The best thing about body brushing is that it’s cheap. Once you’ve bought your brush, that’s it, you’re good to go!
Why do we need to brush? The lymph system which runs alongside the blood circulatory system is like a bus network. It drops off healthy goodies, nutrients and oxygen which go to the cells and, in return, picks up all the trash that needs to be excreted out of the body. It’s a fabulous system but sometimes these buses get sluggish and just don’t move that well. What they need is something to kickstart their engines. This is what body brushing does.
What sort of brush do I need? Unless your skin is fragile you need to choose a firm bristle brush for this. Choose one where you think ‘ouch, that might just hurt’! I did once try this with a soft bristle brush – just not the same. If you feel it’s too firm, you can start with soft, then eventually graduate to firmer bristles when you feel you can tough it out. I bought mine from Elemis which is pretty perfect for the job.
How do I brush? Take the brush and with long, firm, quick, upward movements, start at the soles of your feet, move up through to your ankles and towards the heart. Don’t forget the arms and the back. In fact, if you get bumpy skin on your arms and buttocks (keratosis pilaris), this can help.
Take a maximum of 3 minutes, no more is necessary, you can even do it in less than 2. Do it before your shower/bath on dry skin.
How will my skin feel? Brushing will increase circulation, encourage elimination of waste through the skin, exfoliate and improve skin texture. Don’t do it on the face, it is just for the body. If you can get body brushing into your routine, you’ll be amazed at the results.
Your skin will feel smoother and softer because your circulation has improved, your skin will glow and any dull and cellulite areas will gradually improve as the whole nutrient versus waste disposal mechanism goes up a notch. You’ll honestly wonder why you didn’t do this earlier. Even if you can only manage to fit brushing in once a week, you’ll still feel the results.
Washing the brush. Remember to clean your brush, either wash it in hot soapy water or spray with a tea tree oil solution.
You can share if you like, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Do I want my partner’s dead skin on my brush? Yuk yuk yuk!
