Beautiful Glowing Skin Without Using Oils, Creams, Or Soaps?

DRY BRUSHING

Article by Alanna Ketler for Collective Evolution | www.collective-evolution.com

I find it kind of funny how it seems like in many ways society is moving backwards in time. In many aspects of our lives we are opting for simpler solutions that were more common in the past in regards to our health, eating habits, and personal care.

Nowadays, a lot people are adapting to and using the ways of the past. Like hanging their clothes on a clothes line outside to dry, growing their own food, canning and preserving fruits and vegetables, utilising homemade cleaning and personal care products and much more. This is awesome to see because it means that we are taking control of our own lives and taking matters into our own hands, putting less reliance on the system for support. This is also excellent news for Mother Nature, as a lot of these older practices that we have been reverting back to are helping the environment directly.

One of these practices from the past is called Dry Brushing, and this is what this article is about. Dry brushing is an ancient practice that has been used for centuries primarily by Scandinavians and Russians, and many ancient texts refer to a method of using sticks, sand and rocks to massage the skin; this is essentially what dry brushing is. It is a method that involves brushing the skin with a brush made with natural fibres to remove the outer layer of skin that is re-generated every 24 hours.

Here are some of the potential benefits that dry brushing can provide for you if done on a regular, daily basis;

Benefits Of Dry Brushing

• Removal of dead skin – dry brushing will help shed dead skin cells, which will improve skin texture and cell renewal as a new layer of skin is formed every 24 hours.
• Dry brushing can also help remove cellulite. Cellulite is actually caused by subcutaneous fat material and fibrous tissue that are not able to be eliminated through the skin, they then cause this dimpling effect on the overlaying skin. Cellulite is most commonly found on the thighs, hips and bums of women, but some men have cellulite as well. Good news is, dry brushing can replace expensive and mostly toxic creams, liposuction and other laser treatments or plastic surgery. You’ll have to try it and see for yourself!
• Dry brushing can actually strengthen the immune system. It does so by stimulating lymph vessels to drain toxic mucoid matter into organs of detoxification we can detoxify and purify the entire system.
• Dry brushing will tighten your skin. By increasing the blood flow, toxins are moved and eliminated through the skin. Underneath that old layer of skin lies a new layer with a healthy glow.
• Tone your muscles. Dry brushing tones muscles by stimulating the nerve endings, which causes the individual muscle fibres to move and activate. Also, it can mobilise fat and help to even out the distribution of fat deposits.

Did you know that your skin is one of five main elimination channels of the body? Some refer to the skin as the third kidney because of its ability to rid the body of toxic waste material. The skin eliminates about 2 pounds of toxic material each day in the form of perspiration; this is one reason saunas can also be very beneficial to our health. Because of the regular use of oils, creams, soaps, sunscreens make-up etc. the pores of the skin can become very clogged with toxic chemicals, and hinder the process of elimination of even more toxins. It is important to keep the skin healthy and fresh, and this is exactly where dry brushing comes in.

Here is a step-by-step guide to dry brushing your skin;

The Method

• First you will need a skin brush, it is important that the bristles of this brush are made with natural fibres.
• Next, starting with dry skin shortly after waking and before bathing, begin at your feet.
• Start to brush your foot; stroke the brush towards the ankle. Then moving up the calf do long upward strokes towards the knee around the calf. Then do the thigh in the same way as the calf except moving towards the hips. Repeat with other foot and leg.
• It is important to always stroke the brush towards your heart because the lymphatic fluid flows through the body in that direction – towards the heart.
• Move on to the arms, and remember to do long upward strokes, you’ll want to do circular movements in each of your armpits.
• Next, do circular upward movements on your stomach towards your chest. Once you reach the chest, do softer strokes as this can be a sensitive area, around the breasts and especially the nipple area.
• The one exception to stroking towards your heart is your back, once you get to your back, brush from your neck down to the lower back. A brush with a long handle will come in handy for this, or you can get a friend or family member to help you out.
• Never brush over open or inflamed skin, sun burnt skin or cancerous skin.
• After you are done, hop in the shower right away to rinse away all of the dry skin that you have just loosened up and brushed off. You do not need to use soap because the new skin that is now revealed from underneath the old is clean! Besides why would you want to bother clogging up your pores all over again? You can use a bit of mild, preferably natural, cleanser for sensitive areas, and/or armpits, ‘private parts’ etc.
• Before you get out of the shower, a great way to further invigorate the skin and stimulate blood circulation is to alternate water temperature from as hot as you can handle to as cold as you can handle a few times.

Please note, the first few times you try dry brushing it will feel a bit uncomfortable for some, almost like a rough scratchy feeling. Just be gentle and don’t brush too hard! Eventually you will get used to the feeling and your brush will soften up a bit.

It is important to wash your brush once every 1-2 weeks with a mild soap and warm water, leave it on a windowsill for it to dry thoroughly for the next day.

This entire process should take no longer than 10 minutes, which means you won’t have to worry about adding another ‘chore’ to your morning routine. Besides, it is a great morning ritual to start your day and a wonderful opportunity to do something solely for yourself and your health!

The advantages of adopting of this practice certainly outweigh any potential disadvantages. You should see within a month how healthy, beautiful and soft your skin is. You will literally be glowing! You will also be saving money on expensive soaps and body washes because you wont be using nearly as much soap, and in turn eliminating the amount of plastic from the bottles, loofahs and other items that are generally used on a daily basis. It’s a win-win situation. What have you got to lose? Give it a shot and see for yourself what this practice can do for you!

Much Love, Alanna

[Original Article]

(Original Title: Looking For Beautiful Glowing Skin Without Using Oils, Creams, Or Soaps? Try This Out)