The 2 Minute Beauty Hack You Need To Know About

2 minutes to softer, brighter and more vibrant skin? Done. Today, we’re diving into a traditional detoxification ritual, simple skincare tool, and 2-minute beauty hack you need to know about.

You’re probably familiar (and have already fallen in love!) with the benefits of dry brushing for your body… but how about for your face?

Yup, this is the 2-minute beauty hack that is going. to. change. your. skin: facial dry brushing.

Simply put, facial dry brushing offers double the benefits for detoxifying + brightening the skin. This ancient beauty ritual sloughs off dead skin cell buildup on the surface and detoxifies skin tissues below the surface to reveal more radiant skin – in minutes.

In this post, I’m going to unpack the transformative results you’ll experience from a consistent facial dry brushing ritual – but first, let’s take it back a few centuries…

This beauty and wellness ritual has been practiced for centuries in cultures all across the world! From the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, Japanese and even in Scandinavia, dry brushing has found its home among so many different places + people and has been a vital part of supporting health all over the planet.

But dry brushing’s rich history is deeply rooted in India’s most ancient holistic healing system, Ayurveda. Known as Garshana, this traditional detoxification ritual is practiced to support the removal of stagnant waste (also known as ama) from the body to promote optimal vitality and longevity.

A beauty ritual that’s stood the test of time? Here’s why.

Gently Exfoliate + Brighten Skin

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You know that phrase, “too much of a good thing isn’t a good thing”? That couldn’t be more true when it comes to exfoliation. Exfoliation is often an aspect of skincare that can cause more harm than good.

The majority of mainstream treatments and products available are actually contributing to inflammation and skin damage by burning, scraping or scrubbing the skin (aka wounding the skin). Excess exfoliating, forceful scrubbing and abrasive ingredients set the skin on high alert as it thinks it’s being injured – and then hyper-reacts causing imbalances, inflammation, acne and premature aging. The opposite of what we’re going for.

The last thing we want to do is harm the skin or break it down. So our approach to exfoliation is to work with the skin and to focus on strengthening the skin and minimizing inflammation so it can function as the self-healing, glowing organ it was designed to be.

That’s why facial dry brushing (in my Holistic Esthetician opinion!) is the only exfoliation product you need. It eliminates the need for harsh exfoliating treatments and the potential of damaging your skin’s delicate barrier – while still giving your skin the gentle exfoliation it needs to glow.

A daily facial dry brushing ritual helps to:

• Buff away buildup, blackheads and milia
• Gently nudge along cell turnover to decrease discoloration and brighten your complexion
• Refine skin texture to receive topical products more readily and effectively

Skin Tip: This facial tool is the only thing that’s ever helped minimize the appearance of milia around my eyes and forehead. You can’t extract these little white bumps of buildup (and please, don’t even try!) and typically can only be removed by a dermatologist. But within days of facial dry brushing, mine completely disappear – no derm appointment needed.

Light strokes with super soft bristles gently, yet effectively, slough off dead skin cells on the surface while still supporting your skin’s microbiome, moisture barrier and natural functions. Not only are you refining skin texture and revealing a brighter, clearer complexion, but you’re simultaneously detoxifying the skin tissue below the surface, too.

Activate Lymphatic Drainage + Circulation

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Think of facial dry brushing as a 2-minute holistic skin treatment. The gentle bristles combined with a light brushing technique clears out stagnation, breaks up buildup and opens pathways for optimal flow of lymphatic fluid to cleanse skin tissue and create a healthier complexion, inside and out.

Why is a healthy lymphatic system so crucial for clear skin? Here’s a little anatomy 101.

The lymphatic system is the body’s natural cleansing and filtering system and is responsible for removing waste + harmful substances, recycling nutrients back into the bloodstream, sustaining healthy cells + immunity and maintaining homeostasis within the body. So clearly, it has a big job to do. 😉

But the thing about the lymphatic system is that it doesn’t have an internal pump to get these processes going (whereas the circulatory system has the heart which is continually pumping) – so it requires external support to get things flowing.

That’s where facial dry brushing comes in!

Just like a sedentary, stagnant lifestyle can lead to serious health issues, it works the same way for the skin. When the flow of lymphatic fluid is blocked and becomes stagnant, it slows down all of those functions and the health of cells seriously declines – leading to signs of aging, dullness, discoloration, sagging skin, sensitivities and inflammation. Again, the opposite of what we’re going for.

