Body brushing is a hot topic right now, especially as summer is here, bringing warmer weather and the opportunity to bare more skin. Daily body brushing makes skin softer and more glowing, which goes a long way towards helping us feel more confident regardless of our shape. But the benefits a body brush brings go far deeper than this too. In fact, your simple body brush is one of the most valuable of your bathtime accessories, because it has such a deep impact on mind and body.
Body brushing is a truly invigorating self-care ritual that has been misrepresented as a fat-breaking technique for too long. It has nothing to do with removing fat; the body brush works to activate the lymph, the body’s natural detoxifying network, and the ritual of using a body brush to do this has been adopted by cultures from Ayurveda (an alternative medicine system with roots in the Indian subcontinent) to Ancient Egyptians, Romans and Chinese medicine. The Indian Ayurvedic approach, garshana, was used to stimulate the lymph and circulation and done using raw silk or linen gloves, but also a natural bristle brush.
Finnish naturopathic doctor Paavo Airola popularised the body brush 30 years ago, stressing its value in supporting digestion, lymph and our organ systems.
A Body Boost At The Flick Of A Wrist
There is no denying that the body brush has been around for centuries in various forms with good reason. Here are just a few of the benefits of using a body brush:
- Softer Skin – A body brush exfoliates and eliminates dead skin cells, leaving skin soft and helping its renewal process. This can be helpful for preventing ingrown hairs and the dry skin condition keratosis pilaris.
- Lymph Love – The lymph, the body’s natural detoxification system, lies just below the skin’s surface. Body brushing stimulates lymph nodes, vessels and glands, encouraging trapped fluid release and improving immune function.
- Cellulite Blitz – In boosting the lymph and helping to clear away the fluid that gets trapped between fat cells, which causes the surface dimples we know as cellulite, body brushing can streamline a figure, limiting cellulite and bloat.
- Tone & Glow – The abrasive action of body brushing brings blood to the surface of the skin, giving it a fresh tone and glow.
- Limit Breakouts – By encouraging cellular turnover, stimulating the lymph and unclogging pores, body brushing helps to keep breakouts at bay.
So, what’s the best way to use a body brush? Legology, the leg care expert brand, say it should take no more than a minute every morning (no excuse then to avoid it because you haven’t got time): they recommend using their body brush, Lymph-Lite, in flick-like sweeps, from ankles to knees, then thighs, and wrists to shoulders, in an upwards direction towards the heart. It doesn’t matter whether you use your body brush before a shower, during or after it as long as you are using it properly – not scrubbing, but sweeping in quick flicks. Try it for a week and you’ll see a real difference in the texture, tone and smoothness of your skin.