I have been dry brushing since the 2008 and I Love it!!  (listen to episode #133 Dry Brushing on Menopause Made Easy with Tanya )

When it comes to Dry Brushing, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Living Libations. I use their dry brushes and lymph+ tonic as part of my routine before jumping in the shower or bath. Scroll to the bottom as Nadine, from Living Libations describes her brushes below and the Lymph Tonic to stimulate your lymphatic system.

But first.......Why add dry brushing to your routine?

1. Dry Brushing the Body Increases Circulation 

Not to sound too dramatic, but circulation sustains us – blood flow is the life force within us. 

Your circulatory system is the pathway that supplies vital nutrients + oxygen to every part of your body. Not only that, it pushes waste and toxins out. So slow or stagnant circulation can cause some serious issues for your cells, organ functions, energy levels, and overall health. 

Even though the skin is your largest organ, it's also the last to receive nutrients from the body. So dry brushing the body provides a much-needed boost of blood flow to keep skin nourished, clear, + radiant. 

Increased blood flow = amazing skin glow.

2. Dry Brushing the Body Provides Gentle Exfoliation

Gentle strokes with natural bristles are all you need to reveal smoother, softer skin.

You can replace harsh, aggressive, or abrasive exfoliants that just aren’t necessary (and truthfully, could be doing more damage than good) with a dry brush.

Dry brushing the body is far more gentle + supports your body’s natural healing capabilities, bringing nutrients to the surface and encouraging natural cell turnover. 

Dry brushing the body effectively exfoliates + sloughs off dry, scaly skin, which improves skin's texture and tone.

→ An added benefit of dry brushing associated with exfoliation: it brilliantly preps skin to absorb moisture. Without proper exfoliation, you may slather moisturizer on top of layers of dull, dehydrated, and dead skin cells. Moisturizing in this way doesn't allow for nutrients to deeply hydrate and heal. Products also absorb better after dry brushing the body, resulting in truly moisturized and happy skin. 

→ Another interesting benefit of dry brushing over traditional exfoliation: you don’t risk disrupting the skin’s delicate microbiome. Your skin has its own mini microbiome of necessary + beneficial bacteria. Over-exfoliating can damage this microbiome, also called the moisture barrier. This can result in irritated, inflamed, or dry skin because your skin has no “barrier” to lock in the moisture – or to keep out bad bacteria.

Dry brushing the body is a win-win for making sure your skin deeply absorbs + uses the moisture you apply afterward. It works with you instead of against you. ;)  

3. Dry Brushing Helps Detox the Body + Improves Lymphatic Drainage 

One of the most powerful and important benefits of dry brushing is stimulating lymph flow + the drainage that follows. 

Okay, “drainage” may not sound pretty, but we can't stress enough how essential lymphatic drainage is for radiant skin, a healthy body, and a happy self. That’s why it's great to dry brush as a daily detox habit.

The lymphatic system is a network of tissues, vessels, and organs. They all work together to move a colorless, watery fluid called lymph back into your circulatory system (aka your bloodstream).¹ 

This system stretches across your entire body to protect you from toxins. Here’s what each part of your lymphatic system does:

• Lymphatic vessels move excess fluids and toxins from your lymph fluid to your nodes or lymphatic organs for processing.

• Lymph nodes are the filtering stations that capture unhealthy cells + toxins.

• Lymphatic organs continue the detoxification process to remove lingering toxins. Your lymphatic organs include:

• Spleen
• Thymus
• Tonsils
• Adenoids 
• Bone marrow
• Peyer’s patches
• Appendix

In other words, your lymphatic system sends toxins out the door!

Your lymphatic system helps to detoxify your whole body and provide immunity against disease. But when this system becomes blocked, it can cause toxic buildup in your tissues – leading to issues like blemishes, rashes, irritations, and other skin conditions.

