Life Hack: What is dry body brushing and am I doing it correctly?

Denise O'Donoghue shares expert tips on dry brushing and its benefits for skincare, lymphatic drainage, and more

What are the benefits of using a dry body brush?

Dry brushing has been a beauty staple for quite a while now, lauded for everything from skin health to lymphatic drainage. But what is it, and are we actually doing it correctly?

A few days ago, I travelled to Belfast for a hands-on masterclass of the new Elemis Pro-Collagen Bodycare collection, and heard from skincare expert Keeley Aydin, who offered her insights to achieve glowing skin. 

One area she recommended was dry body brushing, with her tips on getting the best results.

“There are lots of body brushes on the market,” she told the event, mentioning the one from Elemis has been part of their range for the best part of 30 years, and it’s a tool she will always use before applying creams to the body.

How to use a dry body brush

“You have to be gentle. You let the brush do all the work,” Aydin advises.

“It always needs to be done on dry skin, so it’s something you can do before you go in the shower. With your dry body brush, it’s important that we keep the brush vertical onto the skin.

Aydin said:

You’re not going to be applying pressure with this: the brittles actually are cactus bristles, and it’s designed to be quite hard on the skin. You’re not going to be actually going backwards and forwards like a scrubbing brush. 

She said it should be used in sweeping motions, always bringing it towards the heart.

“What you will do is keep it flat on the skin and in long, sweeping movements, always up towards the heart, starting from the ankle up to your groin, across the stomach, across the breast, down the arm. And do it before you shower daily.

What are the benefits?

As well as helping with dry skin, Aydin says dry body brushing can help several other skin concerns.

“It will increase skin firmness, hydration, work at eliminating toxins,” she said.

“Moving the dry body brush actually helps stimulate the blood flow, so it gets all those nutrients to the surface of the skin. We say work from the tip of your finger to the armpit, if you work into your newest gland, you’re literally draining everything.

“If you really are wanting to detox, make sure when you’re brushing that you’re drinking plenty of water and fluid as well.”

What does it help the most?

Aydin said dry brushing is used for common concerns like cellulite but she loves it for boosting the efficacy of her body creams.

“When you put your body creams on, they will work more effectively. So when you put your beautiful, hydrating body cream on that can do its job perfectly, because it hasn’t got those dead skin cells.

“Remember, the turnover of your body skin is a lot slower, so even though you’re exfoliating, if you can step up by using the dry body brush, it will really create a better effect on your other body care products.”

What about neck creams?

If you apply neck cream, the age-old advice is to apply it in sweeping upward motions — but this is the opposite of what you should do with a dry brush, which should go down towards the heart. Aylin says she recommends a bit of both.

“Often people will say, when I apply neck product, should I go up or down? And the answer is both. If you want lift, then you’re going to go up and do quite firm movements.

“If you’ve got a lot of puffiness underneath the jowl, a bit of congestion, you go down, draining towards the lymph, and you do it very lightly at the very surface of the skin — the lighter you are with the movement, the better, because the lymph sits on the top layers of the skin.”

How to clean the brush?

If you can’t get the brush wet, you may be wondering how to wash it. Luckily, Aydin had tips for that too.

“With your body brush, don’t get it wet. Spray it with an antibacterial spray, and that will keep it squeaky clean.”