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Article by Jodie Smith from Bodecare

If you have stretch marks don’t give up, there is an easy and natural solution to reduce the appearance of stretch marks. Stretch marks are a common problem that affect many: people of any race, any age and any gender. Generally stretch marks appear during sudden changes in body size, such as during pregnancy, puberty, or rapid weight-gain. Ninety percent of pregnant women will get stretch marks around their abdomen, hips and thighs.

Stretch marks can initially look like slightly purple or reddish coloured lines that lighten over time become a type of scar. Many people, especially women, struggle with trying to fade stretch marks. Dry body brushing is a natural remedy that can help reduce the appearance of both new and old stretch marks and eventually fading their appearance making them less noticeable.

How it works

Dry Body Brushing is a very powerful skin exfoliator. It penetrates deep into the pores to cleanse dirt, grime, dead cells and other toxins. It helps to keep the pores open for better absorption of lotions and assists with stimulation of sweat and oil glands, contributing to the restoration of moist, supple skin. Dry brushing also strengthens the skin pores by gentle stretching of connective tissues which stimulates collagen and elastin fibre production. The skin becomes more pliable due to increased moisture and tighter and firmer due to increased collagen.

Tips and Tricks for Dry Brushing:

• Always use a plant bristle body brush. Plant bristle body brush (commonly called Tampico, Jute or Sisal bristle) provide the best exfoliation and stimulation for your skin. They are high quality, long lasting and don’t scratch the skin.
• Always brush on dry skin with dry brush bristles. Plant bristles are nice and firm when they are dry, which is why they exfoliate skin and stimulate circulation. When plant bristles are wet they go soft and clump together and you won’t get the same results.
• Regularly clean your brush. This will prolong the brush life, optimize brush performance and most importantly, reduce risk of bacterial infection on the skin. A lot of dead skin is sloughed off when dry brushing, so it is essential to wash your brush once a week with hot soapy water and leave in the sun to dry or a well ventilated area. Never leave a plant bristle body brush in a wet area, they will mildew.
• Stroke brush in one upward movement. Except when brushing fingers and toes, you can brush back and forth between them. The stomach you can brush in circular strokes going clockwise and anti-clockwise to really get the circulation moving.
• We recommend brushing upward and towards the major lymph nodes in the body, such as the groin, armpits and base of neck.
• Work from left to right, which is the natural direction when massaging the body.

Follow dry body brushing with some form of hydrotherapy, this may be a bath, shower, steam room, body mud mask or massage. When you have loose skin after pregnancy or weight loss, keeping it hydrated is an absolute must. Always apply an organic body lotion to nourish and feed the skin, this will help keep it supple and hydrated.

For extra healing power to the areas of concern apply organic body oil like Jojoba Oil or Rosehip Oil and massage into the skin. Rosehip is high in Vitamin C which helps to heal scars and reduce the appearance of stretch marks. Hydrating the skin is really important to improve the skin’s elasticity. If your skin is undergoing a lot of stretching it is less likely to tear and create stretch marks if it’s hydrated.

While all of these tips can help you, make sure you give yourself time to heal and for your body to adjust to your new shape. Scar tissue can take a while to recover and with the help of this healthy routine your whole body will benefit from the results you achieve from dry body brushing.

At Vitale we are often e-mailed about which Dry Body Brush to use. Our advice varies depending on skin sensitivity, whether or not the person has used a skin brush before and what areas of the body they want to skin brush. Jodie from Bodecare writes this about the range of natural brushes she has created:

All brushes are made of natural materials and vary in bristle firmness to cater for individual preferences. (The Vitale Natural Online Store every brush has details on what the brush is made of, dimensions and the firmness of the brush bristles.)

All Bodecare brush bristles are categorised under Extra Soft, Soft, Medium and Firm.

Extra Soft

• Face brush: Meant for delicate skin on the face, the bristles are silky soft, gentle enough for a baby. Suitable for working with Cleansers and removing face masks.

