Dry brushing

Researching new topics related to either health, fashion and beauty is among my hobbies. That's how I came across the topic of dry brushing way back in 2013. Because it was winter, I procrastinated starting brushing my body, telling myself I would wait for Spring to arrive. Once we got in the second month of Spring, which meant my special summer vacation was approaching, I felt I really needed to give dry body brushing a go. I must admit that the main reason why I tried this is that I was hoping it could help reduce my cellulite and make me feel more confident in my swimsuit. However, I am also looking forward to keep dry body brushing all year so as to help my circulation and may be reduce the chillblains/Raynaud's problems I suffer from during the Winter months. So you might be all wondering whether dry brushing reduced or not my cellulite, and whether it made me look and feel better in my swimsuit. Well I am going to answer that in a second. First I want you to know my initial reactions to dry body brushing, and my thoughts week after week until my special vacation.......
 

After the first time body brushing I really enjoyed it and I felt it already worked a little by smoothing my skin and just making it look a tiny bit better (even if just to my eyes). I loved the feeling of dry brushing on my stomach, so much that I would have wanted to dry brush all day long.

 

After the second time body brushing I was a little sad and angry to myself. Because I dry brushed twice on the first day, once in the morning and once in the evening, the second time dry brushing slightly scratched my skin. So I realized this might have been because my skin was still moist from my morning after shower lotion. This helped me understanding the best way to dry brushing for my skin. I will share this with you in a moment.

 

My tips for dry brushing your body are the following:

1. If you are a beginner, only dry brush once a day. And if your skin is fairly sensitive like mine keep dry brushing only once a day.

2. Start with applying less pressure, and gradually built up pressure.

3. For me the best way to dry brushing, and avoiding scratches, is to dry brush after my shower (usually evening since I don't have enough time in the morning). I wait a little to make sure my skin is dry and dry brush before applying my lotion. The suggested way is however to dry brush before showering so that all the dead skin is washed off and doesn't clog your pores.

4. I use a cellutlite cream after dry brushing, and sometimes I also apply my regular moisturizer on top

5. I suggest wet brushing too, to see better results.

6. Eat as healthy and clean as you can. Since dry brushing is known for promoting lymphatic drainage, that is getting rid of the extra toxins which are trapped in your skin, and because many of these are metabolic related toxins eating junk food really goes against the scope of dry body brushing. That doesn't mean you cannot eat junk food once in a while, but I suggest you eat healthy and exercise on a daily basis.

 

Which body brush to use....I started dry brushing with the Body Shop round body brush and it worked well for me. However, I am looking into buing a second brush before the end of Summer. And I think a long handle one will make it easier to reach my rear legs.

 

Does it work?.....YES it does work. Not only your skin feels amazing to the touch, and your circulation is improved, and after only 2 applications you start seeing the lymphatic mucus in your stools - meaning that lymphatic drainage has started and you are actually detoxifying your body with an easy routine - but dry body brushing also helps your skin look better. My cellulite is visible reduced, my skin looks more toned and those lumps of fat under the skin and dumples are less evident. So yes in just 4 weeks of dry brushing, along with a super healthy diet and a 5 days exercise routine weekly, I was able to get ready to be in my swimsuit.

And what about the negative effects? ....When pairing dry body brushing with a good workout routine, something you should be doing to achieve better results, you might feel your legs are really sore and tired as if you had done a major workout. I also experienced some nausea and a decrease in my appetite during the first week of dry body brushing. Massaging your legs helps relieve these symptoms. Dry brushing made my arms made my Keratosis Pilaris worst , while wet brushing causes bruises around my knees.

My thoughts after 1 week of dry brushing once every day.....The one positive effect which is certainly evident, is how smooth my skin feels. I have a feeling it will make waxing less painful and might also contribute to less ingrown hair. I obviously cannot tell you that one week dry brushing made my cellulite go away. But I can see certain areas having improved, and I am sure that after one month the result will be even more evident. One thing I noticed is that the area which is the larger on my body, and the one which has the highest concentration of excess fat - being the outer part of my thighs - is the area where I have seen less improvement. I think that reducing the size of that area will make it more likely for the cellulite in that area to be reduced. You all know, however, that spot weight loss is very difficult if not impossible to achieve. In fact, after losing several kilos, my thighs are still the larger part of my body. For the past week I have been following a very low carb high protein diet (higher than usual but not too high) and also low in fat and sugar obviously. The aim is to help melt that fat by having my body use it as energy, rather than use the carbs I eat since I am not eating them. I share more about this diet here.

