The Benefits of Dry Brushing in the Winter
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After a recent acupuncture session, my therapist handed me what looked like a wooden paddle topped with harsh bristles. “You need to start using this,” she said. “It’ll help with winter skin.” And that’s how I got hooked on dry brushing. But what is it? “An excellent process that helps to exfoliate and stimulate the skin’s surface, but it goes much deeper to help your body heal from within,” explains Sharon Viernes, Master of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine at Chuan Spa in Chicago’s Langham Hotel. “One of the benefits of dry brushing is the impact on the lymphatic system, which helps the body’s natural detoxification process. It helps improve your skin from an aesthetic perspective, but it promotes much deeper healing from the inside out.”
So as we enter the season of dryness, we asked Viernes’ just how to incorporate dry brushing into a beauty routine.
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It all starts with the brush. “Use a natural product with a plant-based bristle, and a gentle one if you have sensitive skin,” says Viernes. “You want the bristles to be firm, but not so stiff they’re uncomfortable.” Viernes recommends the brushes from Bodecare and ESPA Skin Brush ($29) for best results.
Start early. Viernes says it’s a great way to start the day. “Morning is the best time to do it, particularly in the winter. Before you hop in the shower; it’s nice and energizing and can help start your day. For people who like to do it later in the day, just don’t do it too close to your bedtime so it won’t interrupt with rest.”
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Begin from the bottom up. Start at the bottom and work your way to the top. Really—the soles of your fee are loaded with acupressure points that benefit your entire body. “Chinese medicine believes the feet are a road map to your entire body, so stimulating them will help your organs,” says Viernes. Brush toward your heart, focusing on one side, then the other, working your way in toward the trunk of the body. “Don’t miss the armpit: there are large lymph nodes there that can help stimulate healing, so be sure to dry brush that area,” counsels Viernes. “The goal is to bring a nice pink glow to your skin, which represents increased circulation to your skin and improve the health of your skin.”
It’s great for the abdomen. Applying small, circular strokes to your tummy can not only help the appearance of your skin, but it can help with digestion. “Brushing in a clockwise fashion helps encourage digestion, so it will help encourage the movement of waste from the body. If you have loose stool issues, strokes in a counterclockwise fashion can help the nutrients stay in the body longer.”
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You can do this with sensitive skin. Viernes has a spa favorite trick: “Follow each brush stroke with a caress from your other hand in the same direction as the brush. It’s very therapeutic and helps further increase stimulation without irritation.”
Bonus: it helps with the appearance of cellulite. “It smoothes the adipose tissue underneath the surface of the skin,” says Viernes. “If you massage trouble areas longer, over time you’ll see that the skin will appear smoother and more even.” (And it doesn’t hurt to smooth on a firming cream right after.)
