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Detox - Dry skin brushing

By Charlotte Watts Dip.ION BANT – Nutritional Therapist – www.totalbeing.com and www.healthyconvenience.com

Dry skin brushing is an easy, quick and pleasurable way to add to your health, and being something physical that you can do yourself (or with someone else?) at home, it also adds a fantastic sense of ‘looking after yourself’. It helps to keep your skin healthy, which contributes to overall body health - clogged pores are really not just a cosmetic concern.

The main aim behind skin brushing is to get rid of surface toxins and 'energise' your skin to get blood flow going. As your skin is your largest organ and the second organ of detoxification after the liver, brushing it increases the capacity of your skin to eliminate toxins, making it easier for your whole body to shed wastes. Dry skin brushing also rejuvenates the nervous system by stimulating nerve endings in the skin, contributes to healthier muscle tone and better distribution of fat deposits – in other words helps to reduce cellulite! Since you're actually brushing over every piece of skin you have, your lymphatic system responds well and you receive a whole body mini-acupressure workout.

You can buy body brushes in good chemists, health stores and department stores – choose a good hard one, your body will thank you for it. Your skin may feel sensitive at first and you can start slowly as you get used to it or even start with a softer brush, but this just shows how much you need it!

Dry brush as often as you can before a bath or shower, it is good to get into a daily routine. Start by brushing the soles of the feet and then the whole body by brushing with long strokes all over, towards the heart and concentrating on upper arms, thighs and stomach for the thyroid and female hormone regulation. Brush your entire back and abdomen area, shoulders and neck. You can concentrate on any areas that feel ‘sore’ as you may be holding onto toxins there, but build up with this so you don’t detoxify too fast. Finish by brushing the stomach in a clockwise circle to follow and encourage the movement of digestion. Avoid any sensitive, irritated, infected or damaged areas of the skin and avoid facial skin as well.

Alternating hot and cold showers afterwards can also help circulation but can take some getting use to! If stressed, you can direct cold water towards the adrenal glands just below the mid point of your back, which will help to stimulate them. For extra detoxification, you can rub linseed oil into your entire body before your bath or shower and when you have time, you can make this a thoroughly relaxing experience by lying for 20 minutes to allow it to soak in. Hot water will then drive the oil into your body tissues as it attempts to escape from the water.

Wash your brush regularly with soap and water and you can add a few drops of lavender oil to the bristles before brushing to ward off bacteria and give yourself a bit of extra cleansing and pampering.

See www.totalbeing.com for a Nutritional Assessment to choose the right diet and supplements to help you get on the path to health!

See www.healthyconvenience.com for help remembering how to get healthy – for posters, shopping guides and recipes.