Dry brushing the body utilizes light, simple strokes that stimulate lymph flow to flush out toxins + waste. It also clears pores, eliminating more toxins through sweat. With fewer toxins and more nutrients, you’ll experience:

• A strengthened immune system
• Less sickness 
• Increased energy levels
• Fewer areas of discoloration or damage to the skin
• Less skin sensitivity

Add dry brushing to your beauty routine to promote radiant skin, a daily detox, and feel even more invigorated. Speaking of radiant skin, you can expect a change after just one session of dry brushing the body.

Yep, get ready for improved skin complexion. 

4. Dry Brushing the Body Improves the Appearance of Your Skin (+ Reduces Signs of Cellulite)

If you’re looking for some instant gratification, you’ll love this dry brushing benefit. You’ll immediately notice a brighter, happier complexion. How? 

You can thank the dry brush’s gentle, yet firm bristles for effectively removing dull, dead skin. Younger, fresher skin appears instantly. It was already there – it just needed a nudge. ;) 
 
So we know dry brushing the body works to smooth away impurities in the skin – but what about the claim that it even improves the appearance of cellulite? 

It's possible. While there’s no solid research on this topic yet, dry brushing your body is believed to soften fat deposits below the skin’s surface. This helps your body redistribute them and reduces the appearance of cellulite. 

We also know that exfoliation can increase the natural production of collagen and rebuild the skin – making it stronger. So a boost in collagen + skin strength could definitely give areas of cellulite a more “plump” appearance (and make them less susceptible to “dimples,” aka cellulite). 

Whether it’s a temporary effect (plumping + invigorating skin) or a long-term solution (removing toxins to rebuild connective tissue) for cellulite, the bottom line: dry brushing works.

5. Dry Brushing Supports Fascia

Fascia is a thin layer of connective tissue that runs throughout your entire body (underneath your skin) to hold everything together. Like the lymphatic system, there are still a lot of unknowns. 

But what we do know: just like muscles, fascia can develop “knots,” tightness/tension, and adhesions that can cause discomfort and keep the body from functioning optimally. The health of your fascia affects internal health since it’s connected to lymph, circulation, and other bodily functions critical for full-body health. 

Dehydration and lack of movement are both known to affect fascia negatively. So as you can imagine, dry brushing the body can assist with both of these problems. Better flow and circulation, along with increased absorption, helps hydration within the body. And the gentle massage-like motions of dry brushing the body gently stimulate the tissue, working out adhesions and tension.

Embracing the massage-like feeling you get from dry brushing the body, we especially love the last advantage in the benefits of dry brushing: calming the nervous system.

6. Dry Brushing the Body Activates Your Parasympathetic Nervous System

Your parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for bringing your body into balance when you get stressed, anxious, or scared. Dry brushing benefits more than just the skin – it benefits the state of your heart, mind, and soul. 

We all experience our fair share of stress – and we know it’s not good for our bodies. Why not incorporate a relaxing + rewarding practice at the end of a long day (or in preparation for a dreaded day)? Dry brushing the body creates gentle, rhythmic motions throughout the body that lull you into a more relaxed state by activating the vagus nerve.

The vagus nerve extends throughout your body, sending signals (good or bad) to the brain. When you gently stimulate the vagus nerve through light, rhythmic touch, it sends positive, calming signals to your brain – and throughout your body.

Now that you’re ready to get your zen on, here’s a short overview of how to dry brush.

The skin is responsible for eliminating 1/3 of the body’s waste everyday – that can equal up to one pound!!! A super fast and effective way is to add dry brushing to your shower/bath routine.

Whether you use a natural bristle brush, a dry brushing mitt, a cheap loofah glove (I’ve tried them all and have finally found the VERY BEST from Living Libations which all my clients love as well), give your body a scrub and:

• Loosen the dead cells to allow the toxins a quick and clear exit out of your skin!

• Leave your skin SOFT and GLOWING

• Reduce CELLULITE

• Stimulate your immune system

• Wake up your circulation

• Move your lymph

• And so much more!

