Has stress been getting you down? Feeling worn out and just can't seem to get your energy up no matter what you try? Try a dry skin brush as a fast and effective way to boost your energy and increase your overall sense of well being.

Dry skin brushing has been used by centuries throughout the world as a natural body detox. Body brushing has many benefits, some you will see immediately and some over time. Using a dry skin brush gives an invigorating feeling from the effect of boosting your body's circulation that you will see immediately. If you continue with a dry skin brush, over time your skin will look better and be stronger. Some people are amazed at the healthy, glowing skin you can receive just from the simple act of using a body brush.

Most people don't realize that our skin is the largest organ of our bodies. It is responsible for eliminating approximately 25% of all the toxins in our body daily – more than the lungs, liver, and kidneys. Besides throwing on some moisturizer occasionally, what do you do to keep your skin healthy? Using a dry skin brush is the easiest and most natural way to begin seeing results throughout your whole body.

Using a dry skin brush also increases the flow of lymph. The lymphatic system is responsible for many things in the body including assisting in fighting disease. Basically, one major function of the lymphatic system is to work as the body's filtration device for toxins throughout the body. Lymph are not circulated through the body the way that blood is, but rather they are moved mostly by contraction of the muscles. Using a dry skin brush helps to stimulate the lymph and increases the removal of toxins from the body. Many full body cleanse products include directions and recommendations to use dry skin brushing to aid in body detox. The process of brushing aids you in cleaning the whole body from the outside in so to speak.

• increases blood circulation, stimulating your heart rate, mood, and energy level
• increases lymph movement throughout the entire body, speeding up the removal of toxins
• exfoliates dead skin
• firms and tones the skin naturally and helps with cellulite.

A dry skin brush is often more effective than chemical exfoliation and is certainly more healthy for your skin and the rest of your body in the long run.  If you keep up with body brushing, you will notice your skin glowing in a whole new way usually after less than a week of daily brushing.  Harsh chemicals, on the other hand, may cause further damage down the road. 

Choose a body brush that has all natural, vegetable bristles – not a hair brush.  The stiffer that you can find, the better for stimulating the blood and lymph.  You will also want a handle long enough to reach all areas of you back side fairly comfortably.  You want a brush that is designed to be used dry as opposed to wet.  Most natural brushes will come with a wooden handle so avoid ones that aren't well made as they may splinter.  You want to stay away from very large brushes as these will be bad on smaller areas of your body like the face, fingers, and bottoms of your feet.  The other option would be to purchase two dry skin brushes – one larger one for areas like your back, and a smaller one for the rest of your body.  Generally a good basic dry skin brush can be purchased for less than $10 (US).

Generally your brush should be washed an absolute minimum of every two weeks, more often if you are using it twice a day.  Many people prefer to clean them daily but this isn't necessary and may speed up the break down of the bristles.  Use only natural soaps that have no chemical additives, plain Ivory or something like Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap work well.  Hang your brush to dry and don't use it for skin brushing while it is wet.  Either having wet skin or using a wet brush will stretch the skin and not provide the same benefits of using a dry skin brush.