Dry brushing. What's all the fuss about?

Dry Brushing, what’s not to love?

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It is a fast, easy and effective way to give your skin a little TLC.

If you’re like me, you’re probably thinking, ‘Why do I need to add something else to my already busy morning (or evening) routine?’

We tend to think we are already doing enough for our skin and to be totally candid, didn’t want to add another skin care regimen into my life.

Dry Brushing is great for our lymphatic system; it calms our nervous system, and helps the cardiovascular system.

What is Dry Brushing?

If you’re not yet familiar with dry brushing, it’s pretty much exactly as it sounds, brushing our skin, when it’s dry.

You can use a skin brush to gently brush the skin while it’s dry (either before or after you shower – I prefer before)

Our skin is our largest organ and yet it seems that society focuses mostly on our face and hands.

Our skin is responsible for 25% of the body’s ability to detox.

When hearing facts like that, I realise why so many cultures make this a part of their daily or weekly ritual.

Skin brushing for the whole body has been used for ages in Scandinavia, Russia, Japan, The Cherokee Tribe (used dried corn cobs), Ancient Greek times and in Ayurvedic traditions.

The benefits of Dry Skin Brushing go beyond skin deep, offering whole-body benefits to our health.

Dry Skin Brushing: 7 Key Benefits

1. Exfoliating Dead Skin.Dry body brushing helps shed dead skin cells (and encourages new cell renewal), which results in smoother and brighter skin. It can also help with any pesky ingrown hairs.

Though we can’t see it happening, every minute of the day we’re losing about 30,000 to 40,000 dead skin cells off the surface of our skin. So just in the time it took you to read this far, you’ve probably lost about 80,000 cells.

2. Stimulating the Lymphatic System. The motions you use while dry brushing help to stimulate your lymphatic system and helps to flush toxins from the body. What does dry brushing, neurolymphatic points, and heel bouncing have to do with mobility? EVERYTHING
   
   Not only will improving your lymphatic motility help to clear toxins out of your system, but it is also a vital fluid that runs between your fascia to allow for slide and glide of the tissues.
3. Reducing Cellulite & Stretch Marks.  First, cellulite is pretty common for women (and some men), so please don’t be hard on yourself over a bit of cellulite on your body.

Dry brushing can actually help soften those fat deposits under the skin and help distribute them more evenly, which in turn reduces the appearance. So, rather than take drastic measures like liposuction, how about utilizing the dry skin brushing techniques to help break down unwanted toxins?

4. Helps with Hydration. If hydration is something your skin is craving, dry brushing before you moisturize can really help. We’re opening up the pores, helps your skin to absorb nutrients by eliminating clogged pores.
5. Stress Relieving. Just as many of our other self care practices, skin brushing is a great way to reduce stress, because the process (depending upon when you do it) can be very energising, and also really relaxing.
6. Improving Vascular Blood Circulation and Lymphatic Drainage. By releasing toxins, it encourages the body’s discharge of metabolic wastes so the body is able to run more effectively.
7. Rejuvenates the Nervous System by stimulating nerve endings in the skin (and it feels pretty amazing too!)

How to Dry Brush

Purchase your Brush. You can get them at many health and wellness stores, and of course, our best friend at the moment… The Internet (Amazon, Goop etc)

When looking at various brushes, you can be picky. No plastic or synthetic brushes. You want to make sure that you’re getting a brush with natural bristles and a wood handle.

The directions are pretty simple:

• Start on dry skin before bathing.
• Work in gentle circular, upward motions, then longer, smoother strokes
• When brushing, always brush toward your heart, which is best for circulation and your lymphatic system. You can brush your entire body (including the soles of your feet). You can start at your armpits or feet, the choice is yours. Whichever you prefer, just work your way up (or down) from where ever you start. Avoid brushing your face (unless you have a special brush designed for this delicate skin), your genitals, or any areas with irritations or abrasions (including varicose veins)
• The pressure you apply while brushing your skin should be firm but not painful (avoid “scrubbing”). Your skin should be pink after a session (not red or irritated) and you can brush for as long (or as little) as you’d like. An average dry brushing session may last between two and 20 minutes.
• Be sure to shower to wash away the dead skin cells and impurities afterwards.
• Then follow it up with a moisturiser to nourish the skin

Give it a go for 30 consecutive days and your body will love you for it!

Try It… Your Body Will Thank You! Dry-brushing is one of those rare things that feels just as good when you do it yourself as when someone else does it to you, and it’s incredibly easy to incorporate into your routine.

Love, TOA x