My second step in greening my beauty regimen… Part 1

After switching to natural body oils in 2000, my next step toward greener beauty pastures was rather inconsistent . Mainly because I tried it out of curiosity and wasn’t really sure why or of the benefits. But it kept reappearing in my path, either in magazine articles, books, or blogs, so I started paying attention. I researched the benefits of dry brushing and was pretty impressed, but still, it took some time to add it to my daily regimen. Either I’d forget before getting into the shower or was just too lazy to bother, but once I added it to my routine, I could see the benefits.

Skin is the largest organ in the body. It’s responsible for 1/4 of the body’s daily detoxification process, which equates to two pounds of acid wastes eliminated daily! Actually, skin is THE most important elimination organ in the body and receives 1/3 of all the blood our bodies circulates. If our blood is full of toxic materials, skin is the first organ to show it. Despite being the first to show signs of imbalance or deficiency, it’s the last to receive nutrients in the body.

Dry brushing is a pretty old self-help practice, but it’s a great way to maintain healthy skin and a healthy body. It stimulates our internal healing process.

Skin is the primary sign of an internally toxic situation. And there are certain “elimination” areas that are key indicators of toxic build-up: mouth, face, arm pits, inside of upper thigh region, feet, toe nails and even the tongue. Body odor is also an indicator of toxic-build up. The cleaner the diet, the less odor the body creates (more on that in later posts).

“Our skin is permeable or porous, and can absorb toxins directly from the environment. According to Jacqueline Krohn, MD, “Caustic chemicals, such as alkaline solutions, can also penetrate the skin. Once a chemical has penetrated the stratum corneum (the most superficial layer of the skin), it moves through the epidermis and into the dermis. Skin brushing will enhance your health significantly. You may wonder how this is accomplished using, “skin brushing”. It is a fact that the skin is one of the optimal ways to getting to the endocrine system and all the glands it reaches very quickly. In addition, at the same time, it triggers them to react successfully. The instantaneous result from a brushing session is a feeling of increased physical well being.”

When I started dry brushing, I didn’t like it. The bristles felt too stiff and rough on my skin. I didn’t get how people could do this every day. Ouch! But as predicted, it got easier the more I practiced it. The bristles felt energizing and similar to scratching a much-needed itch. My skin seemed to respond well: softer, more even, firmer. Dry brushing combined with using natural oils was a smart move to make on green beauty street, that’s for sure.

Next, I’ll talk more about the benefits of dry brushing.