Who is still dry brushing, or why did you stop?
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free skin care · Mon Aug 15, 2011 8:55 am

I am 49 but look at at least 60. Apart from the sag that has set in, my skin has become very thin, wrinkled and lined. Now I found some discussions here about dry brushing but these topics seem to have petered out. My question is simply: are there people here who still dry brush their face, and can they tell me what the results are in the longer run? Does it thicken the skin in the longer run? Do fine lines disappear and stay away for some time? Or is it an increasing thing, where you have to become more and more agressive or else the technique loses its effectiveness? Has dry brushing gone out of fashion or has it become such a normal thing to do that it no longer needs to be discussed?

free skin care · Mon Aug 15, 2011 9:41 am

For me it does all those things and more and is a great way of exfoliating. I don't think people have stopped doing it, but many continue to do it and don't think of it as new any more after you have done it for a while.

For one though if your dealing with sag, brushing won't really help you got to get the facial exercises in there in my opinion.

The results of dry brushing is smoother skin, increased circulation and a great exfoliation method all rolled into 2-3 minutes of work. I also dry brush my body using the No Lipo Lipo technique and am still loving that!

free skin care · Mon Aug 15, 2011 11:29 am

Thank you for your answer! I know for sag I will have to do facial exercise. But I also need to adress the sun damage and the thinning skin. Retinol doesn't do enough Crying or Very sad

free skin care · Mon Aug 15, 2011 3:56 pm

I dry brush almost everyday. It does firm and lift the skin somewhat and is a great exfoliator and way to bring blood to the area to remove toxins.
I also do Facial exercises and have and LED light and an FIM lamp.

Sometimes threads just peter out - not because the gadget or product or whatever is no longer good - Sometimes all has been said that can be said and/or people move on to discussing something else more current.

Carole Maggio has a very nice "mitt" for exfoliating the face. I think it's bamboo - I have it. You may also want to check out her 8-minute facial exercise routine. It would be a good starting point and not time-consuming like so many others (Especially for a newbie). I have been very happy with many of Carole's exercises.

Mon Aug 15, 2011 6:46 pm

Hi,

I just started dry brushing my entire body about a week ago. I know it's too early to tell yet, but it does FEEL GREAT!!!

I use a natural bristle brush for dry brushing on my body, and a natural bristle nail brush (that's fairly soft) on my face. I just started using a baby toothbrush around my eyes and on my lips.

-Sandy

free skin care · Tue Aug 16, 2011 2:53 am

Thank you Sister Sweets and Sandy May for your response!
Sister Sweets, I have tried Facercise earlier this year, gave it two months of daily exercise. I guess I need something a bit more agressive, am looking into that.
Off to look for a not-too-hard-and-not-too-soft brush! Thank you for your responses! (and thank you all who have posted in the previous dry brushing threads!)

free skin care · Tue Aug 16, 2011 5:36 am

I tried the bamboo glove that Sis mentions and for me it was an utter waste of money - it fell part and didn't last a month. Instead I love my brush, and the brush I'm using I bought from Tonya Zavastro:

http://www.beautifulonraw.com/natural-beauty-store/facial-brushes/

It cost $8 plus your p&p on top, but its lasted me ages - at least 6 months. I'm planning to buy a few more so I have some reserves, but its one she specifically recommends for facial brushing!

She's also got her own exercise system which is a collection of exercises she's borrowed (but freely admits to borrowing) from others.

free skin care · Tue Aug 16, 2011 7:38 am

Thank you for the link, Theresa Mary! I watched Tonya Zavastro dry brush her face on video. She's so beautiful!
I will start out using a baby hairbrush, if that works for me I can always step up to a firmer brush. I have fair skin with freckles, so I guess I should take it easy at first and let my skin get used to it slowly (and resist the urge to just scrape the whole old lot of it off 'to reveal new, younger skin' like the lizard I am starting to resemble would).

