The largest and one of the most important excretory organs of the body is our skin. It has often been referred to as our third kidney. It is responsible for approximately a quarter of our body's daily detoxification, as we eliminate between one to two pounds of waste through sweat each day.

A third of the blood circulated in our body goes to our skin. Our skin is the last organ to receive nutrients but the first to show signs of deficiency and imbalance. When our blood is full of toxins it often reflects on our skin. Dry skin brushing is an excellent method to help our body excrete those toxins both internally and externally through increased blood circulation.

There are many benefits to regular dry skin brushing. Firstly, it is a way of exfoliating dead skin cells, stimulating cell renewal and our oils glands to give our skin a healthy glow.
It can lessen the appearance of cellulite through the increase of blood flow to remove stagnant fatty material not eliminated from those hips, thighs and buttocks.

Nerve endings in our skin are stimulated, thus rejuvenating our entire nervous system. You will actually feel your skin tingle after a brisk dry skin brushing.

Our immune system is also stimulated to work more efficiently in aiding the drainage of toxins from our cells into our internal detoxification organs for them to be flushed from the body. This in turn will help our body ward off infection and speed up the healing process.

For those of us who would like to lose weight, dry skin brushing is a great way to speed up our metabolism and help tone our muscles and tighten our skin.

Regular dry skin brushing is highly beneficial for those of us who spend many hours either seated at a desk or behind the wheel of a car or have an inactive lifestyle. You will find this simple, inexpensive practice both invigorating and energising.

What you need:
A long-handled, natural bristle bath brush with a removable brush is ideal or a long piece of our local loofah. Your brush or loofah will need to be washed regularly and placed in a sunny place to dry. Do not leave it in the shower as it will
become mildewed.

How to dry brush:
Dry skin brushing should be performed daily, preferably first thing in the morning just before you shower. Stand naked in your bathroom; begin on the soles of your feet using a vigorous circular movement. Brush your feet and calves with long sweeping upward strokes; move to your thighs and spend some extra time brushing areas where you have cellulite. Now brush your palms and your arms remembering to raise your arms and brush down into your arm pit to your heart. Brush your buttocks, hips and abdomen using a circular movement. On your belly, brush 10 times counter-clockwise and 10 times clockwise.

Brush from your neck down to your heart and include the breasts with gentle circular strokes. Brush down the back from neck to lower back and brush round from your waist to your heart.

You will need to adjust the pressure of your brushing to the more sensitive areas of your body and be careful to avoid any area where you have either broken skin or a rash. Your strokes need to be brisk and firm on the rest of your body. You will find that your pressure can increase as your body becomes accustomed to the brushing. Always brush toward your heart and not away from it.

Ideally, we should spend about 10-15 minutes brushing daily; but if this is difficult, remember anytime spent is better than no time at all.

If cellulite is a problem for you, try to spend 10 minutes in those areas each time you brush to help break up the waste.

After brushing, have your shower as normal and end with a hot and cold cycle - water as hot as possible then as cold as possible for several seconds and repeat three times. This will further stimulate your circulation and bring blood flow to your skin.

Before drying, apply a small amount of plant oil to your body such as cold pressed coconut or olive oil. The more frequently you brush the less oil you will need as your body will start to produce its own natural oils.

Spa Elder Tip

When dry skin brushing, remember both you and the brush or loofah need to be dry.

Stella Gray is the Spa Elder at Fern Tree, the Spa at Half Moon, with over 35 years in the spa industry. She can
be reached at ferntree@halfmoon.com.

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