Dry body brushing: too harsh?

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fingerling
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Dry body brushing: too harsh?

Post by fingerling »

Hello, I have a query about dry body brushing.

I use a cactus bristle brush, and tend to brush, starting at the feet and working towards the heart, just before having a shower (no soap, etc) in the morning. The friction creates a sensational feeling and wakes the body right up (especially on cold mornings!).

I’ve not seen any literature on any adverse effects of dry body brushing, but I was wondering if it might be considered to be too harsh/stripping on the skin itself. Any advice would be much appreciated.
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RRM
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Post by RRM »

It seems a bit harsh to me.
What we should do, is remove the dead skin cells, and not the ones that are still very much alive, so that you need to find a gentle way.
fingerling
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Post by fingerling »

Thanks RRM. I will try and dry brush less often. I dont think that the way I do it breaks the skin in any way and it seems to only remove the dead skin layer. However, I see your point - and to be honest, I probably dont need to do such vigorous things to my skin if it is healthy anyway.
Marty
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Taking layers off

Post by Marty »

I think that daily shaving (of the face) for men is also quite harsh, is it not?
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RRM
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Post by RRM »

For my skin it definitely is. Whatever I try, I always get red 'rashes' from it, so I usually just trim my beard as short as I can, and I therefore always have a 3-days-beard-look.
I guess that shaving will always remove more cells than when they would shed naturally.
Marty
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Re: Harsh

Post by Marty »

Ah, that is interesting.

It recently dawned on me (because the few times I shave my legs it is an almost unbelievable harshness; and has seemed more so since starting this diet) that men must have a very hard time navigating the shoals of having facial hair, on this diet.

Shaving is very harsh; yet without shaving the face, there are so many issues of cleaning the hair on the face; applying oil, etc.

It just dawned on me as a woman that this was a whole new universe of something to work with, and around....

RESPECT!
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RRM
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Post by RRM »

You are right, it IS harder on this diet.
The reason: on a normal diet your skin retains more water, which is protective regarding blows, rubbing, shaving etc.
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Post by avo »

On that note, my skin in general is more 'fragile' to rough bumps, knicks and scrapes. Not just the face, but hands, arms, etc. Not overly sensitive, but if I scrape myself on something somewhat sharp, it usually breaks the skin a bit. It may be normal, but I recall my skin being tougher a year or two ago, now it is baby-soft. :D
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RRM
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Post by RRM »

Thats exactly what I mean, and its generally true for people on this diet. The protective 'airbag' in your skin is gone ('waterbag' actually).
Marty
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Sensitivity

Post by Marty »

The first two months of the diet, which was summertime, I was in agony at night-- scratching while asleep-- from shaving just my lower legs lightly once a week.

I thought I had a terrible infestation of skin mites or something. My legs became raw from scratching, even though I was shaving using coconut oil, and then adding walnut oil afterwards. But it was hot and dry in the sun, and I was in airconditioning at night.

It really took awhile to know how to treat the skin-- and to get a much better razor, and learn to use it infrequently--- even knowing in advance that my skin was more sensitive, I still underestimated how much more sensitive it was.
huntress
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Post by huntress »

Hey Marty :D

I have the same problem as you do from shaving my legs no matter which blade I use. But I found a better way to keep my legs smooth without going through the agony of having a coarse and itchy skin: waxing! I use an organic and all-natural water-base wax so it is pretty safe on the skin.

Well hey...maybe you can use it to wax your beard off too RRM? ;D But keep it since winter is coming and beards work as a natural insulator for the face so at least you get to keep your face warm while we ladies freeze our faces off. Plus, I think stubbles are sexy! 8)
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Post by RRM »

huntress wrote:maybe you can use it to wax your beard off too RRM? ;D
:shock: ouch!!! :shock:
I think stubbles are sexy! 8)
phew..., that sounds better! 8)
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