1 Habit You Can Adopt to Improve Your Overall Health and Wellness
By: Audrey Malone
Tags: Healthy Lifestyle, Health, Healthy Living, Self Help, Wellness

Dry Skin Brushing

Have you heard of it?

This is one of the single most important good-health habits that you can add to your healthy body routine.

I love the benefits!

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Like the info-graphic states, the health benefits of dry skin brushing are AMAZING!

What Exactly Is Dry Skin Brushing?

If you have never even heard of dry brushing the skin before now, not to worry. You’re not the only one.

A medically reviewed article on Healthline.com states that dry brushing has been around for centuries and is a type of Ayurvedic medicine; the article also explains some of the benefits of dry brushing (which I have summarized below).

I’ve found that taking the time dry brush is something good added to practicing a healthy lifestyle.

According to Mount Sinai Medical Center’s Dr. Joshua Zeichner, the Director of Cosmetic and Clinical Research in Dermatology, “Dry brushing is the process of using a brush with stiff bristles against the skin to help exfoliate dead cells from the skin surface and enhance blood flow.

Why Dry Brush Your Body?

The reason you should do regular dry body brushing is because it is a wonderful way to detoxify the body.

The build-up of toxins in the body can lead to diseases of all sorts, including cancer, and they could also trigger auto-immune diseases.

Think about it.

The skin is the body’s largest organ and it does a lot of work. The skin is responsible for:

Protecting the body from the elements, microbes and harmful toxic substances and germs

Helping to regulate body temperature

Permitting touch, heat, and cold sensations.

Serving as a way for toxins to be released from the body

Exfoliating the skin by dry brushing it helps the body release toxins because it sloughs off dead skin cells that can clog the surface of the skin.

Let’s take a closer look at those bullet points in the info-graphic above.

Possible Benefits of Dry Brushing Include:

Cellulite Reduction: It aids in reducing the appearance of cellulite by breaking down the cellulite.

It aids in reducing the appearance of cellulite by breaking down the cellulite. Improved Immune System: It stimulates lymph gland drainage to better deliver nutrients to the body’s cells as well as remove waste from them.

It stimulates lymph gland drainage to better deliver nutrients to the body’s cells as well as remove waste from them. Inflammation Reduction: Stimulating the lymphatic system by dry brushing helps excess white blood cells to be discarded, thus reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in the body that can lead to disease.

Stimulating the lymphatic system by dry brushing helps excess white blood cells to be discarded, thus reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in the body that can lead to disease. Increase Circulation: Stimulating the skin promotes improved vascular blood circulation.

Stimulating the skin promotes improved vascular blood circulation. Exfoliate and Detox: The exfoliation process unclogs pores, allows for nutrient absorption and promotes drainage of toxins.

The exfoliation process unclogs pores, allows for nutrient absorption and promotes drainage of toxins. Improved Organ Function: Stimulating the lymphatic system to better collect waste from organs to be drained from the body. It also aids digestion.

Stimulating the lymphatic system to better collect waste from organs to be drained from the body. It also aids digestion. Increased Energy: It stimulates blood flow, which boosts energy.

How to Do Dry Skin Brushing

An article in CNN Underscored gives some good information on how to do drying brushing, which I have summarized below.

First, get a wooden brush with natural bristles, like the ones below. You’ve seen them before.

Photo by C. Teacher on Unsplash

When you’re ready, do the following:

Start with dry skin before taking a bath or shower.

taking a bath or shower. Begin at your feet and work your way up in gentle circular, upward motions towards the heart.

It is important to brush towards the heart because this is the direction in which the lymphatic fluid flows.

You may use short or long, smooth strokes.

Move up your lower legs, thighs, groin, buttocks, sides, and stomach (you may also brush in a clock-wise circular motion on the stomach to help digestion.

Brush your lower back upwards towards the heart and your upper back downwards towards the heart.

Brush your neck and under your chin downwards. Do not brush your face (use a facial sloughing sponge for that).

Brush your arms upwards and up and around the shoulders down towards the breasts (brush softer around the breast area and another other sensitive areas).

Be cautious and never brush skin that’s inflamed or over sores, sunburn, or skin cancer.

When you have brushed over your entire body, take a bath or a shower so that you can wash away impurities and dead skin cells.

Then follow up with a nourishing moisturizer. You may use a branded moisturizer or a natural moisturizer like olive oil or coconut oil.

And, that’s it! Dry brushing is one great thing you can do to improve your overall health.

I dry brushed for 30 days and was amazed at the results, so now it is a regular part of my healthy lifestyle routine.