A couple of nights ago I made a clay face masque for Bean and I. Sprout was in bed but still awake when we painted the masque on and asked if she could have a face masque too.

I explained that it was messy business, and since she’d already had a shower and dressed in her pyjamas I didn’t want to make one up for her right then. I told her we’d make one for her the next evening and that she could choose which clay we’d use. Happy with that compromise she went to sleep.

So the next evening rolled around and Sprout asked me to make the masque for her. She chose pink clay which is a lovely clay for sensitive skin, perfect for a child. Considering how young she is, and how delicate facial skin is anyway, I chose soothing rose hydrosol and added in calendula infused sunflower oil and some chamomile essential oil. Nice, calming evening choices for a little person with boundless energy!

Here’s the exact quantities:

• 1 Tbs French pink clay
• 1 Tbs rose hydrosol
• 1/2 tsp calendula infused oil
• 1 drop German chamomile essential oil

To keep the masque from drying out I sprayed rose water on her face whenever the clay started looking a little dry. If Moe had been in bed already and Sprout was feeling a little calmer I would have had her lay down on the couch with a couple of damp wash cloths draped over her face, leaving the nose uncovered. Sprout wore the masque for about 10 minutes before washing it off with a wash cloth in a warm shower. I massaged a few drops of macadamia oil into her face afterward and she went to bed feeling a little bit pampered.

3 heaped Tbs green clay

1 Tbs chamomile tea

1/2 an avocado

2 tsp raw honey

6 drops essential oils (I used 3 drops carrot seed, 2 drops clary sage, 1 drop lemon)

I layered it thickly on my face & quite thinly over my body. I left it on for 10 minutes (it was too cold to be naked for much longer!), washed it off in a warm shower then massaged 1 Tbs carrier oil with 4 drops chamomile & 1 drop lemon essential oils into my face & body.

In my last two posts I have mentioned that I have begun dry skin brushing again & explained how I do it. In this post, I’ll give you (just some of) the “why”…

I enjoy dry skin brushing for many, many reasons. Number one is purely because it’s a beautiful way to nurture & honour my body, the body I love for being such an awesome vehicle to get through this life in. It’s a simple & quick, yet loving, ritual I can easily make room for in my morning routine. The amount of time & energy I give to the process is so much less than the benefits I reap from it.

Dry skin brushing exfoliates the skin which reduces, or eliminates, clogged pores so toxins can be excreted more effectively through the skin. Exfoliation also increases the skin’s ability to absorb nutrients from therapeutic preparations that are applied, including aromatherapy treatments, clay masques, botanical cleansers, & botanical moisturisers. Skin feels more smooth & looks less dull with regular exfoliation.

Dry skin brushing promotes blood flow at the surface of the skin, which assists in the elimination of toxins, & delivers nutrients to the skin. Circulation of blood is also improved through the whole body with dry skin brushing which means faster elimination of toxins & better oxygenation of all tissues, including the brain. It’s a great mood improver & energiser.

Dry skin brushing also stimulates the lymphatic system, another of the body’s chanels of elimination. You guessed it, this improves the body’s ability to excrete toxins! Stimulation of the lymphatic system also improves the functioning of the immune system.

Dry skin brushing can also reduce muscle aches after exercise by promoting rapid dispersal of lactic acid that builds up in the muscles during exercise.

It takes a few weeks to get into the habit of daily skin brushing & probably about as long to really see the benefits beyond exfoliation, but in my experience it’s a habit worth getting in to!

I use a natural bristle brush, mine is a tampico fibre brush made for Bernard Jensen.

I dry skin brush before showering or bathing.

I brush quite vigorously & with firm pressure, in the direction of lymph flow.

I repeat each stroke 5-7 times.

I begin with my left side & follow with my right.

I begin with the sole of my left foot, brushing from my toes to my heel. I then brush the top of my foot, beginning at my toes & continuing each long stroke up my shin toward my knee. Then I brush from the back of my heel up my calf to the back of my knee. In this I make sure to cover all skin on my lower leg, both sides of my calf muscle. Once I have done my left foot & lower leg I swap sides & repeat the process on my right foot & lower leg.