Soft

• Face brush: Soft bristles suitable for cleansing and removing face masks.
• Nails/Feet: Suitable for buffing residue off nails and lightly cleaning dirt under nail.
• Dry Body Brushing: Best for someone just new to dry body brushing, will still provide good stimulation. This is a great starting point until your skin gets use to dry brushing and then you can graduate to firmer brush bristles.

Medium

• Dry Body Brushing: Suitable for someone wanting extra stimulation, flexible bristle, great exfoliation.
• First time dry body brushers could also start with this level brush, because you only need to use light strokes for dry brushing.

Firm

• Dry Body Brushing: Suitable for experienced dry body brushers, firm, stiff bristles, providing optimum exfoliation, stimulation and massage for the skin.
• Nails: Firm, stiff bristles great for removing dirt from under nails, especially if you are a gardener or mechanic.

It is simply a choice of which brush meets your needs and comfort levels. View the range of Bodecare Brushes here.

Related Articles:

• Energise with Dry Scalp Massage
• Brush your butt!
• Have you heard of Lymphatic Detoxification?
• Cellulite – is there ANYTHING I can do about it?

This is a great “how-to” post from Jodie of Bodecare Body Brushes….

Nothing balances my energy and brightens my mood faster or better than a good scalp massage. No matter how tired I am to start with, by the end of brushing and massaging my scalp I feel energized and refreshed.

The scalp, being an extremity is one of the hardest places for blood to flow. The increased blood flow helps to nourish the follicle. The scalp depends on blood flow to bring oxygen and nutrients to the hair follicles. Tension causes tightness in the scalp, which restricts blood flow and can cause hair loss. Scalp massage restores pliability and relieves tension, helping to create an ideal environment for new hair growth. Massaging the scalp also helps loosen and remove dead cells and excess sebum on the scalp, which can hinder new hair growth. Scalp massage helps to distribute the hairs natural oils to protect and condition the hair.

Scalp massage stimulates the circulation and awakens the nervous systems. It can assist to relieve muscle tension that keeps the head feeling tight. The muscles and nerves in the scalp are stimulated by rubbing, tapping, brushing and slapping.   These percussion techniques restore circulation to your scalp and produce a lively tingling feeling that can definitely pull you out of the sleepy doldrums. Regular scalp massage can also increase the shine and health of hair. Try the following scalp massage technique for an energy lift.

How to Dry Massage Scalp:

• Firstly use a hair brush with wood pins and rounded tips on the end of each bristle. The brush should have a rubber cushioned based which gently springs back and forth while tapping the scalp. Go to www.bodecare.com for hair brushes. It gently and uniformly contacts the scalp so as to moderately stimulate the head without any risk for the scalp to be damaged.
• Tap scalp all over with the hair brush. Resist the temptation to tap too hard, it feels good but using too much force can make you dizzy.
• To add more stimulation, lightly brush the scalp with the wood pin brush or alternatively with a firm Dry Body Brush. Flip head over and place brush behind left ear and brush upward to temple. Repeat this 7 times
• Then place brush at base of neck and brush upward to top of head, covering the entire head working from left to right.
• Finish with brush behind right ear and brush upward to temple 7 times.
• Stand upright and place brush in front of left ear and brush down to back of neck, working around the front hair line from left to right, ending with brush behind right ear and brush down to side of neck. Repeat each area 7 times.

Hope you are feeling re-energised again! The beauty of this treatment is you can do it any time of the day. Leave your hair brush at work in your desk, in your bag or in the car and you can quickly give your scalp a lovely massage and it will only look like you are brushing your hair.

I have blogged about the benefits of dry skin brushing before – it is great for stimulating the lymphatic system, promoting good circulation, sloughing off dry skin cells and even helping reduce cellulite. In this video by Jodie from Bodecare, she shows us how to properly brush your butt to get the circulation and lymphatic flow moving. Every time I read or see something about dry body brushing I am reminded of how fantastic it is and how my skin benefits from daily brushing…even though I only manage about 4 or 5 times a week it still makes a huge difference.

This second video is about skin brushing in general and outlines the benefits of daily dry skin brushing.

See the full Bodecare range here

Related articles and videos:

• Cellulite – is there anything I can do about it?
• Lymphatic Detoxification
• How to Dry Body Brush