DRY BRUSHING 101

MAYBE YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT IT, or maybe you’ve seen the “horse brush” circulating the internet along with posts raving about how you should be incorporating it into your self-care regimen. but like, what is it? and why bother? well let me introduce you.

dry brushing is an ancient body brushing technique where simply put, you brush over your body with a dry, stiff-bristled brush. yes, it was adequately named. so what are some of the proclaimed benefits of this technique? dry brushing helps to remove the top layer of dead skin on your body which not only promotes soft, glowy skin, but it also helps to unclog your pores allowing your skin to properly rid your body of toxins. psst, it’s said that your skin is responsible for up to 15% of toxin elimination from your body, so help yah girl out.

while dry brushing strongly promotes exfoliation of the skin and improved appearance of the skin, the benefits definitely don’t stop at the surface. this technique is a powerful way to support and enhance your body’s natural detoxification process beneath the skin. dry brushing aids in detoxification by stimulating lymph flow and increasing the blood circulation in your body. this increase in lymph and blood flow means that your liver is able to filter out toxins in your blood quicker, and more effectively than if you weren’t dry brushing. i think it’s also worth noting that stimulating your lymphatic system is great for your immune system as they work hand in hand to fight off illness.

THE TECHNIQUE //

it’s recommend that you dry brush just before a shower, and over dry, un-lotioned skin. you’ll also want to maintain gentle, long brush strokes always in the direction towards your heart.

◡ begin with soft strokes on the bottom of the feet. with gentle strokes move onto the tops of the feet brushing towards the ankle. i like to go over an area 2-4 times before moving onwards.

◡ next up: legs. start at the ankle moving up the leg towards the knee making sure you’re still using gentle, long strokes and covering both front and back. once you cover the entire bottom leg, brush from the knee going upwards to your hip. don’t forget your back side. when brushing the bum i like to switch to circular motions to stimulate the area even more. i then finish the circular motion by going straight into long strokes from the bottom back to top back.

◡ after the back, we have the stomach. it’s recommended to brush in a counterclockwise motion when brushing the stomach to further aid in digestion. finish the area off by switching back to long upward strokes from the chest up through the clavicle area.

◡ now we move to the hands. begin with the back of the hands brushing to your wrist, then switch to the palm while still brushing towards the wrist. then brush as follows; wrist to elbow, and elbow to shoulder. making sure to cover front and back. repeat on your other arm.

◡ lastly, we finish with our chin/neck area. for this area we will switch to doing downward strokes so that we are still brushing in the direction towards the heart. gently brush from the chin and the jawline down the neck. move to the back of the neck and brush from the hairline down the back of the neck.

AFTER CARE //

following your dry brushing regime you’ll want to shower and moisturize after. personally i love a good body oil when i get out of the shower, but whether it be an oil, balm, or lotion, the key is to find what works best for your skin type when replenishing with moisture and use that.

PRODUCTS //

if you are interested in trying out dry brushing for yourself, check out the products that i use below. if a one stop shop is more your style, OSEA, the company that I get my, highly recommended, body oil from also has a dry brushing bundle that you can buy, just click here.

the dry brush that i use

this body oil is 10/10.