Our lymphatic and circulatory systems are intricately connected so by boosting lymphatic flow, you’re also supporting circulation at the same time – increasing blood flow, oxygen and much-needed nutrients to the skin tissue. Think of facial dry brushing like feeding the skin, but from within.

By optimizing lymphatic drainage and circulation, here are a just a few shifts you’ll start to see in your skin:

• Reduce puffiness (especially around the eye area)
• Brighten dullness
• Clear up congestion, blackheads and breakouts
• Support skin sensitivities and strengthen skin barrier
• Keep skin youthful, vibrant and balanced

It’s through movement and flow that the skin is fed, detoxified and nourished. So grab your facial dry brush to wake up your lymphatic system and welcome glowing skin in minutes!

So, to sum up all of the visible benefits from this 2-minute beauty hack, here’s what you can expect to see with a consistent facial dry brushing ritual:

• Detoxifying
• Minimizing blackheads and breakouts (and stubborn milia)
• Depuffing
• Softening the look of fine lines + wrinkles
• Brightening skin tone
• Decreasing discoloration from acne scarring + sun damage
• Improving the overall health of the skin
• The list goes on 😉

And while the benefits continue to build over time (with a foundation of a healthy lifestyle like getting beauty sleep, sunlight, hydration and exercise, of course!), you’ll notice an immediate shift in your complexion.

Sold yet? We hope so. 😉 Here’s how to do it.

The Best Way To Facial Dry Brush

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First things first, for the sake of your skin, please do NOT use the same dry brush for your face and body! Dry brushes for the body are typically crafted with more firm bristles (such as boar bristles), which the thicker skin on your arms and legs can handle – but your delicate facial skin might freak out if it felt those types of bristles.

That’s why we now offer two different dry brushes – one with super soft, sustainably sourced goat hair bristles for delicate facial skin and the other with more firm boar bristles for the body. The different brush sizes have also been specifically crafted to support smaller areas of the face + neck and larger areas on the body like the arms + legs. (For best results from head to toe, incorporate both dry brushes for face and body into your beauty ritual!)

Now that you know the best dry brush to use, let’s dive in!

Facial dry brushing is new to our skincare lineup (although at Primally Pure we’ve personally been fans of this ritual for years!) – so here are a few tips to remember before facial dry brushing:

1. Always use light strokes with gentle pressure. The point is not to scrub off your skin – it’s simply to gently slough off buildup and boost lymphatic flow (which only requires a little bit of pressure to get fluid moving).

2. Incorporate facial dry brushing once daily on dry skin (don’t use with water or product).

Sensitive Skin Tip: For inflamed, sensitive or extremely dry skin conditions such as active acne, rosacea or eczema, rather than incorporating this ritual daily, try facial dry brushing just 1-2 times a week. Use extremely light pressure and focus on the skin around the affected areas to help to dissipate heat and open pathways of healing.

Whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, add facial dry brushing into the skincare ritual that works best for you!

AM: After splashing your skin with water (or a gentle cleanse with our Baby Bar) and patting skin dry, brush first thing in the morning to depuff + brighten skin, then follow with toner, serum and beauty cream. (BTW, this is my favorite time to facial dry brush!)

PM: After cleansing, dry brush to exfoliate and boost the absorption of your nighttime skincare products, then follow with toner, serum and beauty cream.

Too easy, right? We told you. 😉 Here’s how to do it, step-by-step.

Using light, gentle pressure follow this flow for best results:

• Starting on the neck, brush downwards to open lymphatic pathways and optimize drainage.
• Work your way up the face moving from the midline out towards your hairline.
• Focus on areas where you feel more congestion, puffiness or buildup. For example:
• sweep out and under the eyes to depuff + brighten
• directly over fine lines to soften their appearance
• down the nose to minimize blackheads
• around active inflammation to stimulate healing
• Sweep down from forehead to collarbone for a final drain.
• Finish with upward strokes from the neck up the face for a final boost of blood flow, oxygen and vital nutrients.

For this 2-minute tutorial, click here to watch me walk you through the full facial dry brushing ritual!

While skincare trends and topical products evolve with the times (and your ever-changing skin state), facial dry brushing is one ancient beauty ritual you can always count on to create healthy, balanced skin, in minutes, no matter what.

Ready to dive in and get seriously glowing skin? Shop this 2-minute beauty hack below!