Once again, Happy New Year! Welcome to 2014! It’s official, winter is here. January already has a wintry mix of snow, wind and frigid temperatures along with harsh winds and the typical dry air which can wreak havoc on normally healthy skin. It can be disastrous for already sensitive and dry skin. So what’s the cure? I think I found a solution, brush-off dry skin/ash with the ancient self-massage called Dry Skin Brushing.
I talked in an earlier post about the importance of protecting one’s skin all year long. Today, I want to highlight Dry Skin Brushing, an Ayurvedic remedy that is an ancient natural healing technique that helps provide benefits to the skin on the outside as well as the inside.
Spa expert Ronel Corbin, Senior Vice President for ESPA provides some insight into dry skin brushing. Dry skin brushing stimulates the body’s circulation and lymphatic systems. Corbin says that many naturopathic doctors use dry brushing to help with bloating because massaging the lymph nodes helps the body shed excess water and toxins.
Dry brushing leaves your skin exfoliated more readily able to excrete toxins through swear, absorb nutrients you apply with lotions and oils, and helps your lymph flow to keep your body healthy, and it takes less than 5 minutes.
Ayurvedic texts recommend daily skin brushing to keep the urinary system working properly, as the skin is known as the third kidney. Properly conditioned skin will have less break-outs and other undesirable skin conditions. The historic theory is to move all of the toxins in your bloodstream and lymph toward your digestive system so that it can be eliminated from the body.