I read about the mitt. Frankly I think a mitt, because the fibres are considerably shorter and have a different texture than a brushes' bristles, could not have the same effect.

free skin care · Tue Aug 16, 2011 11:02 am

I'm a "wet" brusher... and have been so for the last 10 years or so.

Dry brushing is something I'd do... but it's not habitual...

Whole Foods carries the Yerba Prima brush that can be used wet or dry... $9ish...

It will def. Toughen up the skin...

Did you play sports when you were a kid? I used to play volleyball. The first week or 2 that DANG ball would literlly abuse the underside of our forearms. I'd get tons of tiny little bruises from the impact... By the end of the season, however, you don't even notice the ball. You suddenly can feel the soft texture of the leather.

My mother used to practice Kung Fu San Soo. One of their training practices was to take a stick about the width of a broom stick and literally beat up and down their arms and legs. Getting harder when you could stand it. Toughens the skin and bones with all that "beating"...

And so, I think of brushing as a very gentle practice...LOL! That I easily keep up. It's just seemingly so good for you on so many levels. Moving fluid, exfoliating manually, when the body naturally slows down... heck, it just feels good! Can't go wrong with that!

free skin care · Tue Aug 16, 2011 1:06 pm

Woohooo! I've bought a brush, natural vegetal fibers, not too soft, and brushed my face with it. Tingly face but soooooooffffftttt!! Topped it up with a serum that went into my skin like rain in the desert. Guess this brushing will make the actives in my skin care so much more effective!! Now fingers crossed that I won't look like I've been dragged through the brambles tomorrow morning.
Thanks everyone for the internet brush tips, but I live in Europe and the P & P would be more than the price of the brush...
Claudia, I'm impressed by your mother! Takes tons of determination and strength to keep up such a training (and I'm touched to see how proud you are of her!) Compared to that brushing is nothing but a soft caress LOL

free skin care · Fri Aug 19, 2011 6:24 pm

I still do this on my body, but not religiously like I used to. Its great for exfoliating, but I just didn't see the results I was looking for so I backed off. I was attempting to reduce cellulite, not thicken skin or refine.

free skin care · Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:00 pm

I will NEVER stop dry-brushing my body. It leaves my skin so soft & silky - no more bumps. I use a real brush, not the loofah type.

free skin care · Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:51 am

Ditto for me what Ava just posted.

free skin care · Mon Aug 22, 2011 11:37 am

After just a few days of drybrushing my face I am really astounded by the results. Not only is my skin smooth, the dry patches on my cheeks seem to have become better hydrated, and the lines are really getting softer! This is awesome! I now drybrush even my eyelids, and they take it really well. The skin in my neck that was becoming quite crepey is still sensitive to the brush but less so, and thickening, really really thickening! and the very sundamaged skin on my decollete has a better colour, the little bumps that made it look like chicken skin are really lessening! Obviously my skin was yearning for a not-so-soft approach and needed a strong hand LOL. I have never ever been so pleased with any cream or serum, and to think the brush I use cost only 2 euros.....

Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:37 am

Lotusesther wrote:

After just a few days of drybrushing my face I am really astounded by the results. Not only is my skin smooth, the dry patches on my cheeks seem to have become better hydrated, and the lines are really getting softer! This is awesome! I now drybrush even my eyelids, and they take it really well. The skin in my neck that was becoming quite crepey is still sensitive to the brush but less so, and thickening, really really thickening! and the very sundamaged skin on my decollete has a better colour, the little bumps that made it look like chicken skin are really lessening! Obviously my skin was yearning for a not-so-soft approach and needed a strong hand LOL. I have never ever been so pleased with any cream or serum, and to think the brush I use cost only 2 euros.....

