As more people become aware of the importance of detoxification, products and procedures are also rising in numbers–and price! Dry skin brushing is quick and easy (and inexpensive) way to detoxify daily, and the benefits will be noticed immediately.

Dry skin brushing is quick and easy (and inexpensive) way to detoxify daily, and the benefits will be noticed immediately. | KalenaSpire

Why Skin Brushing?

The skin is the body’s largest organ, weighing about six pounds and covering about 21 square feet! It is also a primary detoxification organ, eliminating toxins through the pores. This detoxification ability is hindered when pores become clogged, often by cosmetics or foods we eat. Dry brushing helps the skin detoxify by exfoliating dull, dead skin cells from the top layer of skin. It also stimulates the lymphatic system (a primary component to the body’s health and immunity), as well as stimulating and improving the function of the nervous system. By dry brushing, you can also help improve kidney and liver function by easing the burden on those detoxification organs.

How to Perform Skin Brushing

To make this an easy part of your daily routine, purchase a natural bristle brush, which is commonly available in most health food, drug, and department stores often for $5-$10. This one is ideal because it has a detachable long handle. While not necessary, a long handle makes reaching all areas of the body easier.

Do your brushing before a shower, both to help make it a regular practice and because showering afterward aids the cleansing process. Always brush towards the heart using long, soft strokes, following the flow of the lymph and circulatory systems. Cover all areas of your skin. For areas such as the back, armpits, abdomen, and both sides of the chest use a few clockwise strokes followed by a few counterclockwise strokes. Avoid any areas of the body where rash or broken skin is present. It will not take very long for you to see the benefits of healthy, glowing skin and feel an improved sense of vitality.

Skin Brushing

For a pampering herbal detox experience, grind a handful of almonds, plain oatmeal and herbs in a coffee grinder. Sit or lie on a sheet and hand rub the mixture into your skin, then follow with a dry brush (do not shower immediately afterward). When you’re finished gather up the sheet and shake it off outside–and enjoy how silky soft your skin feels. Herbs to consider include lavender, jasmine, chamomile, calendula, or comfrey.

Do you have a skin brushing routine? Share in the comments below!

References

Photo Credit

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About Dr. Christine

Christine Cherpak is a Doctor of Clinical Nutrition, Wellness Expert, and the founder of KalenaSpire, an integrative nutrition coaching and private yoga practice that specializes in women's wellness, gastrointestinal and immune health, nutritional biochemistry, and nutrigenomics. Christine supports her clients in understanding the root cause of their health issues, creates a custom eating, supplement, and lifestyle protocol to put them on the road to healing, and shows them how to make sustainable lifestyle changes so they can finally enjoy and elevate their lives.

Alexandria Z., M.S.

Christine is my wellness goddess. Her amazing support, extraordinary expertise, and undeniable compassion invited me to a world of freedom from digestive discomfort that I didn’t know was possible. The whirlwind of bloating, constipation, brain fog, and digestive upheaval was consuming my life. Exhaustion and frustration were becoming my very existence. And then I met my health goddess! Christine’s astute listening and meticulously tailored guidance, transformed my thinking and whirlwind of digestive discomfort. She helped me achieve a state of equilibrium. The balance I now experience is the center of my wellness existence—the core of my life with digestive happiness.

Christine instilled in me the power to embrace the grace and strength of my very own body! She has taught me to internalize the boundless evidence of my body’s functionality to heal digestively. While working with Christine, my exhaustion, pain, and bloating were overshadowed with energy, digestive comfort, glowing skin, and knowledge. Her coaching raised my awareness of food sensitivities, and promoted better food choices, which led to better sleep, a stronger link to overall wellness, clarity in my thinking, and ultimately, more joy in my life. Christine’s remarkable spirit of wellness will forever echo in my digestive wellness journey. I bestow upon Christine the well-deserved exceptional title, “my wellness goddess.”