Skin Tips

Brush Up on Health and Beauty

Dry brushing is a unique cleaning technique that can do wonders to your skin.

Add a few minutes to your daily routine to dry brush your body — a unique cleaning technique that can work wonders on your skin.

The concept sounds strange, but the benefits go far beyond having skin that glows. Before your shower or bath, take a dry natural-bristle brush (synthetics are too rough) or loofah and brush it vigorously all over your body, starting from your feet and making your way to the top of your body.

According to Patti Booth, an esthetician at Total Face and Body in Tallahassee, dry brushing provides numerous health benefits for your skin — the largest organ in your body for elimination.

“It increases circulation and brings oxygen to certain parts of our body that may not be necessarily getting it just by our daily activities,” says Booth. “It removes dead skin cells which build up over time and when you remove them, it allows your skin to breathe better.”

Women may be happy to know dry brushing also can help diminish the appearance of that pesky cellulite. “It cleanses the skin, which makes it tighter and look more youthful,” says Booth.

Aside from the outer benefits of dry brushing, the technique immensely helps your inner workings too — particularly your lymphatic system. Dry brushing revs up the circulation in your body, which allows for lymph (an immune system fluid that helps bring nutrients to our cells) to get moving in your system and possibly making you less susceptible to illness and fatigue.

It’s OK to dry brush your body daily — but not the delicate skin of your face. Be careful, though: Booth warns that once you start dry brushing, you may never want to stop.

“It is amazing when you use it, because it actually is something that you kind of get addicted to because you don’t feel like your skin is clean unless you do the dry brushing,” says Booth.