We all love the idea of glowing skin, right? Many of us are not blessed with the type of genes that give us perfect skin no matter what and, even if we are, as we grow older our skin needs more care. Spots, pimples, breakouts, dry skin (leading to more wrinkles), cellulite and open pores make our skin look less-than-healthy, making us self-conscious and less confident about the way we look.
Luckily, help is at hand! Of course, number one with skin issues is to clean up your diet, but you can also dramatically improve skin health through regular skin brushing.
Why Bother Skin Brushing?
Our skin is the body’s largest organ and one of its main eliminatory channels. The millions of pores in our skin play a major role in cleansing and detoxification, and so the condition of our skin is a good way of telling how healthy we are in general. When our skin looks bright and radiant, this tells us that our bodies are getting enough nutrients and that everything is working as it should. But when our skin loses its natural glow and smooth texture this is often a sign that our bodies are struggling to cope with toxic overload.
How Toxins Affect Our Skin
A third of the toxins that build up in our bodies are eliminated through the skin. When there are too many toxins in our system this puts added stress on the skin, which makes us more prone to outbreaks, irritations and flare-ups. And if we ignore these warning signs of toxicity for too long, it can lead to us developing chronic skin conditions such as eczema, acne and/or psoriasis.
If you have sensitive skin, external pollution and dirt such as dust, smog and chemical face creams and lotions can clog up your pores so that they are unable to do their job, causing spots and acne. Cleaning your skin everyday, through skin brushing and with pure skin products, will help you maintain your skin’s important detoxification role and get your skin glowing.
The Benefits of Skin Brushing
There’s a really simple way of supporting our body’s natural cleansing processes and preventing toxic build-up, and that’s by skin brushing on a regular basis. Skin brushing involves using a natural bristled brush to gently brush and exfoliate the skin, helping to unclog blocked pores and get rid of dead skin cells.
Skin brushing is also a really effective and natural way of preventing and reducing the appearance of cellulite. Cellulite is caused by toxins that build up in the body’s fat cells and become trapped under the surface of the skin. Skin brushing helps to stimulate the lymphatic system and break down these toxins so that our body is then able to eliminate them.
A) What Kind of Brush to Get
Depending on the sensitivity of your skin, buy a soft to medium soft natural-bristle body brush. If you are flexible and can reach all parts of your body, you can use a palm-held brush. If you have more trouble reaching areas such as the middle of your back, a brush with a long handle will make life a lot easier. Buy skin brushes online or from a good pharmacy or health food shop.
B) When to Skin Brush
For the most noticeable results, brush your skin once or twice a day before you bathe. It takes less than 5 minutes to do and, if you brush every day, you will start to notice changes in your skin texture within 30 days, and often sooner.
C) How to Skin Brush
- Stand in the shower or bath to catch the dead skin cells as you brush.
- Brush in long sweeping motions, brushing towards your heart.
- Brush over each area of skin a few times.
- Brush more gently over sensitive areas, such as the breasts – over time these sensitive areas will become more used to the sensation.
- Rinse your skin and stand under a cold shower for 30 seconds to bring the blood to the surface of your skin – a brief burst of very cold water is brilliant for skin health.
- Pat your skin dry and moisturize with a natural oil, such as coconut oil (coconut oil has great properties that are perfect for healthy skin).
- Wash your brush in mild soap once a week and leave to dry somewhere warm to avoid mildew.
Skin brushing is a fabulously easy way of decongesting the skin and giving our body’s natural cleansing processes a helping hand, leaving us with a natural glow and a fresh, healthy complexion. Go get yourself a brush and make it part of your daily self-care beauty routine!
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