Several years ago dry brushing was touted as a simple and very successful way of reducing cellulite. While we’re all for getting rid of those unsightly lumps or bumps, we’re more concerned with overall wellness and optimizing detoxification. There are many benefits of dry skin brushing. Its an incredible way to assist the body’s natural ability to eliminate toxins. We recommend that all of our patients adopt this easy and effective body care practice.
Every person has several major routes of eliminating toxins from the body:
Proper dry skin brushing stimulates the lymphatic system, exfoliates, and invigorates the dermal layer of the skin, and assists the body to eliminate toxins both through the skin and by stimulating the deeper layers. Up to one-third of all the impurities of the body are excreted through the skin. This equals more than one pound of waste disposal through the skin, if it is healthy and cared for, every day.
While dry skin brushing helps to remove the dead skin cells that sit on top of the skin it also serves to gently stimulate the lymphatic system to encourage the discharge of metabolic waste. The lymphatic system, which is made up of lymph nodes, the spleen, the thymus gland, and the tonsils, can be stimulated with proper dry skin brushing.
If toxins are not eliminated through the skin layer, the liver and kidneys must work harder to remove toxins, pesticides, chemicals, and environmental influences we have exposure to. Because of our daily environmental exposures, these organs can quickly become over-taxed and sluggish, causing toxin buildup and contributing to toxin overload in the body. In addition to stimulating the lymphatic system directly, dry skin brushing stimulates the circulatory system to carry waste to the surface of the skin to be released through the pores and sweat glands. This stimulation has the dual function of removing dead skin cells thereby making the skin, our largest eliminatory organ, more supple, healthy, and moist.
It also moves the deeper layers of the lymphatic and circulatory system by increasing blood flow to the surface skin layers where the blood can oxygenate and nourish the skin surface. This is how dry skin brushing reduces cellulite and reduces the overall stress load of the body to help prevent premature aging and wrinkled skin.
Not only will dry brushing smooth out your skin and reduce cellulite but it will also provide all of these other amazing health benefits. Add this simple, less than five-minute, personal care regimen into your daily practice. Your body will thank you.
Sweep up your limbs from feet up legs, and from hands up arms. Employ a circular motion on the abdomen, and chest. In the groin area, you will sweep inward. The buttocks you will sweep outward.
A complete skin brushing will take no longer than 5 minutes. For best results, skin brush every day.
The lymphatic system is made up of a continual series of one-way valves that promote flow of lymph upward. For this reason, always stroke upward when you dry skin brush.
Brush the feet, brush up each leg all the way around from the ankles to the knees and then from the knees to the hips. Stroke one leg from the foot to the hip and then do the other leg, always working upward toward the heart. Brush the front, sides, and back of both legs.
The abdomen is stroked in a clockwise direction: begin at above the pubic bone and move the brush to the right hip, stroke upward to the right rib cage and then across the upper abdomen in the respiratory diaphragm area to the left rib cage; from the left rib cage stroke down to the left hip and then make the turn to end back at the midline just above the pubic bone. Stroke the abdomen in this clockwise manner for several rotations.
Do one arm completely, then do the other arm. Brush all sides of each arm. Stroke from the top of the thighs upward across the buttocks; be sure to include all the surface area of the buttocks. Brush up the back from the waist to the shoulders and brush the back of the neck.
Brush up from the breasts to the front of the neck and throat. Do not brush your face with the body brush. If you wish to brush the face, a softer brush and specific motions are required.
Shower or bathe with warm water and finish with a cool rinse. This warm/cool method also stimulates the lymphatic and circulatory systems and causes the skin pores to open and close providing a massaging/stimulating effect.
Note: If your skin turns red when you brush, you are brushing too hard. Back off a little. The skin should turn a pink color with proper dry skin brushing.
Do not skin brush over inflamed, swollen, or broken skin or where you are experiencing cuts, rashes, infections, or any poisonous rash, such as poison ivy or poison oak.
Disclaimer: Results may vary. Information and statements made by Dr. Ellen Antoine, Dr. Scott Antoine or any representative of The Center for Fully Functional® Health are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor.
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