Next to drinking water, my favorite thing to tell my clients is that they need to dry brush more often. Dry brushing is a great solution to some of skins’ most annoying blunders. Have dry flaky skin? Dry Brush. Ingrown hairs? Dry brush. Tattoo need brightening? Seriously. Dry Brush.

So what exactly is dry brushing and how do you do it?

What is Dry Brushing?

Dry brushing is simply a method of manual exfoliation. If you haven’t read Part 3 of my Building Your Routine series, exfoliation is a way of resurfacing the skin to help promote new cells to grow. Manual exfoliation removes dead skin cells by-way-of a product or device that has a grit or rough texture. Dry brushing is a form of manual exfoliation using a soft bristle brush.

What Does Dry Brushing Do?

Exfoliates and promotes cell turnover by lifting and removing dead skin cells making way for new cells to form.
Dry brushing increases circulation leading to a healthy glow.
Dry brushing is a great way to get softer smoother skin.
Just had a wax or sugaring service? Dry brushing is a great way to exfoliate the skin and help discourage in-grown hairs from sticking around.

How Do You Use a Dry Brush?

First, make sure you have the right brush. For the face, you need a very soft bristle brush. you can get a great one here. For the body, depending on your skins sensitivity and how dry your skin is you can get brush with a rougher texture. This one is one of my favorite and comes with a handy scrubbing mitt as well!
Wash and dry your face and/or body and be sure NOT to put on any serums or moisturizers. You want to dry brush clean, dry skin.
Very gently, grip the base of your dry brush and move in small circles and long strokes over your skin. Start off with very light pressure, you can add more pressure as you go.
On the face,
- Work from the inside out. Start at the chin and work in small circles outward along the jaw line toward the ears. Then move to the cheeks and outward toward the temples.
- For the forehead, start in the middle of the forehead and work in small circles outward.
- For the nose, use long motions to sweep up one side of the nose and then the other. Alternate two or three times.
On the body,
- Start with the hands and arms and work your way, in long strokes, towards the chest.
- Stop at the elbows and make small circles for extra exfoliation in rougher areas.
- Work across the chest moving inward, making circles on the decollate.
- Work in long strokes up the legs toward the abdomen.
- Stop and make circles over the rough skin of the knees.

Quick Tips

For the body; dry brushing every other day is essential in maintaining healthy skin.
For the face; the skin is more sensitive so dry brushing 2-3 times a week is best.
Over exfoliation can lead to a vulnerable skin barrier.

Making dry brushing a part of your morning or nightly routine is a great way to add exfoliation in an easy way.