I begin again on my left leg at my knee, I sweep the brush up the front of my thigh to my groin & up to my belly (avoiding my vulva), I do the same on my inner thigh & my outer thigh. I brush from the back of my knee up my thigh & over my bottom. I then repeat this on my right thigh.

I brush my hands & arms next. I brush the palm of my left hand from my finger tips to my wrist & up my inner forearm. I then brush the back of my hand from my finger tips to my wrist & up my outer forearm, making sure to cover the sides of my forearm as well. I brush my upper arm, inside & out from my elbow to my shoulder on the outside & my armpit on the inside. I then repeat on my right arm.

This is where the long handle comes in most useful, I brush from my shoulders down my back toward my bottom, stopping at the top of my bottom & sweeping the brush around my sides toward the front of my body. I then brush from my shoulders down my chest, avoiding my nipples, to my abdomen.

I don’t brush my face because I have very sensitive skin on my face that is prone to being both dry & acneous at the same time! If I were to brush my face I would be using a dry wash cloth to wipe down my face from my forehead toward my neck, down my neck to my chest.

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Since seeing me dry brush my skin each morning, Sprout has asked me to dry brush her skin too. I follow the same proceedure for her, only I use much more gentle strokes, I also use less frequent strokes because she’s still small.

I don’t wash my hair with shampoo or conditioner. I have been washing my hair with only water for about a year now.

My hair is not oily, nor is it dry. My scalp is not itchy. My hair is not knotty. It’s in “good condition”.

My hair is certainly a lot softer since we’ve been living at a place plumbed with spring water. I think the chlorine in town water was making it a bit dry. I’ll definitely use a shower filter if we ever return to a house plumbed with scheme water. It’s something I’d always thought I’d like to do anyway, just knowing that what we put on our skin is absorbed, and knowing how damaging chlorine & fluoride are, but after having showered regularly in water not contaminated with chlorine & fluoride I’d certainly use a filter for scheme water.

I originally stopped using shampoo because I was getting dermatitis on my scalp. At the same time I stopped using soap on my body because I was getting the same dermatitis under my arms. It was painful & wouldn’t go away no matter how I altered my personal hygeine routine (washing more, washing less, applying creams, not applying creams etc.). I hadn’t recently changed my shampoo, conditioner or soap so I couldn’t work out if anything topical was causing the dermatitis. I decided to remove all potential irritants & see how my skin reacted. The dermatitis healed quickly & my skin normalised. I found it very confronting to be not using shampoo, soap, or deodorant(!) after it being so ingrained in me that only the great unwashed don’t have an arsenal of personal care products but the proof was in the pudding. I wasn’t itchy & sore anymore, and since finding (& slightly tweaking*) this recipe for a homemade deodorant I’ve had few problems with body odour (I got a bit stinky after 3 days with no shower when our gas ran out recently!), even less so than when I washed with soap.

I now wash my body with a few drops of essential oil/s on a washcloth, and I wash my hair with just water. I sometimes add a couple of drops of essential oil/s to my hair brush & I sometimes make a herbal tea brew to rinse my hair with, but most often I just use plain water.

We don’t use soap on the sproggets either, it’s not been necessary, they wash with washcloths too. We do use conditioner (Margaret River Savi brand) to wash their hair because they both have fine, curly hair & it knots very easily without it. Perhaps when they’re older & their hair thickens they’ll have no use for conditioner either, or perhaps they’ll choose to begin using shampoo as well, whatever they want to do is fine. They may not have the same level of skin sensitivity I do, they’ll work out what works for them, just like I did.

We all still use soap to wash our hands (my sister makes beautiful soap) & we use a herbal hand sanitiser also between washes because the reality is we still have a dog who licks, I’m still changing nappies several times a day & the sproggets are young kids who get their hands into grubby things so we’re not going to stop using soap to wash our hands.

*The tweaking was to use less bicarb, because I find it irritating & to change the essential oil from the Bergamot that is suggested to a blend of rose, lemon & ylang ylang. For my next batch I’ll use a different essential oil blend. Probably something with lime or grapefruit oil because the citrus plus coconut smell works well.