All About Body Brushing

We brush our hair, our teeth, even our eyebrows. And our bodies now too apparently? Body brushing, or dry skin brushing, is something we should all adopt into our skincare routines. It is the age-old trick that celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow, swear by. So, if it’s good enough for Gwyneth, it’s good enough for us.

Body brushing is exactly that. A firm natural bristle brush is used in sweeping motions along your skin towards your heart, starting from your toes and working all the way up your body. It can be used before a spa treatment or as part of your daily pre-shower/bath regime. So how does this benefit us? Body brushing will boost circulation and consequently the delivery of oxygen to your organs. The brushing of the skin helps move the lymph fluids to encourage lymphatic drainage (this is how we get rid of waste and dead cells from our body). Body brushing is an excellent way to exfoliate too. As both the brush and your skin are dry, it gets rid of all those dead skin cells, revealing fresh revitalized skin. There have been claims that dry skin brushing can reduce the appearance of cellulite. However, there is no scientific evidence to back this up. In fact, the temporary reduction in cellulite after brushing is most likely due to the ‘plumping’ effect that increased circulation has on your skin. But even some short-lived cellulite rest bite is better than nothing, so we’ll take it.

 

Although it may not promise the disappearance of dimples, body brushing is an easy and inexpensive way to achieve invigorated, fresh, super soft skin. Because great skin isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.  

 

Our body brushing top tips:

•Body brush first, then take a shower/bath. Load up on good quality moisturiser afterwards

•Take it easy on areas that are sensitive

•Don’t brush over any damaged, broken or inflamed skin

•Avoid using the body brush on your face (and nipples!)