To dry brush, use a natural fiber brush with a long handle. The long handle will help you reach all areas of your body. Follow these steps:

1. Start at your feet and move up your body.
2. Brush your skin using wide, circular, clockwise motions.
3. Use light pressure in areas where your skin is thin and harder pressure on thicker skin, like the soles of your feet.
4. Brush your arms after you have brushed your feet, legs, and mid-section. You should brush upward towards your armpits.
5. After dry brushing, take a cool shower to help remove the dry skin.
6. After your shower, dry off and then consider adding natural plant oil, such as olive or coconut oil, to moisturize your skin.

When you first start dry brushing, it’s best to begin with light brushing. As you get used to it, you can increase the pressure. 

Avoid sensitive areas and anywhere the skin is broken. These include areas with:

• rashes
• wounds
• cuts
• infections

Also, never brush an area affected by poison oak, poison ivy, or psoriasis. Don’t dry brush your face unless you’re using a softer brush made for that purpose.

What supplies do I need?

When it comes to Dry Brushing, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Living Libations. I use their dry brushes and lymph+ tonic as part of my routine before jumping in the shower or bath. Nadine, from Living Libations describes her brushes below and the Lymph Tonic to stimulate your lymphatic system.

 

Facial Brush

This facial brush has soft bristles suitable for gentle brushing the face, neck and décolleté. Dry brush before cleansing and moisturizing with Seabuckthorn or Rose Best Skin Ever afterwards. Or coconut oil is another of my favorites!

Body and Breast Brush

This brush is the perfect size and texture to dry-brush the body and more delicate breasts. Dry Brush with one drop of our Lymph Tonic on the bristles. Follow with a bath, sauna or shower and then glide the Seabuckthorn Best Skin Ever and/or Breast Massage Oil for radiant, healthy skin. Check out a great way to care for your breasts

Energy Brush

This energy brush uses fine bronze bristles made of a sensible alloy of copper and zinc. Due to the molecular structure of these fine bronze bristles, the ions which are important for our material and energetic well-being are generated directly on the skin, which makes them immediately available to the organism and the metabolism.

The central atom of the human body is oxygen, which makes up more than 80 percent of our organism. Our true elixir of life consists of the energetically charged oxygen ions which we take in from the air we breathe, the water we drink or in an especially concentrated form from hydrogen peroxide. This substance is also contained in the sea coast, waterfalls, rain and snow. These important negatively charged oxygen ions are created by air friction whilst using this Energy Brush for dry- brushing our skin.

Our Lymph system responds favorably to the gentle, circulation generating effects of essential oils. One of the best things for the Lymph system is dry-brushing (especially in the colder seasons). To activate dry brushing to its fullest potential, add one drop of Lymph+Tonic to the palm of your hand and glide the brush across your palm to apply the essence to each bristle, then begin dry brushing your entire body. Always brush in the direction toward the heart. Dry Brushing this way stimulates the endocrine, circulation, immune, and detoxifying systems.

Lymphatic fluid exists close to the surface of the skin and bathes all of the cells of the body with oxygen and nutrients. A happy lymphatic system helps support healthy overall immune response and circulation. Lymph does not have a pump like blood does with the heart. Lymph is filtered in the lymph nodes and then re-circulated into the bloodstream. Interestingly, swollen lymph nodes are the body’s way of transforming an infection. So the lymph system has the important function of bringing in nourishment and carrying out wastes and toxins. Use Lymph+Tonic regularly to support this very vital body system. Dry-brushing, exercise, breathing, hot/cold plunges, and proper hydration will also help to sustain a healthy lymphatic system.

For generating Lymphatic flow, pour 1-2 drops of Lymph+Tonic on the palm of your hand; glide a dry brush across your palm, then use for dry brushing the body. This tonic may also be used in massages, body oils and baths.

Enjoy adding this to your bathing routine.

Tanya

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