Hi Lotusesther, I was excited to read your progress! I am looking at incorporating a dry brushing routine as well. Aside from better circulation and exfoliation I would love to see the skin on my neck firm up but I have no idea how to do it. Can I ask your exact routine? Do you brush with an upward motion or circular? I presume on clean dry skin. Do you do this twice a day or just once and for how long? Is the skin on your eyelids thickening at all? I'd be worried about brushing there! Embarassed

If anyone who is getting good results can help me out here with some tips I would greatly appreciate it. Very Happy

free skin care · Tue Dec 20, 2011 12:11 pm

Hi Katstrut, I brush about 4 times a week now, on dry skin. I used a baby hairbrush at first, but then I found a small brush meant for shoebrushing that I like better. I don't brush my eyelids anymore, did that for a bit with a soft toothbrush but the skin there doesn't seem to like it. I just do small circular motions. It exfoliates nicely but also it gives a kind of response in the skin that is a bit like taking a cold shower, as if the little muscles in the skin wake up and tense. It leaves me very much awake and with skin feeling nice and soft.

free skin care · Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:11 pm

Love drybrushing. It smooths the skin like nothing else and feels like you are exercising your cells.
I also use a wonderful cloth in the shower from Japan. It is called the Salux nylon Japanese bath towel. Totally awesome. The results feel similar to dry brushing and you use it as a Large wash cloth. An amazing product. (Available on-line - from a US distributor)

free skin care · Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:43 am

I also love drybrushing. It's part of my daily routine.

Sistersweets, based on your salux review, I just ordered a 4 pack for me and my family. My husband has rough skin but refuses to dry brush. I hope this helps him.

free skin care · Thu Dec 22, 2011 8:13 pm

Loads of people dry brush, apparently. I brought it up at a party when someone was talking about public baths/saunas in other countries and a few people said they do it regularly - and they're not skin-obsessed like some of us here are!

I wish it was more comfortable to do. I get cold very easily, and don't like sloughing dead skin off anywhere but in my tub. Wet brushing sounds harsh.

Thanks for the recommendation - I just got the Japanese cloth, and there's a Korean one too, called Italy Towel which also sounds good. The cloth though... people make a big deal about it, but it doesn't seem different from the ones the Body Shop always sold?

free skin care · Fri Dec 23, 2011 9:46 am

I have the same nylon towel and I use it in the shower after my dry brushing, love it!

free skin care · Mon Dec 26, 2011 6:57 am

I still dry brush both my face and body. I dry brush my body every day and my face at least 4 to 5 days a week. It's best to go gently on the face and chest at first, particularly if you have any tendency towards broken capillaries (as I do). Eventually the skin will respond by getting thicker and healthier.

Now I have fewer broken capillaries on my face and chest than I had before I started dry brushing, but at first I did get concerned when I would find the occasional new broken capillary. I just had to learn to go gradually and let my skin adjust.

I always like to warn people that on both the face and body, dry skin brushing often makes the skin look worse for a while before it begins to look better. People often find that chicken skin on the upper arms and legs gets worse and that skin feels drier, and sometimes little rough patches appear where the skin was smooth before. Persevere if that happens, just go a little lighter and be prepared to give it between 2-4 weeks before judging the effects.

Personally I will never give up dry skin brushing, it makes me look and feel fantastic.

Sun May 17, 2015 5:38 pm

Nobody has posted here for a while so I wanted to try to revive it. Are you ladies still dry brushing? I just started dry brushing my face and am looking forward to seeing what it can do for me.

free skin care · Sun May 17, 2015 8:16 pm

I dry brush consistently once a week, including my face and neck. After dry brushing, I use a coconut oil sugar scrub and lay on a towel in a wet sauna for 30 minutes. I wish that I could do that more often!

free skin care · Wed May 27, 2015 9:45 am

I am still drybrushing. I purchased a small natural bristle rectangular brush from Ebay awhile back. Like the kind Tonya Zavasta sells on her website. I love it for my lower torso/leg area.

Tue Aug 16, 2016 8:10 am

Hello all! I wanted to bump this thread on dry brushing. I just started my face, and have been brushing my body for about a month. The only thing I can say I've noticed so far is that the ingrown hair bumps on the backs of my thighs have all about disappeared (and I tried all types of exfoliation/chem exfoliants/body scrubs). I'm looking forward to seeing what this can do for my face. Anyone have any good (or bad) reviews?

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