you will add two teaspoons of Celtic sea salt to a quart (32 ounces, or 4 cups) of water and drink it. It helps if the water is a bit warm. Be sure to use teaspoons and not Tablespoons!
3. During the Master Cleanse you are allowed to also drink organic peppermint tea (per Burroughs’ instructions). Some people also use chamomile and other herbal teas as well, but these were not mentioned in the original Master Cleanse instructions. One thing is for sure – be sure not to drink any kind of caffeinated tea (that includes green tea!).
4. During the cleanse you will not eat any solid foods or drink any liquids other than a special lemonade mixture, water (distilled or purified is best), and the teas mentioned above plus the salt water flush.
5. For the complete Master Cleanse/Lemonade diet recipe, visit this page: Lemonade diet recipe.
6. Stanley Burroughs recommends you stay on the diet a minimum of ten days for the detoxification process to do its work. Ten to fourteen days may be optimal.
7. Coming off the cleanse, you need to allow your body to readjust to solid foods again. Do not go eat a hamburger the day after you finish the cleanse – your body will not be able to handle it, and you may feel quite sick as a result. Instead you should gradually introduce foods back into your system. Start with fresh squeezed orange juice the first day, on day two try adding some soup broth to your diet, and by three you should be able to tolerate more broth or a light soup, and maybe a green salad by dinner.
8. You will lose quite a bit of weight during the cleanse (10 pounds or more is to be expected on a ten day cleanse), but to keep it off you will need to engaging in healthy eating and exercise.

Those are the basic Master Cleanse instructions. I hope you find them useful!