Dry Brush for Glowing Skin – A Simple Detox Habit

Dry Brushing
Holisticole | Vibrant Wellness Collective

CREATE VIBRANT WELLNESS

The Vibrant Wellness Collective is your intuitive + realistic approach to create daily wellness. Curated by Nicole Eckert, Holistic Nutritionist CNP and wellness leader. Discover how to take care of yourself with holistic lifestyle practices. Curated holistic inspiration, wellness programs and resources to help you thrive.

Mara Landis

Blogger, Mother, Founder of Nutmeg Aspirin, Advocate & "Guinea Pig" for feeling-getting-being-better. Mara is a NY State Safe & Healthy Foods Advisory Council Member, an Advisor to Columbia University’s Spirituality Mind Body Institute, and is currently involved in The Vitality Project at Brown University--a research study looking at the effects of Qi Gong on cancer patients post chemo and radiation as well as supporting efforts to bring mindfulness to doctors in training and the students at large. Mara is a perpetual student of all aspects of holistic living and passionate about helping others to "feel, get and be better."

0
0
0
3

How It Works

Your lovely liver, kidneys, lungs, skin and colon, are your superstar detoxification organs and their overall function is just critical for your optimal health and well-being. With your skin being your largest organ - and your largest detoxification organ for that matter. The Simple Detox Habit of DRY BRUSHING is a super enjoyable practice that's going to make your skin glow, and get you detoxing fo-sho (rhyming intentional).

 

 

WELCOME TO YOUR NEW MORNING ROUTINE

Before your morning shower (if you're a morning bather), makes for a great time to take part in some good-ol dry brushing. It's going to help to energize your body and get you mentally prepared for the day ahead. Make sure your skin is dry before you proceed, it's not ideal or enjoyable right after a sweaty workout.

 

  1. Grab your brush, and get naked, for-real. Lock the doors if you need to.
  2. Tell yourself how amazing you are, and only then we will get started. Pick up your dry brush or my favourite Energy Brush.
  3. Begin with the top of your feet. I always start on my left side (since I am right handed). Begin by making gentle circular upward motions, from the tips of your toes all the way in the direction of your heart. Then repeat on the other side before you get started on your arms.
  4. You always want to start at the bottom of your body and slowly make your way up to your chest. It’s important to work in this direction as it supports the natural ‘highway’ of your lymphatic system.
  5. Brush slowly and be gentle, if you're ticklish like me - it can be a challenge to brush over your tummy, sides and chest without sniggering. Always avoid any scratches, irritated skin or open wounds - that would just be unpleasant.
  6. Make sure you get your entire body from feet to neck and don’t forget your back - I sometimes call in my partner on the weekend (when I have more time) for help on all the sweet-spots on my back (it's a pretty sight).
  7. Don't even attempt dry brushing your face, unless you have a Facial Brush, which has much softer bristles.
  8. Once you've shown some dry brushing love to your entire body, hop in the shower and wash away all those lovely dead skin cells. Have your water anywhere from warm to hot for increased blood circulation.
  9. Be sure you're using natural shower products, you can check out this article on how to detox your personal care routine!
  10. Practice Dry Brushing before every shower, or 3-4 times a week. You can complement your new Dry Brushing routine with the Jentschura AlkaBath; a mineral rich, alkalizing detox bath.

 

 

 

 

What You’ll Need

Difficulty

Easy Neither easy
nor hard
Somewhat
challenging
Very
challenging

Story

There are many benefits to taking part in daily gentle-detox practices. Routines such as drinking fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar in warm water, doing a cleansing yoga-flowwith lots of twisting moves, getting in optimal water intake with added trace mineral drops, eating your bitter greens, taking a detox bath and drinking a fresh-pressed green juiceare just some of my favourite ways to support my body, and give it a little boost in the healthy removal of toxic waste.

 

These practices are also going to: increase your energy levels, decrease stress, clear your mind, support digestion - and overall, they make you feel darn GOOD about yourself!

 

Where should I begin with the benefits of dry brushing? Well, here are my 8 Reasons To Add Dry Brushing to Your Routine!

