If you’re anything like me, dry body brushing is one of those things that you’ve heard about and probably read about but simply never bothered with. You’re well aware of all the supposed benefits but however much you want to get your body well and truly beach ready in time for your summer hols this elusive tool just never seems to make it home with you in your shopping bag.

I can’t quite put my finger on exactly what it is that changed my attitude to this particular beauty habit but there I was in The Body Shop the other day, minding my own business and innocently browsing the shower gels, when all of a sudden I’d picked up and purchased this round body brush. 7 days of pre-shower scrubbing later and I’m a total convert. I’ll be dry body brushing ’til the day I die. Honestly, it is truly amazing.

Here’s what The Body Shop say about their £7 slice of scrubbing heaven…. ‘A rounded wooden brush with soft bristles to massage and gently exfoliate the skin, remove dead skin cells and help stimulate blood circulation. Particularly good for use on dry skin that needs to be exfoliated regularly, it can also be used as an effective massage tool.‘

A bit of google action also tells me that body brushing is an easy and inexpensive way of stimulating your circulation and lymphatic system, helping to eliminate toxins. The skin is an organ of elimination, just like the kidneys and liver and even without extra help, it discharges more than a pound of waste products every day (geeeeez louise… more than pound? That’s crazy!).

Given the extra boost of daily body brushing, this elimination process can become much more effective, not only improving the appearance of your skin but also giving general health benefits – such as improved blood circulation and immune system.

5 Top Body Brushing Tips:

• Your brush should have firm, natural bristles and must always be kept dry.
• Once a day, preferably first thing in the morning before you take a shower or a bath, sweep the brush over every surface of the body except the face or any areas of sensitive or delicate skin.
• It’s important to brush in the right direction (always towards the heart) starting with the soles of the feet and working upwards.
• Use long, smooth strokes and brush arms, legs and buttocks in an upward direction. Then brush your back and torso in a downward direction and finally sweep across the shoulders.
• Concentrate on the hips and thighs to help improve the appearance of cellulite and dimpled skin.

I’ve really come to enjoy this pre-shower ritual. Although the idea may have initially seemed somewhat laborious, it’s beginning to become an integral part of my morning routine and I can imagine that whipping this little scrubbing monster out will soon become second nature. It doesn’t add too much time to my bathroom slot in the morning, I can scrub top-to-toe in under 5 minutes. This morning I multi-tasked by soaking my hair in a deep conditioning treatment pre-scrub so I jumped into the shower ready to rinse. You could do a similar thing with a face mask too. Besides, if you’re ever really pushed for time you can always switch to an alternative method of exfoliating and pick things up again the following morning.

The sensation is truly invigorating and I love how it makes my skin feel warm and tingly. I’d always imagined the bristles on these things would be horrible and scratchy but there not and as you can alter the pressure with which you scrub you’re able to tailor your treatment to suit your own preferences. I get a real buzz knowing that these sensations mean that my blood is rushing to the surface of my skin, eliminating toxins and making me glow.

And boy do I glow! My skin has never felt so good! This brush makes a mockery of every other form of body scrub and exfoliator that I’ve ever used. They honestly cannot come close to how smooth and glowy my skin looks after a week of using this. The areas it’s made the most difference too are definitely my chest and shoulders and my buttocks and thighs. I also feel that I’m reaping more benefits from the shower products and moisturisers that I use after this ritual as the skin is prepped and ready to absorb all their loveliness.

The only downside to this brush is it’s handle. Although it’s really comfortable to hold in the palm of my hand and very easy to work with I can’t help noticing that there’s a tiny portion of my back that I just can’t reach. Something with a longer handle would eliminate that problem but for £7 (or £4.90 if you hit the website right now) I’m not going to bitch about it (well, not too much anyway).

Anyone else love body brushing as much as I do? I’m on the lookout for a fabulous firming lotion to apply post-shower so feel free to share your favourite if you have one. I’m a big fan of the Dove firming beauty lotion but you know how it is for us product junkies… always trying to boldly go where no beauty addict has gone before!

Loveaudrey xxx