Dry skin brushing
Exfoliating your whole body seems like a great idea, but not one you would typically think of doing. Dry skin brushing is really simple simple to do, just take a brush and brush your skin with it for about 5 minutes a day. The health and beauty benefits are immense:-
- Dry skin brushing removes dead skin cells. Your skin is the largest organ of the integumentary system and has up to seven layers of ectodermal tissue. It protects the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and internal organs. Dead skin cells block your pores and impair your skin’s ability to breathe and react to the environment.
- Dry skin brushing stimulates bloodflow and lymphatic fluid. Dry brushing stimulates blood and lymph to move through the layers of the skin, allowing the removal of toxins from the skin layers. The primary function of the lymphatic system is to transport lymph, a fluid containing infection-fighting white blood cells, throughout the body.
- Dry skin brushing removes toxins from the skin. UV radiation from the sun hits our skin and damages fats and proteins. This creates oxidative toxins as a byproduct. These oxidative toxins cause skin aging and potentially skin cancer. Your skin is also a major target for toxic insult by a broad spectrum of physical and chemical agents that are capable of altering its structure and function.
- Dry skin brushing will make your skin look amazing. The exfoliation, stimulation of blood flow, and clearing of toxins will make your skin glow after a few days of regular brushing. Your skin will regenerate itself approximately every 27 days and dry skin brushing will accelerate this health process of autophagy.
Dry Brushing Method
- Get a quality brush that has bristles of the right stiffness.
- Starting with your hands and feet, brush your skin in long stokes towards your heart. Apply enough brush pressure so that the motion is just below mildly uncomfortable.
- Take a shower and wipe your skin with a flannel. Don't use lotions or cleansers.
- Dry yourself with a towel and apply quality organic coconut oil to your entire body. Stand on the towel whilst doing this (for safety). Allow the oil to penetrate the pores, so keep working it in.
Also pay attention to your feet. Try and exfoliate the hard skin away with a pumice. Hard cracked skin around the heel is often a sign of Vitamin B3 deficiency (High B3 foods include fish, chicken, turkey, pork, liver, beef, mushrooms, green peas, sunflower seeds, and avocados.).
Don't use commercial exfoliants on your skin as they are full of chemicals and often contain plastic particles that are incredibly bad for the environment.