 

 

BYE-BYE DEAD SKIN CELLS

Don't get the hebejebes, but each day we lose over one-million skin cells. Yup. Dry brushing not only works to remove all of those lingering dead cells, but the practice also improves the overall appearance of your skin, it clears those clogged pores, and allows your skin to properly “breathe.”

 

 

HELLO SKIN DETOX

One third of your body's toxins are excreted through the skin! Neat! By loosening up and removing all those dead skin cells, you're allowing for proper skin rejuvenation! This also opens up a major pathway for excreting toxins from the body. Dry brushing is for your skin what milk thistle is for your liver.

 

 

LYMPHATIC LOVE

Dry skin brushing stimulates the lymphatic system, aka your network of vessels that transport metabolic waste and important molecules to be cleansed by your lymphatic members: spleen, thymus gland, lymph nodes, liver and tonsils. A super important system that for most of us - is sluggish. When your lymph system isn't properly flowing, your immunity may suffer from attacks by foreign invaders, and you may be more prone to sinus infections.

Movement is essential for your lymphatic system, as it does not have a pump. It relies on muscle contractions (exercise), jumping (hello trampolines), yoga and dry brushing!

 

 

CIRCULATORY STIMULATION

When you dry brush, you're showing attention to your entire body, it's like a full-body treatment and the practice manually increases your blood flow - which aids in healing and carries nutrients throughout your body.

 

 

GLOWING SKIN

You've gotta look different after brushing off close to a million dead skin cells. Brush off those dead cells and get your natural glow on!

 

 

REDUCE & PREVENT CELLULITE

I've got friends that swear by this method. Another 'win-win' for dry brushing - cya-cellulite! Since toxins are stored in fat, and when we dry brush, we're helping to eliminate toxins... Dry brushing shows a potential in cellulite reduction, while also helping to tighten the skin!

 

 

SUPER SOFT SKIN

Glowing AND super soft skin? Unclogging those pores from the dirt and oil is one way that dry brushing makes your skin silky-smooth. This practice also stimulates our hormone and oil producing glands, giving us irresistibly soft skin.

 

 

ENERGIZING & INVIGORATING

A huge reason that I recommend dry brushing as one of my 'self-care practices' in my stress-detox program - Recharge: Your Guide to Thrive & Be Vibrant is because it is such a simple and inexpensive way to introduce new energy. It's going to give you a boost like you just had an awesome workout, it feels really good (once you get used to it) and it's a beneficial way of showing your entire body some love!

 

Read the full article at https://www.holisticole.com/blog/dry-brushing

What do you think?

Holisticole | Vibrant Wellness Collective

CREATE VIBRANT WELLNESS

The Vibrant Wellness Collective is your intuitive + realistic approach to create daily wellness. Curated by Nicole Eckert, Holistic Nutritionist CNP and wellness leader. Discover how to take care of yourself with holistic lifestyle practices. Curated holistic inspiration, wellness programs and resources to help you thrive.

Mara Landis

Blogger, Mother, Founder of Nutmeg Aspirin, Advocate & "Guinea Pig" for feeling-getting-being-better. Mara is a NY State Safe & Healthy Foods Advisory Council Member, an Advisor to Columbia University’s Spirituality Mind Body Institute, and is currently involved in The Vitality Project at Brown University--a research study looking at the effects of Qi Gong on cancer patients post chemo and radiation as well as supporting efforts to bring mindfulness to doctors in training and the students at large. Mara is a perpetual student of all aspects of holistic living and passionate about helping others to "feel, get and be better."

This field cannot be blank
Christine Gebhard
By Christine Gebhard
95 - Community Member
6 years ago

I've been doing dry brushing for a few months now and I totally agree that it makes a big difference. Thanks, Nicole, for reminding me why I am doing this!

Mara Landis
By Mara Landis
1445 - Community Leader
6 years ago

Thanks for this great post! I used to dry brush and then I stopped. I just kept forgetting and recently started again and my skin is so soft. And the reduce and prevent cellulite effect is enough to motivate me to never stop!!

Jamie Ferrell
By Jamie Ferrell
940 - Ambassador
6 years ago

Same! I used to do this but let the habit lapse after having a baby. I'm going to work on adding it back to the routine thanks to this post.

Link copied to clipboard.