First of all what is the lymphatic system? The Lymphatic system is part of your immune system that helps provide drainage and fluid balance in the tissues and transfers toxins to the kidneys where they can be removed and also by sweating or perspiring through the skin. The lymphatic system does not have a pumping mechanism to move the toxins out of the body except through the movement of our muscles. The spots that we can feel right under our skin are called lymph nodes. Since these nodes are so close to the skin we can manually help out our lymphatic system by dry brushing our skin.
Dry brushing is a technique that you can use to help drain the body of these toxins such as, bacteria and viruses, which you may have recently had. Dry Brushing is not for everyone. Those that have Psoriasis, eczema, varicose veins, and/ or broken skin it is not recommended that you use this as a method of exfoliation.
To use this technique you will need a natural bristle brush with good stiff bristles. When doing dry brushing you want to start at you feet and work your way up to your heart. From your neck and arms work in the same direction towards the heart in long swift strokes with as much pressure as you can take. As you do this you will notice a large amount of dead skin cells being shed. This is needed so your body can properly filter out the impurities through the skin. If you pores are clogged you will be unable to filter out the toxins properly. Dry brushing can be done daily, but start off once a week and with gentle pressure. You should not use a scrub after dry brushing as this can irritate the skin. You want to use a good quality moisturizer such as our
Shea Body Butter to replenish the moisture loss.
References:
Dry Brushing to support lymphatic health Bruce Anderson, RM, CMT, HHP: internet
