Dry brushing is exactly what it sounds like, using a brush to rub against dry skin. While that doesn’t sound exciting, many people have tried dried brushing and touted the benefits of increased circulation, reduced cellulite, moving the lymphatic system, improved skin health, and more!
Dry brushing is as old as the Egyptians. Though the Egyptians didn’t use a brush against the skin, they used the enzymes that milk contains and wine for exfoliating purposes. (1) Dry brushing removes dead skin cells, opens pores, and helps the body detoxify. Among the benefits to the skin you may notice improvement of breakouts particularly in regards to breakouts caused by clogged pores.
Things to consider:
As mentioned already, dry brushing can cause the lymphatic system to start detoxifying and that means toxins will start moving in the body and need to be eliminated. A binder is a great option to take before dry brushing so that toxins can be expelled from the body easily rather than recirculating. But what is a binder? A binder is a substance that binds to the toxin thus giving the body a better opportunity of recognizing the toxin and eliminating the toxin. A binder can be something as simple as consuming pectin rich fruit such as apples and oranges. You can also find fruit pectin supplements.
Dry brushing is likely to cause you to sweat as you stimulate your blood flow so hydrating is necessary. For extra binding benefits try finding water that is rich in silica, an example of silica rich water is Fiji brand water. Also make sure that the water you consume contains minerals and it isn’t reverse osmosis water without minerals. There are other binders that you may find helpful; do some research before consuming binders due to their ability to bind with the good and the bad. (2)
Before we move onto how to dry brush, please remember that dry brushing is great at stimulating, removing dead skin cells, and increasing blood flow thus plumping the skin but it is surface level and it does not have the ability to restructure what is below the surface. If you are looking for relief from tightness and long term recomposition then look into myofascial release which addresses the fascia and how it is attached. Myofascial release has been very supportive for our founder at Dandelion Naturals.
How to dry brush:
Step 1
Begin at your supraclavicular lymphatic nodes, found at the base of your neck, just above your collarbones. With your right and left hand, press your fingertips down into the hollows of your collarbone. With a super light touch, begin to massage in a j-motion, down and out towards your shoulders. Repeat ten times.
Step 2
Place your hand in your armpit to stimulate the axillary lymph nodes. Pulse upward into the groove of your armpit. Repeat ten times then repeat on your opposite armpit.
Step 3
Now begin to dry brush from your hand up to your inner and outer arm towards your armpit. repeat on the other side.
Step 4
With your left hand, dry brush your right breast into your right armpit then dry brush from your sternum and middle of your chest toward your heart. Repeat on the opposite side.
Step 5
Dry brush your abdomen in clockwise circular motions. This is the direction your colon runs and will help stimulate proper digestion.
Step 6
Dry brush your lower back and sides toward your abdomen.
Step 7
Brush your upper back toward the front of your body. The lymphatic fluid from the back of your body drains toward the front into your heart area.
Step 8
Place your dry brush on the top of your inner thigh and massage in c-strokes up toward the crease of your thigh to stimulate the inguinal lymph nodes. Repeat five times. Then repeat on the opposite side.
Step 9
Beginning at your right knee, dry brush above, over, and underneath your knee toward the crease of your thigh. Then brush your lower leg up to your thigh. Brush the back of your calves toward the front of your leg. Lastly, brush from your foot to your knee. Repeat on the left leg.
Step 10
Repeat steps 5 & 4 then finish by brushing straight up your midline towards your heart. Jump up and down a few times in place to further assist your lymphatic flow. (3)
What about a shower?
There is some room for argument for when a shower should be taken during the dry brushing process. Traditionally a shower is taken after to remove the dry skin cells and potential sweat. But some prefer a different method and will shower first then apply a nourishing oil to the dry brush to apply the oil to the skin while dry brushing. Do what works best for you. But whether you shower before or after applying a nourishing fat at some point during your dry brushing routine is very supportive for the skin. If you are look for a tallow based balm you can find ours at: https://dandelionnaturals.com/product/tallow-balm/
We also have solid lotion bars which also contain tallow, that you will love in the scents: Date Night (Patchouli and Vanilla), Cypress Orange, Vanilla Mint, Sweet Rose, & Unscented. You may find our lotion bars at: https://dandelionnaturals.com/product-category/lotion-bars/
Conclusion:
Dry brushing can be done most anywhere on the body. You just need to take care that you are not irritating the skin but instead just exfoliating it so don’t rub too hard. Some great times to dry brush are before shaving, before tanning, and first thing in the morning. If you are looking for a dry brush you can find ours at: https://dandelionnaturals.com/product/dry-brush/
Happy dry brushing.
Disclaimer: Regulations set forth by the FDA prohibit bath and body companies from making health-related claims about beauty products. I am not a medical or healthcare professional and do not claim that using my products may positively affect pre-existing physical and/or mental health conditions. The information in my listings pertains to the properties of specific ingredients used in my products. Please consult a medical professional for treatment of serious skin conditions. As always, I recommend speaking with your health care provider before using any skin care product while pregnant or nursing.
Resources:
https://provinceapothecary.com/blogs/news/the-history-of-dry-brushing (1)
https://www.immanencehealth.com/how-and-when-to-use-binders (2)
