Do you have dry barnacled spots, crusty flaky skin or skin blemishes? Have you heard about skin brushing? It’s one of the best ways I have seen for keeping your skin nice. The brush needs to be a vegetable fibre brush not nylon or anything synthetic. The one I use has a detachable head so you can reach down your back and not poke yourself with the end of it when it’s at close range. Use it all over your body (not the face). It stimulates your blood circulation right out to the periphery of the skin. It removes dead skin cells and refreshes your skin up. It minimises and removes blemishes. Do it dry, all over your body just before a shower.

The old naturopaths always recommended them for kidney problems. The skin handles about as much fluid in the course of a day as one kidney (half the amount you urinate). If the skin becomes blocked it throws the load back on to the kidneys and they have to work harder. It is also recommended for high blood pressure sufferers. Because the capillaries in the periphery of the body are the furthest from the heart, the theory is the heart has to work much harder to get the blood there. If you stimulate the skin with a vegetable fibre brush you open the capillaries taking the pressure off the heart so it doesn’t have to work as hard.

A fair amount of emphasis is placed on skin brushing towards the heart. I’m not sure if this makes a lot of difference but it doesn’t hurt to do it that way.

I have been using  dry skin brushing on and off for years and recommend it highly. It makes the skin so much clearer, it is also claimed that it benefits cellulite and stretch marks, a word of warning though; don’t use one on broken or diseased skin.