Incorporating Dry Brushing into Your Self Care Routine
Dry brushing is a wonderful addition to a massage therapy session, or as a way to incorporate a daily dose of self care into your daily routine. The best part of using a dry brush is that it can take as long as you need it to (or for as long as your baby will tolerate not being help). Regardless of how long you are able to use the brush, your skin and body will notice the difference after just a few sessions.
Benefits of Dry Brushing
Exfoliation
By using the dry brush, you are taking off any dead or excess skin. This will allow your skin to feel smoother and look cleared after only a few sessions.
Lymphatic Support
Lymph moves just below the surface of the skin, so the light pressure of the dry brush helps encourage the movement of lymph back towards the heart.
Visible Reduction of Cellulite
While the research does not fully back this benefit, many users of dry brushing claim to notice a visual difference in their cellulite.
Reduction of Toxins in the Body
if done properly and consistently, it has been reported that brushing can decrease the amount of toxins in your body significantly enough to notice a weight change.
How to Use a Dry Brush
Dry brushing is best done on dry, lotion or oil free skin.
With the movement of lymph, blood, and fluid, we always brush towards the heart to encourage venous return. Generally, 2-3 strokes over each section of the body is enough, but more or less will not cause a problem. Just make sure that your skin does not become irritated and/or red. When we perform dry brushing in office, we always start with the feet, working up the body towards the heart.
When you are brushing, you will notice that your skin becomes a little pink, but it should never be painful, red, or burn. The process should not feel painful or uncomfortable, so you may need to adjust your level of pressure throughout the session.
In between uses, it is not necessary to clean your dry every time. Spraying tea tree oil on the brush is a wonderful way to keep the brush clean, but also not deteriorate the quality of the bristles. Soap and water is not recommended, unless multiple people will be using the brush and you want to ensure it is completely clean in between uses.
Dry Brushing During a Massage
We are excited to announce that dry brushing is now available as an add-on for any massage, both in office and in home! When you add on dry brushing, we normally start you on your back, dry brush the front of your body, then flip you over, and dry brush the back of your body. The massage then starts with the back of your body.
We like to dry brush the entire body prior to the massage because the contrast of a coarse brush and the smooth lotion can be too invigorating. Furthermore, the added lotion from the massage cause the dry brushing to not be as effective.
