Body Brushing Did you know that you can eliminate up to half a pound of toxins through the simple process of body brushing? You are probably wondering if you read that properly, yes up to half a pound of toxins! Your skin is one of the largest elimination organs in your body and this elimination process can be aided through diet, exercise and by incorporating this body brushing process into a daily routine. This is one part of a grooming regime that is both healthy and quick with almost instant results. Body brushing or dry-skin brushing as it is also known as, takes just 5 minutes every day before your bath or shower. Once a day will be effective but if you get the chance to do it twice a day it will optimise the results even more so. So set yourself a "New Month Resolution" see just how easy it is to stick to! Body brushing will help to stimulate circulation, reduce cellulite, remove dead skin layers, stimulate glands and also make the skin softer and smoother. Its benefits are of course complemented by a healthy diet low in the likely suspects of processed foods, alcohol, caffeine salt and of course promoted by the old adage of drinking lots and lots of water. There is also the other brilliant advantage to Body brushing - it is extremely cheap once you have bought your brush! To begin with you need to invest in a good bristle brush specifically designed for this purpose. The dry-skin brush resembles a bath brush but the bristles must be made from natural fibres so they don't scratch the skin. It also makes sense if the handle is long so that you can reach all areas of your body properly. Always make sure your skin is dry beforehand otherwise the brush will stretch the skin and it won't be as beneficial. For each stroke make sure you are essentially brushing towards the heart. Starting with the soles of the feet brush from the toes to the heels. Continuing up the leg from the ankles use long strokes up towards the knee, as far as each thigh. For the buttocks area where most of the toxins are deposited, brush crossways from the inside-out of each cheek so that your moving the toxins towards the lymph's to be drained rather than moving the toxins aimlessly around the body. From underneath the breastbone brush to the middle of the stomach doing the same on the other side then continue this down the stomach to the hip bone finishing off with a circular movement around the belly button. Do this 3 times. Use light strokes over and around the breasts avoiding the nipple area (yes by all accounts there could be a slight ouch factor here!). Reach around to your back and brush upwards. Then finally brush from your hands up to the top of the arms. Complete the overall body brushing a few times. As you get to be a more accomplished "brusher" you will know how hard you can brush your skin without it being uncomfortable and presumably as the days go on you'll be able to be a bit more vigorous with your strokes. The improvement in your skin will be visible in a matter of days and hopefully you can wave bye-bye to cellulite or at least see it reduced! Remember to steer clear of broken or sensitive skin. To keep your brush in good condition, try never to get it wet as this softens the fibres and makes the brush less effective. Try instead pouring a bottle of concentrated tea tree oil into a spray-water canister and fill the rest of the bottle with water, spritz the brush 2 or 3 times a week with the diluted tea-tree oil and leave to dry. The tea-tree oil will act as an anti-bacterial device. Happy Brushing! Taken from fashion.ie