Detoxing Your Skin From the Inside Out—the Natural Way.
It's easy to assume that your skin is simply a barrier between you and the world.
But it's actually a much more complex organ. Yes, your skin is an organ—your largest one, in fact. 💡
And it performs so many functions. Your skin…
✨ acts as a filter for toxins
✨ protects internal organs from bacteria
✨ helps regulate body temperature
✨ heals surface wounds
Did you know that 80% of your immune system exists in your skin? 🤯
So, it's super important that we set it up for its natural detox success—helping prevent disease and premature aging (due to damaging free radicals).
Can you detox your skin?
The word "detox" is one of those buzzwords that gets thrown around a lot. You might have heard that detoxing is good for your skin. But what does detoxing mean?
In short, detoxing is the process of removing toxic substances from your body.
And since your skin reflects what's happening inside your body, you want to keep it clean and in good working order! So it can glow beautifully for that radiantly-healthy look we swoon for.
So, even though your skin is on the outside, detoxing your skin starts on the inside.
And the most effective way to detox your skin is to start with lymphatic drainage.
What is lymphatic drainage, and how does it work?
You might be wondering what lymphatic drainage has to do with detoxifying your skin.
It sounds extra science-y 🤓but, it's quite simple—and very effective! The lymphatic system helps clean your body of toxins, excess fluid, and waste built up over time.
Picture a little garbage truck driving through your body, picking up excess fluids from tissues along its route. 🚛Then dumping the waste properly, never to be seen again, so your system stays sparkling clean and in good working order! 💖
Your lymph system has two main functions:
- Transports lymph through the body's tissues. This helps keep solid wastes in check and supports the immune system by carrying white blood cells to where they're needed to fight off disease and infection.
- Cleans up any extra fluids in tissues. This relieves and prevents swelling, puffiness, inflammation, and other symptoms.
Your lymphatic system is a network of vessels and nodes. This internal transportation highway takes waste products from tissues to the bloodstream. It also serves as an immune function bestie, carrying white blood cells to where they're needed to fight off infection and help prevent disease. 😷Ummm, yes, please!
What happens when the lymphatic system is blocked?
When the lymphatic system isn't working correctly or gets stagnant because of poor diet, environmental factors, and too much stress, you're left with what feels like a heavy load on your shoulders (and everywhere else). 😰
All those toxins floating around need a place to go!
How do you know if your lymphatic system isn't flowing well?
There are a few tell-tale signs that your lymphatic system is backed up:
⛔Digestive Issues
- constipation, sluggish gut function
- difficult to lose weight
⛔Lack of Energy
- brain fog
- headaches
- swollen lymph nodes
⛔Skin Problems
- dry, itchy skin
- acne
- eczema, dermatitis
⛔Poor Circulation & Stiffness
- swelling in hands, feet, fingers
- morning soreness/stiffness
- arms fall asleep when lying down
⛔Nasal/head Congestion
- ear popping/ringing
- referring sore throat
- inability to fight infection
The good news—it doesn't take a lot of effort to get your lymph system flowing again (and keep it that way). There are simple, natural techniques that you can incorporate into your daily routine (no serums or pills needed).
Lymphatic drainage techniques.
Getting the lymphatic system pumping out toxins and moving is a simple (and necessary) way to reduce your toxic burden, increase your circulation, and revitalize your skin.
Here are two of our favorite ways to get your lymph flowing:
Dry Brushing for lymphatic drainage
Dry Brushing is Lacey's all-time favorite method for increasing lymphatic drainage and so much more: Removing dead skin cells, improving circulation, reducing cellulite, and increasing collagen production. It's the jackpot of healthy benefits!
It's been an absolute game-changer for Lacey's confidence and helped spur her journey into natural skincare.
How to dry brush your skin:
- Grab a natural bristle brush like this one.
- We recommend standing in the shower (before turning the water on), so you can rinse any dead skin cells down the drain when done.
- Start your dry brushing session on body parts furthest away from the heart. And always brush inwards.
- Brush in long strokes on larger areas of your body, like your legs, arms, and thighs.
- Brush in small circular motions on rougher skin like your elbows, heels, and knees.
- Use a gentle clockwise circular motion for your stomach and bum, and work from your back to your front.
- You don't have to wash your skin after a dry brushing session, but you can shower if needed. We love taking a quick cold shower to relax the skin.
Gua Sha for lymphatic drainage
Take it up a notch: You can use a Gua Sha tool for either a facial massage or body scraping. We recommend using a polished quartz stone. This ancient technique helps to increase circulation, release tight muscles, and depuff problem spots like under the eyes. 😍
When using Gua Sha for the face, make sure to use a natural oil to create a smooth, lubricated surface, so there’s no pulling or tugging on the skin.
How to use Gua Sha to reduce puffiness and promote lymphatic drainage:
- Apply a natural oil to skin.
- Gently sweep the Gua Sha tool under the eye area and out to the temple, stopping at your hairline.
- Repeat 3x under each eye.
- Move the tool up and perform the same sweeping motion from the inside corner of the brow bone out to the temple.
- Repeat 3x above each eye.
- Move to the chin, sweep the Gua Sha tool along your jawline and up to your ear.
- Move the tool behind the earlobe and then down the neck.
- Repeat 3x on each side.
Experience the benefits of lymphatic drainage for healthy skin.
If you want to improve your skin's health (and glow), it's essential to detox your lymphatic system and have it working well.
When you start using lymph-promoting self-care techniques, as Lacey has incorporated into her self-care routine, you'll notice a huge difference in how your skin looks and acts.
Lacey's transformation was life-changing. It dramatically improved the look of her skin, boosted her confidence, reduced her cellulite, and gave her increased energy and vitality. ❣️
We'd love for you to experience the feeling of good health and naturally glowing skin too. Happy dry brushing!