Dry Skin Brushing Benefits

Dry Skin Brushing: 7 Key Benefits

Your skin is a complex system made up of nerves, glands, and cell layers that, when healthy, serves as a buffer that helps protect your body from extreme temperatures and chemicals.

It also produces antibacterial substances to protect you from infection and enables your body to produce vitamin D when exposed to the sun. Your skin even contains densely packed nerve cells that act as messengers to your brain, making your skin a crucial part of your interactions with the world around you.

Another crucial role your skin plays is supporting optimal detoxification. But if your skin is overrun with toxins or dead skin cells, it will not be able to eliminate wastes from your body efficiently.

This is where dry skin brushing can be invaluable, not only in brushing off dead skin cells but also in activating waste removal via your lymph nodes. Beyond this, dry skin brushing offers multiple benefits including:

1. Stimulate Your Lymphatic System

In your body, your lymphatic system is the system responsible for eliminating cellular waste products. Hundreds of miles of lymphatic tubules allow waste to be collected from your tissues and transported to your blood for elimination, a process referred to as lymphatic drainage.

When your lymphatic system is not working properly, waste and toxins can build up and make you sick. Lymphatic congestion is a major factor leading to inflammation and disease. By stimulating your lymphatic system and helping it release toxins, dry skin brushing is a powerful detoxification aid.

2. Exfoliation

Dry skin brushing removes dead dry skin, improving appearance, clearing your clogged pores, and allowing your skin to "breathe."

3. Increase Circulation

When you dry brush your skin, it increases circulation to your skin, which encourages the elimination of metabolic waste.

4. Reduce Cellulite

Dry skin brushing may help to soften hard fat deposits below the skin while distributing fat deposits more evenly. This may help to diminish the appearance of cellulite.

Dry brushing is also said to help reduce cellulite by removing toxins that may break down connective tissue.

"When we'd heard dry skin brushing was an effective method for reducing cellulite, we knew we had to include it in our anti-cellulite road test. Sure enough, it was indeed one of the more successful ways to smooth away less-than-perfect spots on your legs."

5. Stress Relief

The act of dry brushing has been described as meditative (especially if you do it in a quiet space) and may reduce muscle tension, calm your mind, and relieve stress. Many compare it to a light whole-body massage.

6. Improve Digestion and Kidney Function

Dry skin brushing may go even deeper, helping to support your digestion and organ function. According to one skin care and spa expert:

"…many naturopathic doctors use dry brushing to help with bloating because massaging the lymph nodes helps the body shed excess water and toxins. One of the immediate effects of dry brushing is smoother skin, but it can also help improve digestion, kidney function, and more."

7. It's Invigorating

Many people become "addicted" to dry skin brushing (in a good way) because it simply feels so good. Along with glowing and tighter skin, regular dry skin brushers report feeling invigorated after a quick session.

Setbacks.....

Setbacks in fitness are bound to happen, but it doesn't mean you have to stop moving towards your fitness goals. Adjustments to your routine may be needed to stay on track and to maintain your gains. It has been one week since I hurt my leg. I have adjusted my routine by doing 125-200 push-ups a day and cut my caloric intake since overall I am less active. Tomorrow I will be setting up my weights and will start lifting. As long as you don't stop, getting pass your hurdle should not be devistating to you overall fitness gains. My running will suffer for sure but I will just work my way back up when I am able to run again. 

I Must Go!!!

It has been very hard for me not to be in the gym this week because of my leg injury. However, if I have to crutch my way to the gym on Monday I will! I am not able to drive but I will not let that stop me. My doctor said I can do any upper body workouts, so I'm gonna take this down time to improve my bench and build my back and lats. This will improve my deadlift when I am able to lift again. So, my mission this weekend is to find a motivated individual to pick me up and go to the gym with me at 5am during the week. I will not be stopped! 

Fitness Warrior!!!

There are so many people out there doing the June 3500 push-up challenge that told me they couldn't do 1 push up, and most of them are doing hundreds of push-ups a day! Your body will do whatever your mind tells it to do. Once you get over the fear of the challenge you have no option but to succeed! Anything more than what you could do before is success. If you go from doing 1/2 push up to a full push-up; you're a success story. The key is to push yourself! Push yourself knowing that results are on the way. Push yourself to get past fears and doubt about your abilities! Push yourself because it is the only way to reach your goals! Of it were easy, everyone would be doing it. You're doing it because you are a fitness warrior! You've got this! 

I'm Inspired!

So many people have joined my June 3500 push-up challenge that it makes me emotional. My sister and cousins who are out of state, my daughter and friends and people that I don't even know have made the choice to get fit! That's amazing! They are all inspirations to me and keep me going. Thank you! 

Fitness Journey Pitfall....

It's day two of the push-up challenge and I'm trying to stay ahead of the game by doing 120 push-ups a day. With my leg being injured, I'm trying to do whatever I can to continue building muscles. I will keep working out all other body parts as much as I can. I despise being home bound and laid up in the bed (turnt down...) lol! I won't be for long. I'm going to make a speedy recovery and get back to full physical activity. 

Injured, but Not Out!

Okay so most know that I injured my lower leg area in a couple different places yesterday. However, I did not allow it to keep me from meeting my push-up commitment. In fact, since my lower half is out, I will focus on getting my upper body in better shape. I can't allow this to keep me down too long. I really need a workout partner now. Someone to spot me and push my limits. I guess I will have to do that for myself. I will keep you posted on what the surgeon says about my leg tomorrow. Keep motivated and keep going!