Body brushing just two to five minutes a day stimulates the immune system, hydrates fascia, and calms the nervous system.
While dry brushing leads to softer, glowing skin, its benefits go more than skin deep. It stimulates lymphatic drainage, boosts circulation, and exfoliates the skin, increasing its elasticity.
As our skin is the largest organ of assimilation and elimination, the skin is also our largest vehicle for detoxification. This eliminative organ is responsible for about a quarter of the total waste released by our bodies every day. This transformative practice boosts the inherent cleansing processes of the body. It is an invigorating yet relaxing ritual often used daily by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Embrace your skin’s innate intelligence to deep clean and radiate from within.
Body Brushing and the Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system is a network of vessels, tissues, and organs that work together to remove waste and toxins from the body, as well as to fight infections and diseases. It is a crucial part of the immune system and helps to maintain the body’s fluid balance.
The lymphatic system is made up of lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes, the spleen, the thymus gland, and bone marrow. Lymphatic vessels are similar to blood vessels, but they carry a clear fluid called lymph instead of blood. Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped structures that filter lymph and trap bacteria, viruses, and other harmful substances. The spleen filters blood and helps to remove old or damaged red blood cells. The thymus gland produces T-cells, which are important for fighting infections.
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The lymphatic system plays a vital role in maintaining the body’s immune system. It helps to identify and destroy harmful substances, such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. It also helps to remove excess fluid and waste products from the body, which can help to prevent swelling and inflammation.
Body Brushing and Lymphatic Drainage
By aiding the process of lymphatic drainage, dry brushing helps to rid the body of toxins. The lymphatic system collects, transports, and eliminates cellular waste by moving lymph fluid through a series of blood vessels directly under the skin. Unlike the blood, which is pumped through the body by the heart, lymphatic fluid requires external stimulation in order to circulate effectively, either by dry brushing, exercise, breath, or drinking plenty of clean water (1/2 your weight in ounces daily).
When this process of lymphatic drainage slows, waste can accumulate and compromise the immune system, which can manifest in illness and inflammation.
Dry brushing helps to move the lymph by gently massaging and stimulating the vessels that carry lymph fluid underneath the skin. Moving stagnant lymph aids in detoxification, encouraging cells to release waste and facilitating its removal from the body.
A Word About Fascia
Fascia is a thin layer of connective tissue that encases our bodies under our skin like a wetsuit and wraps itself around every muscle, joint, and organ. It is a living matrix, where the nerves and lymph nodes lie. The fascia is made of bundles of collagen fibers, and its image is that of a spider web, crisscrossing in a genius form across our entire body.
The fascia is also key to detoxification since the lymph nodes are located in the fascia. Toxins tend to get trapped in the fascia when the body gets out of alignment, causing tight and thick fascia tissue. Imagine a dried-up sponge. When we loosen the fascia with dry brushing or lymphatic drainage, we are bringing back hydration to every cell in the body, making our bodies more subtle, flexible, rejuvenated, and nourished.
Fascia is the system that connects and influences all biological systems and transmits information, light, sound, frequency, and intelligence within all systems inside our bodies. It is now being called our sixth sense, or sensory organ. The state of our fascia has an effect on so many parts of us as humans and specifically influences the physical body, our biological functions, our emotional resilience, our life force energy, our connection to our instincts and intuition, and even our spiritual consciousness.
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How To Body Brush
Whether a daily ritual, weekly indulgence, or occasional supplement to deeper cleansing, dry brushing holds the power to transform. Dry brushing can be done as often as twice a day before bathing, producing an invigorating effect in the morning, and increasing relaxation at night. In conjunction with a sauna or steam, dry brushing promotes even more thorough cleansing through the skin. Using essential oils that stimulate lymphatics, such as Lymph Lover Blend, can enhance the dry brushing process. Add one to two drops of this oil blend to the palm of your hand and glide your dry brush over the palms to saturate the bristles before dry brushing.
To dry brush, use gentle, light strokes, starting at the tips of your toes and moving upwards. Brush towards the heart, upwards on the limbs, and downwards on the chest and upper back. Brush clockwise around the belly and spend extra time on any stagnant areas such as the inner thighs or underarms. The whole process should take about two to five minutes. While the pressure should be light and invigorating, be gentle with your skin, it should feel stimulated, not irritated. After dry brushing, follow your usual process of bathing, and be sure to moisturize thoroughly. The exfoliating effects of dry brushing allow body lotions, such as Firming & Toning Lotion or Blue Sapphire Hand & Body Lotion, and healing body oils, such as Coconut Moisturizer or Breast Massage Oil to penetrate the skin more effectively. Adding a hydrating body cream, Vanilla Bean Body Butter, or Anti-Cellulite Stimulating Gel after dry brushing will further support circulation, reduce stress and let you bask in even more self-love.
Lymphatic Drainage of The Face and Neck
It is interesting that so many of us exercise, eat nutritious food and drink plenty of water, but often wonder why we are seeing wrinkles, puffiness under our eyes, sinus congestion, and furrow in our brows.
We run, swim, bike, meditate, and practice yoga on a regular basis, but our face somehow gets left out of the exercise process.
Deep fascial adhesion caused by regular facial gestures, looking down at our cell phones, head forward while on our computers, and looking down over our clients during facial treatments and traveling, can all contribute to those facial lines, tightness of the jaw, or stiff neck or shoulders. All can be alleviated by regular lymphatic drainage, which deeply hydrates, promotes our own hyaluronic acid, collagen production, and plumps and firms the skin, while releasing and relaxing the muscles in our face and neck.
How To Do The Face & Neck
With a massage tool like an Anma, Gua Sha, or your fingers, begin massaging with a serum such as Dew Drops or Cellular Renewal Complex, or a deeply moisturizing oil, like Midnight Bloom, under your collar bone on your chest to begin lymphatic stimulation.
You can also first begin at the base of your neck (occiput), which holds much of our stress and weight of our head, and massage your scalp, then proceed to the chest. We hold so much tension in our neck and head, this alone will make you feel much lighter, greater range of motion, and more relaxed and centered.
With your tool or hands, massage with the opposite hand on one side of the neck, from the back of your ear down to your collar bone, draining lymph that can cause puffy eyes, congestion in the sinuses, earaches, sore throat, or TMJ.
This is now a perfect time to begin your two to five minute facial massage. Massage from your ears down along your jaw line, bringing the lymph down to drain into the chest lymph. Tap lightly under your eyes, inside to out, and under and over your eyebrows, to create flow. Tap with your fingers or your chosen tool lightly on your forehead which also holds much stress and tension. By releasing any stagnant or “glued” fascia in the face, you will begin to see the difference in your appearance and overall health and well-being.
Two to 5 minutes a day, like brushing our teeth, we will see such a difference in our appearance and overall well-being.
4 Benefits of Lymphatic Brushing and Drainage
1 Sloughs off dead skin cells, constant skin cell renewal
2 Increased circulation
3 Relaxes and rejuvenates the nervous system
4 Rejuvenates and connects all the body systems… mind, body, spirit and heart
For Estheticians:
An added 2 to 5 minute treatment, which will add much value with little effort, and make your client feel and look BEAUTIFUL.
Contribution by Kim Manley
Kim Manley’s enthusiasm for formulating personal care products developed while awaiting the arrival of her beloved daughter, Bonnie Rose. Concerned about the harsh chemicals used in mainstream baby care products, she instead created her own collection of gentle and soothing formulas, planting the seed from which her business has since thrived. Always at work expanding the scope of KM Herbals through channels of production and education, Kim continues to commit herself to providing luxury products crafted with intention, wisdom, and passion.
