Body Brushing Challenge!

A couple of days ago I started what I am going to call, the 30 Day Body Brushing Challenge. Basically I am going to be dry brushing my skin at least once a day for 30 days (or at least try to!). Then I will report back any changes I have noticed in my skin.If you haven't heard of dry brushing before, it is the concept of using a natural bristle brush to brush against dry skin. This is an ancient practice that is known as a way to "detox" the skin by cleansing it inside and out to result in better skin appearance. Now you are probably thinking, how on earth would brushing my skin do that? Firstly, it exfoliates your skin on the outside removing dead skin cells and waste excreted by the skin which clogs pores. And secondly, it promotes blood flow and lymphatic drainage, which pretty much means that toxins and waste are removed from your body faster.


Benefits of dry brushing:
 1. Increase lymphatic draining to get rid of waste in our bodies. 
2. Exfoliates skin to help unclog the pores3. Increases blood circulation which also improves waste removal 
4. Reduces cellulite by helping to smooth out fatty deposits 
5. It feels great! It gives your such an invigorating feeling when you dry brush 
6. It even improves muscle tone 
7. Prevents premature aging by tightening the skin 
8. Improves the nervous system by stimulating  the nerve endings in your skin
 So all of those benefits make body brushing seem pretty amazing to me. Especially when all your need is a body brush which you can buy from under $20. I got mine from The Body Shop in Australia for $19.95, but you can also easily buy them online.
 How to do it:

Always start with dry skin, the best idea it to do this before bathing so you can wash of all the skin skin you have removed. When dry brushing the basic principle is to always brush toward your heart. Starting with your extremities brush from the furthest part away and then brush towards the heart.
 This is the process I use when dry brushing: 

• I always start with my the bottom of my feet, then the top and then move up my leg to my bottom, with long sweeping movements.
• After my legs I move to my stomach where I do long circles from left to right, working from the bottom of my stomach to the top.
• With the chest and neck area be very gentle and brush in sweeping movement downwards.
• Next I do my arms, starting at the back of my hands, sweeping up towards my shoulders.
• Lastly I end with my back (which feel great by the way!). With my back I generally just do long sweeping movements up and down my back from one side to the other.

                   Below is a guide to the direction of brush strokes on the body.

                            

Just as a caution, it should not be painful, so if it is hurting you either brush more gently or stop brushing altogether. Also, avoid areas that are sensitive or areas of broken skin.
For something that only takes 5 minutes a day and is very cheap there is not much harm in trying this out. I have decided to dry doing it for 30 days to see if I can notice any of these benefits.

Wish me luck and I will get back to you with an update
Xoxo Yvonne - Be Beautiful