Dry Brushing: Health Benefits + A Step By Step Guide For Lymphatic Drainage
If you are looking for answers on dry brushing, you’ve probably been looking for ways to improve circulation and help drain the lymphatic system at home.
The main question on your mind is: does it actually work? As someone who has been where you are, I understand the hesitation of adding another step in your self-care routine if it doesn’t really do anything. I decided to try it for myself and was surprised by the difference it made!
First, let’s talk about all the potential health benefits. Keep in mind that everyone’s skin is different. Skin is the largest organ of the body and depending on how healthy it is, the benefits may vary. Many people believe that dry brushing is used for cosmetic improvements like cellulite. Improving cellulite is one pro to dry brushing but benefits help more than just the surface, it can help whole-body health! Some benefits include:
- Stimulating the lymphatic system
- Exfoliation
- Reduces cellulite
- Improves circulation
- Reduces Stress
Dry brushing improves the appearance of your skin by removing dead skin and unclogging pores. It also increases your circulation, which helps get rid of metabolic waste. Dry brushing daily gives your skin a noticeable glow. All of this helps reduce cellulite. Let’s be real, cellulite is so frustrating. Even with working out and eating right, there’s always that pesky cellulite that we can’t seem to get rid of. This is one of the reasons why dry brushing has become so popular- because it has shown noticeable differences in reducing cellulite. It helps soften hard fat deposits, disrupting fat cells more evenly which may help the appearance of cellulite. It also helps break down connective tissues that will remove toxins between fat cells. Consistently dry brushing can show visible improvement in your skin quality.
The next question on your mind- how do I dry brush? First, you’ll want to get the right brush. The bristles need to be stiff but not too hard that it could damage the skin. It is recommended to use a boar bristle brush. You can find great and affordable brushes on Amazon. The best time to dry brush is before you shower to help wash off dead skin. Once you have your brush and are ready to try dry brushing, you can use this step-by-step guide.
1. Lower Body
You’ll want to nude when you dry brush and are ready to hop in the shower. You’ll need to find the right pressure- it needs to be pressing without irritating the skin. Start at the bottom of your feet and work upwards. For more sensitive areas like the bottom of your feet, lighten the pressure until you can build up to more pressure. Brush in long oval directions going clockwise. As you move up your legs, stick with the repetitive movement of long oval strokes. When you go over joints, switch to quicker and more circular movements.
2. Middle Body
After you finish dry brushing your legs and butt, follow the same movements for your stomach and lower back. The stomach tends to be more sensitive so lighten the pressure around this area. Just find what feels right to you!
3. Arms
Next start on your arms. Start with dry brushing your palms in circular motions and continue up your arms. As a rule of thumb, keep in mind where the lymph nodes sit. One big one is in the armpit. Once you’ve dry brushed your whole arm, hold your arm above your head and gently brush upwards a couple of times. Do this with both arms.
4. Chest, Shoulders, and Neck
You’ll finish with your chest, shoulders, and back of your neck. After brushing the lymph nodes in your armpits, brush the chest in the direction towards your heart on both sides. No need to do circular motions for the chest, just brush towards your heart. Next, brush the shoulders. Start towards your spine and do quick sweeps towards your shoulder. Think of flicking something off your back. Do this to both shoulders. End the dry brushing session by brushing the back of your neck. Start at the base of your neck and brush upwards to your skull. Do this motion multiple times. Then jump in the shower to rinse off dead skin.
And that’s it! Once you have the motions down to a science, practice dry brushing every day. If you don’t shower every day, no worries. You can still dry brush without showering after. The best time to dry brush is in the morning.
And there you have it! If you want to improve the quality of your skin and help lymphatic drainage, go get yourself a dry brush and start today!
