THE PROS’ GUIDE TO DRY BRUSHING

WRITTEN BY Laura Regensdorf
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Justin Leveritt

When you consider the landscape of wellness practices—ancient wisdom on one end, viral sensation on the other—few exist in the Venn-diagram overlap quite like dry brushing. With roots in Ayurveda as well as traditional Chinese medicine, this ritual of soft, sweeping strokes across bare skin delivers an awakening refresh on multiple levels. Dry brushing, when performed along certain anatomical channels, can help the body’s lymphatic system flush out byproducts; it also delivers surface-level exfoliation and boosts microcirculation. A palm-size brush, like Altesse’s olive-wood design with boar bristles, is both approachable for home use and sized to travel. Here, two experts in tune with the body—the massage therapist Sophie Bolvary and the Ricari Studios founder Anna Zahn—share their insights on the method.

UNDERSTANDING THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM

This network—comprising an estimated 600 lymph nodes, lymph vessels, and organs that help move along a circulating fluid known as lymph—is part of the body’s natural housecleaning mechanism. What sets the lymphatic system apart, says Bovary, is that it’s the “only system in the body that doesn’t have a pump of its own.” The respiratory and cardiovascular systems carry on—breath by breath, beat by beat—without our conscious awareness, but lymph flow needs prodding. “That’s why movement, exercise, dancing is so important,” she says, “because when we get up and start walking around, the lymphatic system wakes up.” The other means of activation is manual lymphatic drainage. This is sometimes performed by medical professionals on sedentary or post-surgery patients, she says; in the wellness context, it’s what sends people in for a lymphatic drainage massage.

Zahn has taken to calling it the “invisible system” for the way it often slides under the radar. “Spoiler alert,” she says, citing Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein: “The lymphatic system is what is the unlock for Dr. Frankenstein to bring his monster to life.” Keeping the lymph moving has animating effects for humans, too. “We want to keep the rivers in flow just like we would in nature,” she says, “because if they become stagnant, you’re getting the pooling.” Beyond potential fluid buildup, sluggish lymph flow also has implications in terms of immune response and circulation.

HOW DRY BRUSHING WORKS

The lymphatic system is a superficial one—unlike deeper muscle tissue and fascia—which means coaxing lymph flow involves a surprisingly gentle touch. “The biggest misconception in the beauty and wellness world is that a lymphatic drainage massage needs to be this aggressive, bruising, grueling experience,” says Bolvary. Instead, “it’s a sweeping, rhythmic movement, starting from the lower body and moving up into what is known as the lymph ports.” The practice of dry brushing—stiff bristles with a featherlight application—can similarly aid lymph flow. The rule of thumb is to sweep towards the heart, though for a more nuanced understanding, she suggests referencing a map of the body’s lymphatic system. (This one shows the nodes as white dots, so the key clusters are destination points for the strokes.) Bolvary—who previously worked with Onda Beauty and Raquel New York, and is now building out her own space in Manhattan’s Flatiron District—begins her treatments by brushing the soles of clients’ feet as they lay prone. From there, she sweeps up the legs toward the groin, from the hands toward the armpits, and then, after they flip over, follows the lymph pathways in the neck and abdomen. “The lymph system, you want to dance with it,” she says.

Dry brushing “helps calm the nervous system while also re-energizing the body,” says Zahn, who recommends a morning session before a shower. Her preferred choreography: “Get two brushes and put one in each hand,” she says, with a vote for the palm-size versions by Altesse. “You go so much faster, and it’s easier to have a rhythm with your brushing.” Consider this technique in the partner context, too, as an act of generosity. “For parents, especially if they are going through surgery or in the hospital, a brushing practice is quite beautiful to extend because it’s going to help with circulation,” she says. As always with medical conditions, pregnancy, or skin flare-ups such as eczema, it’s wise to consult a medical practitioner. But generally speaking, it’s a reminder of the healing power of movement and touch—that communal care is as important as self-care. “As we experience stress or injury or different seasons of life,” says Zahn, “it’s always important to support that inner mobility of the body.”

COMPANION PRACTICES TO CONSIDER

As the founder of Ricari Studios, with far-flung locations from St. Moritz to Los Angeles, Zahn is familiar with the strain of long-haul travel. “I’ve been pledging allegiance to compression wear for so long,” she says—an interest made concrete with the brand’s debut compression socks. And while Ricari’s machine-meets-touch method more so kneads the deeper muscles and tissue, there’s an attention paid to waking up the key lymph nodes and opening the body’s channels. “When you have stagnant or tight fascia, you’re not going to have as much flow through those areas,” she says. Post-flight, “I always think about resting, moving, breathing, sunshine,” she says of a cycle that includes legs up the wall, deep breaths, and a walk for fresh air. “If I can take a bath or get a massage,” she says, coupled with a preceding round of dry brushing, “I’ll always do that to support the recovery process.”

Even on the busiest mornings, there are ways to multitask, says Bovary. If dry brushing precedes the shower, she’ll follow up after with an intentional application of body oil. “You can actually turn that moment of moisturizing your skin into a little lymphatic treatment for yourself,” she says—an awareness of the lymph map is all it takes. “And get into your breasts!” she advises. This post-shower sweep doesn’t need to be a proper breast exam, but these regular lymphatic movements can give a baseline familiarity so you’re better prepared to notice any shifts. “That’s a really important thing for women. It can be a moment of checking in and caring for yourself.” Another key zone for dry brushing and manual work is the deeper muscle in the calf, called the soleus. “The job of the soleus is to pump blood from the lower extremities back to the heart,” says Bolvary. Anytime you find yourself in a sedentary stretch—on a plane, at a desk—she recommends flexing your feet and squeezing the calves. “Waking up that soleus muscle is so important for overall circulatory health.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF TENDER GESTURES

“I try to stay away from the narrative that you have to do these things—because our bodies are incredibly functional,” says Zahn. There are pressures in wellness circles to be infallible with these routines, but life’s rhythms shift. A practice like body brushing should be an act of generosity to oneself, not an opportunity for failure. If the brush is “staring at you on your bathroom vanity, it’s OK,” she says with a laugh. “It’s not yelling at you—it’s inviting you.” The best routines are the ones that fold into the day-to-day, when the time is right. “I often think of the women that you see in Chinatown, going to the park and doing their tai chi and smacking their underarms,” she says. They’re waking up the lymph nodes while taking in air.

Bolvary points to a feeling of vulnerability that sometimes arises around the abdomen, particularly in lymphatic drainage massage. “Some people are very emotional or protective of that area,” she says. “For those who are open to it, that’s the cherry on top.” She advises taking a flat palm and sweeping slowly in a clockwise direction, to gently assist digestion while feeling the framing of the ribs and hip crests. “Touch is the oldest form of medicine,” she says, describing a cave-dwelling ancestor rubbing a tribe member’s back. You can give that care to another, she says, and “you can do it for yourself.”