Start dry brushing today to help stimulate lymphatic drainage & detoxification throughout the entire body. Also sharing the correct dry brushing technique!!
Let’s talk dry brushing! If I’m being completely honest…which I aim to be on this blog…I have had my dry brush for 5 years. Now ask me how long I’ve used it…6 months! LOL! My mom sent this dry brush to me in one of my many care packages I received when I was a freshman in collage. I used it maybe twice during a shower… which is WRONG (I’ll get to it)!
So fast forward quite a few years later & I finally committed to dry brushing because it’s actually INCREDIBLE for your body!
Safe to say, I wish I had started earlier!
If you have never heard of dry brushing, well then this is the post for you! A dry brush is literally a dry brush for your body, like the one pictured in the photo. As soon as I’m done dry brushing, I immediately feel so energized but yet relaxed, it’s such a fantastic feeling.
It’s like scratching a good itch…ALL OVER YOUR BODY!
Dry brushing wakes up your body, skin, digestive system, & lymphatic system. I think most of us, myself included, forget that our skin is the largest detoxifying organ in our entire body, which is why it’s so crucial to take care of it.
The specific dry brush that I use is only $8! Once I get to the benefits of dry brushing, you will never want to buy something quicker! The key though when looking to purchase a dry brush, is to be aware of synthetic bristles & instead opt for an all-natural brush. When trying to find the exact one I have to link it, I came across some dry brushing gloves, which look appealing, but also beware of nylon…I’d just stick to the actual brush.
The Benefits of Dry Brushing
Your body will reap endless benefits by incorporating dry brushing into your routine. The sweeping motion of the brush against your skin will not only exfoliate off all your dead skin cells, but it actually encourages cell renewal & helps combat clogged pores (which easily happens due to shaving). You can actually see the dead skin cells falling to the ground…TMI?
But get this! Dry Brushing also helps your body evenly distribute fat cells, promotes firmer skin, & reduces cellulite! Ready to make the purchase yet???
For me, one of the main reasons why I dry brush is due to the benefits it provides our lymphatic system. When you dry brush correctly, it helps stimulate lymphatic drainage within the body. When you stimulate the drainage, all the junk is being removed from your lymph nodes & tissues, & then carried towards your heart. It’s fantastic for detoxing!
This is why you sweep the brush TOWARDS your heart!
Lymph nodes are found throughout your entire body. You might be most familiar with the lymph nodes on the sides of your neck below your ears. My lymph nodes on my neck are ALWAYS enlarged…you can actually see them sticking out! I was really sick when I was young & they swelled to the size of golf balls. Long story short, my lymph nodes are by no means the size of golf balls now, but they have never gone down completely. Whenever I start feeling sick, I immediately can feel it in my neck, specifically where my lymph nodes are. So when I start to feel like that or just feel lethargic, I grab my brush & brush the lymph nodes on my neck, to help detoxify.
With this being said, when I dry brush, I make sure to focus on places where I know big lymph nodes are located, which are the sides of my neck, armpits, & right below the pelvis. I also focus on my thyroid. Dry brushing benefits everyone, but especially if you have a thyroid or an autoimmune disorder, it would be a wonderful addition to your self-care routine.
Dry brushing also helps your body enhance blood circulation, which is why it leaves you feeling energized! If it even needed another benefit…dry brushing can also help decrease stress immediately!
How to Dry Brush Your Body Correctly
Now it’s very important to learn how to dry brush correctly. Dry brushing is to be done in a sweeping/brushing motion TOWARDS your heart. If you brush your skin moving away from your heart, it can actually rupture vessels & cause varicose veins.
When you are first starting out, apply light pressure with the brush. You don’t want to dive right in & scratch yourself or break skin…that’s not the goal. You want to apply enough pressure so that when your done, your skin will appear slightly pink & tingly. The bristles on the dry brush I linked earlier, are firm but won’t hurt the skin. Nylon brushes are much tougher & can harm the skin, which is yet another reason to stick to a brush with all-natural bristles.
It’s recommended to dry brush 5-7 minutes in the morning or before you shower (so you can wash off the dead skin cells) & to dry brush 2-7 times a week. Although it’s recommended, I rarely dry brush in the morning, it’s just not practical for my morning routine. I shower mostly in the evenings, which is when I dry brush. My goal the past six months has been to dry brush before every shower, which I’ve done a pretty good job at.
Also, dry brushing is to be done on a DRY body…so not in the actual shower.
Here’s How I Dry Brush
Brush each area a minimum of 6 strokes or spend a total of 5 minutes dry brushing
- Begin to brush the soles of the feet
- Sweep up over the toes & up towards the knee
- Cover the entire leg, sweep up towards the hip (I like to focus a little more on my inner & outer thighs as well as my butt)
- Repeat the same process on the other leg, sweeping up towards the hip
- Next brush your fingers & palm
- Brush up your arm towards the shoulder…don’t forget the back of your arm!
- Brush armpit clockwise
- Repeat the same process on your other arm & armpit, always sweeping up towards the heart
- Move down to your pelvis & sweep towards your heart
- Brush up on your stomach & sides of your waist
- Reach brush over your shoulder towards spine & brush up & over your shoulder on both sides of your body
- Brush along jawline & down your neck (notice here you brush down, due to the neck obviously being above the heart)
- Sweep down focusing on your neck lymph nodes, move down to your collarbone & where your thyroid is located
- Continue to sweep down over your chest
- DONE
Shop my $8 Dry Brush
Have you ever used a dry brush?
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