What's the Deal with Dry Skin Brushing?

Updated: Aug 20, 2023

woman with light brown skin dry skin brushing her legs in the bathroom

Today, I want to share with you one or my favorite morning rituals that I have doing since the late 90's. It's called dry brushing. When I first started doing it, it was after reading that it was good for supporting lymphatic flow. What I know now is that it's a simple yet powerful technique to stimulate your sensory nerves and improve circulation. Also, I find that it's pretty soothing.

Your skin has 4 major types of somatosensory receptors. They're responsible for transmitting sensations such as touch, temperature, pain, and pressure. Through dry brushing, you awaken and activate these receptors, refining your refining your ability discern different sensations. You can develop a more heightened body awareness!

On a superficial level, the gentle exfoliation and circulatory boost can also improve the appearance of your skin.

Here's how it's done! Take your dry brush and gently brush your entire body using long, sweeping motions towards your heart. You might feel a tingling sensation on your skin—that's just that neuro-sensory stimulation! Adjust the pressure to a level that feels good and comfortable for you. It shouldn't feel painful. In fact, I find it pretty soothing. And after I'm done with dry brushing, I love to treat myself to a quick scalp massage using my fingertips. That feels really especially relaxing.

Dry brushing time is the perfect time to incorporate body gratitude into your routine. Expressing gratitude for your body can have powerful effects on your overall well-being and mindset.

As part of my morning routine, I take a hot shower after dry skin brushing and then finish it off with ~15 seconds at the cold setting, which is known as a contrast shower. This change in temperature can further stimulate circulation and lymphatic flow, enhancing the benefits of dry brushing. I don't do this every single time I shower. I don't enjoy the cold but it certainly helps me wake up!

Do you already dry skin brush? If you don't, are you intrigued?

Dry brushing is an easy technique to incorporate into your daily routine, and it only takes a few minutes to do.

I recommend it particularly if you don't already have a body gratitude routine going on.