With all of the recent knowledge about toxicity and its affect on health, most people have heard of the importance of exfoliating skin or dry brushing. Dry brusing is a centuries old practice of massaging and exfoliating the skin to improve its health and appearance. Your skin is responsible for ¼ of the body’s detoxification each day, automatically eliminating dead skin cells and waste. Dry brushing only speeds up the process allowing your skin to breath and renew itself. It also helps with muscle tone and a more even distribution of fat deposits.

When your skin is clogged with dead skin cells and toxins that cannot be eliminated by perspiration, then your skin will suffer. Your skin needs air and sunlight so getting rid of excess waste through exfoliation is vital. Most people already know that they need to exfoliate their faces but in reality your whole body can benefit from exfoliation.

Dry brushing involves talking a soft bristled brush, similar to what you use on your hair except with a long handle, and brushing it across your whole body in a massage like fashion. Your skin is dry when you do this and the best time is usually before you shower. Our bodies form a new top layer of skin every 24 hours or so. Dry brushing helps to slough off that topmost layer allowing the softer, smoother, skin below to surface and breath.

In addition to exfoliating your dead skin cells and removing barriers to toxin excretion, dry brushing is also wonderful for lymph vessels and capillaries. Dry brushing should be done using strokes that go toward the heart, aiding in the body’s blood circulation. This is why many dry brushing enthusiasts feel so refreshed and invigorated after a brushing session, because their circulation improves. Starting out gently is advised and then as you get used to the practice you can brush more vigorously. Dry brushing also massages the lymph nodes and gets them functioning as well. Our lymph nodes are responsible for filtering and removing invading organisms and abnormal cells as part of our immune system. Massaging them to encourage better functionality can have a big impact on our health and our ability to keep from getting sick.

When starting a dry brushing routine make sure and brush toward the heart, clean the brush after each use, and obviously, brush when your skin is dry, jumping in the shower afterwards to wash away any remaining dead skin cells.

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