7 Reasons to Start Dry Brushing Today
The topic of dry brushing has come up over and over again for me this week - and yesterday I had a friend text me with a blog post request. She said she knows what dry brushing is, but isn't sure why she should care about it - so this seems like the perfect time to help a sister out and have a straight up love fest for one of my favorite morning rituals. Give the people what they want!
I think that we tend to forget how amazing and important our skin really is, and the crucial role that it plays in our overall health. It's the largest organ in the entire body with a total area of around 20 square feet - that's a huge freakin' organ! And since it's so big it's the HBIC (head bitch in charge) of a TON of really important stuff.
Your skin excretes about one pound of waste every single day, it's responsible for 1/4 of your body's daily detoxification
Acting as a barrier between you and the elements, your skin protects you from the environment around you
Your skin allows your body to produce vitamin D3 when in contact with sunlight
It's the recipient of 1/3 of all of the blood that's circulated through your body
Your skin helps regulate your body temperature, and is filled with nerve endings that conduct the sensations of cold, heat, and touch
The first place that shows internal imbalance and toxicity is your skin, and it's also the last organ to receive nutrients
SO, now it's pretty easy to see why it's super important to give ALL of our skin (not just our face) some daily TLC. It's the biggest detoxification organ in our entire body - let's show it some love!
What can adding dry brushing to your morning routine do for you (it only takes about 5 minutes)? Let's discuss!
1. Stimulate your lymphatic system
The lymphatic system circulates lymph fluid throughout your entire body which distributes nutrients while simultaneously collecting cellular waste. The waste is then sent to your detoxification organs (kidneys, colon, lungs and skin) so you body can release it. Dry brushing enhances the lymphatic system's ability to cleanse toxins from lymph nodes, and improves the consistency of lymph fluid, which are amazing in terms of decreasing your body's toxic load.
2. Improve digestion
Over time, dry brushing has been shown to facilitate the loss of water weight, and improve digestive function - especially if you brush clockwise over your belly.
3. Exfoliate + detoxify skin
Sloughing off dead skin cells sends your body signals to generate fresh new skin cells - which contributes to softer, smoother, more radiant skin. It also unblocks pores, ensuring that the skin is able to eliminate toxins and cellular waste effectively.
4. Reduce cellulite
By encouraging the body to release toxins stored in fat cells and distributing fat deposits more evenly, many people have had luck reducing cellulite with dry brushing.
5. Increase circulation
Dry brushing increases blood flow to the skin immediately, which aids in detoxifying the body.
6. Tone muscles
By increasing circulation, helping with even distribution of fat deposits, and stimulating nerve endings, dry brushing contributes to healthier muscle tone.
7. Self love + stress relief
Many people use their 5 minutes of dry brushing in the morning as a moving meditation. Focusing on doing something kind for yourself and being present while going through this ritual leads to relaxation, stress-relief and a heightened sense of wellbeing.Now, not to assault you with lists, but here's a quick rundown on the process of dry brushing:
Get a natural bristled brush (like this)
Always brush in the direction of your heart, as that's the way that lymph flows
Dry brushing before you shower is essential, so you can wash away dead skin cells and impurities after you're done
Starting with your feet, brush upward in long, sweeping motions covering each area a few times (you can give a little extra love to rough patches like joints)
Feel free to brush in a clockwise circular motion over your belly to stimulate digestion, or you can also continue over your belly with long sweeping motions towards the heart
On your back you want to brush from the neck down
Be careful not to brush any sensitive areas, this will cause irritation
That's all for now - happy brushing, kids!