Clays and clay minerals are widely used in cosmetics, health care and therapeutic products as excipients and active ingredients. Most cosmetic and health care products are designed for topical applications, which require appropriate rheologial properties. The addition of clay minerals improves the stability and rheological properties of suspensions and emulsions, therefore they are used as excipients and thickening agents in many semi-solid preparations. The value of clays depends on the required purification, which accordingly depends on the type and amount of non-clay minerals. To use Latvian clays as excipients in cosmetic and terapeutic products, it is necesarry to perform simple, but effective purification process and to investigate the rheological properties of purified illite. In this study, the rheological properties and stability of illite-glycerol suspensions were investigated. Glycerol is often used in semi-solid cosmetic and health care products due to its moisturizing, soothing and healing properties.