My thoughts after 2 weeks dry brushing and 10 days using the Nivea Cellulite Gel Cream......I really wish I has started doing this before because it definitely makes a difference. After 2 weeks dry brushing I can see an improvement in the areas which have most cellulite like my thighs. I am not saying the cellulite is gone, but the fat under the skin has diminished and the skin over that area looks more toned. This might also be thanks to the Nivea gel cream. One thing I have noticed, however, is that this cream is not moisturizing enough for my skin. In fact, my skin is a little dry and I am therefore following the cellulite cream with my usual moisturizer.

My thoughts after 3 weeks dry brushing and 1 week using the Palmer's tighten and tone moisturizer.......While I love the scent of this moisturizer, I think the Nivea gel cream works better both for toning and for cooling the skin after dry brushing. Unfortunately, this week I do not have any improvements to report since my body has retained fluids and I have been very bloated as usual during the period following my ovulation. This obviously made the cellulite more evident, but I am hoping by the end of week 4, the effects will start showing again. I have also started wet brushing, using the spa fit body massager I bought from the Body Shop last weekend. Again, this made my Keratosis Pilaris worst on both arms and legs but I have read that it can get worst before its gets better. So I am sticking with it on my legs while I have stopped any kind of brushing on my arms since I have started wearing sleeveless tops and I hate them being red. I am wet brushing in the morning while showering, and dry brushing in the evening. I follow wet brushing by applying the Nivea cellulite cream and dry brushing by applying the Nivea gel cream and the Palmer's Cocoa Firming Butter on top.

My thoughts after 4 weeks dry brushing .......At the end of week 3 I had already mentioned I was experienced redness on my arms and legs. It got so bad that I decided to stop dry brushing my arms and because wet brushing was actually as bad as dry brushing on my arms, I decided to stop that too. So I only wet massaged my upper legs in the morning and dry brushed them in the late afternoon during week 4. During that week I started seeing my skin getting worst than after the first 2 weeks of dry brushing. It was looking almost wrinkled and dry and  very red, so red that on my left outer thigh area I got some purple and red big dots. I am not sure whether these are broken capillaries or small bruises. And wet brushing bruised my knees so badly that I felt it was time to stop any kind of brushing. I am not saying I will never brush or wet brush again. In fact I will definitely continue doing both, but I will do it twice to three times a week maximum and only when I think my skin is ready to go through that again. I have sensitive skin so that is why I need to be careful, and I also bruise very easily. And since my holiday is in less than 10 days from when I am writing this, by the time I post this it will be few days before departure, I don't want to have my legs all red and bruised. This is why I stopped 10 days before my holiday, to give my skin the time to return to normal - at least I hope. In terms of the best cellulite product between the Nivea and the Palmer's one, I definitely think the Nivea gel works better to tone the skin and I believe it does help with reducing the appearance of cellulite after few weeks. The Palmer's toning butter on the other hand is better to moisturize the skin but I do not think it is as great as the Nivea gel in terms of cellulite reducing properties. I guess a gel works better on the cellulite, but the Nivea on its own can be a little drying. So the two are great combined together; you first apply the gel and then top the dry areas with the butter.

My final thoughts before my Holiday .......I definitely think dry brushing was worth the try, and also the effort and time. I would do it again, but I would start earlier. From my 1 month experience with dry brushing and my 10 days wet brushing, I would say that the wet brushing using the spa fit body massager from Body Shop is more harsh on the skin and also on the underlying tissues than dry brushing. So if you are thinking of trying either of those methods, go for dry brushing first. If you are a beginner you might want to dry brush for a week or two and then stop to give your skin a break. That's in my opinion the time necessary to get some initial benefits without putting too much pressure on your skin. Also make sure to start brushing gently, and add more pressure as you progress. Finally, dry brushing is great when combined with healthy eating and a good workout routine to get your body more toned and slowly reduce cellulite.
 

What about you? Have you tried dry body brushing? Did it work? If not what are you waiting for?.....

 

STAY FAB