Calling All Bathing Beauties!

Swimsuit season is slowly approaching.

Wait for it... 

Wait for it...

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Was that your response?

Fear not loves!

I'm here to offer you my best advice for looking FAB poolside, sunning on the beach or sitting on your own little terrace enjoying the warm weather WITHOUT repeatedly looking down to see if your bod is tucked away in all the right places... simply for your own peace of mind.

We want to love how we look and how we feel about ourselves.  That doesn't mean we need to be a size zero and have our measurements meet in comparison with those of our favourite bombshell icons.

What it does mean is that we need to put a little sparkle on it and embrace the way we were put on this Earth.
So here it goes: Part I of your guide to a happy bare-it-(nearly)-all summer lovin' good time!

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Enviable Baby Soft Skin 

with an added dose of healthy hormone production

If you can set aside some time to take a bubble bath or a steamy shower for achy muscles, then you can do this number.

Choose one day a week.  I prefer Sunday evenings as it's a perfect time to resurface tired skin from a long weekend and replenish my energy for the week ahead

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You'll need to invest in the following items:

Dry Brush -

Exfoliating Gloves - 

Micro-Scrub -

Body Oil - 

Step 1:

Take a deep breath & commit to yourself that this journey is one you have chosen and one you will see through to the finish.

Step 2:

Take another breather and strip down to your birthday suit.

Step 3:

Grab that dry brush and take a seat... 

Starting at the bottoms of your feet, tips of your toes/ pad of your foot, begin brushing in a micro-circular motion (about five circles).  Slowly move the brush to the center of your foot and repeat.  You'll repeat this motion at your heel, back of your ankle, incrementally up the back of your calve, knee, thigh and buttock.

Repeat that process on the front of your leg from the tops of your toes up to where your thigh meets your torso.  Don't forget to sweep in from the outsides of your stems to cover every inch of skin.

Again on the other leg.

Once you've done both legs, sweep the brush up from the tip of the bottom of your foot to the small of your back and begin the process again from that point to the center of your upper back (where your heart is) -- making those circles go from the outer edge of your body inward toward your spine.

Repeat on the opposite leg/side. --- AHEM: How helpful is that long handle on the brush now?!

You guessed it!  Repeat this process on the front side.  When you get to your waist, be sure to sweep from the sides inward.  When you reach your breasts, softly comb the brush under & over toward your heart.

Last, but not least... repeat this process from your inner wrist to your underarm with a final sweep towards your heart.

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Again, from the top of your wrist, up to your shoulder -- now sweep over your shoulder blade towards your heart on the back 5x and then over your clavicle (collar bone) toward that little notch at the center of your throat 5x.  Also, sweep up from your heart and the outer edges of your upper chest toward that same little spot. 

This notch is where your thyroid lies.  Your thyroid is a tiny gland that controls the production of every single hormone in your body.  When stimulated by dry brushing inward from your extremities, this little guy gets a big return on all the hard work he's put out and resets to properly manage your circulation = higher metabolism (not to mention an all-over natural glow from that increased blood flow you just promoted)!

PHEW!

It's work, I know, but once you get the hang of this practice, you'll not only bask in the benefits -- you'll also begin looking forward to your weekly sloughing and re-energizing regimen.

Ready to keep going?  Of course you are.

Get that tub filled with warm water or crank up the shower to a comfortable steamy temp... and take a few sips of water because it's about to get even hotter!

TIP: For beginners, a bath is really the best way to go.  Although we're all used to the balancing act in the shower while shaving our gams, the increased circulation you're experiencing combined with the heat of the water can give you a bit of the spins.  If you only have a shower, adjust the head away from direct contact with your skin and take a seat on the floor inside.

Continuing on, you'll need your exfoliating gloves and your micro-scrub.  I really like Bliss Spa's Body Buff because it contains a lathering agent - so you're sudsing up in the process.  Try to stay away from anything too abrasive -- products that list crushed fruit or nut shells in the ingredients.  These can tear your capillaries and leave unpleasant little red marks on your skin (keep this in mind when you're buying facial exfoliants as well).

Alright, so we're in the bath/shower and taking a load off from our dry brushing workout.  Now, it's time to really get to know every inch of your skin.  FYI, this is also a great time to perform your self breast exam.  You'll find that this part of the process allows you to get in touch with every surface of your body and become more in tune with the messages and signals your body outputs that often go unnoticed when we only observe things on a grand scale.

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Get your skin a little damp.

With your gloves on and water-soaked, dip into the scrub and lightly rub a good portion of it between your hands, just enough to share the product on both hands but not over-lathering or diluting the exfoliant.

Here we go!  Remember that dry brushing process?  Now it's time to repeat it in slightly more detail by gently using your finger tips -- yep, finger tips... NOT the whole glove.  Yes, you are here to exfoliate, but you're also on a mission to address your skin on a cellular level.  Although your fingers tips aren't quite capable of physically micro-scoping your skin, keep in mind that under a medical lens you are a series of billions upon billions of cells simple engaging in the society known as your body.  That can be a bit eerie when you think about it, but for now focus on tending to your flock.  Those little puppies need your love, they need to be cleaned and encouraged to reproduce so that your "society" continues to flourish.  When you address your body at a cellular level, you begin to sympathize with the process going on - seemingly effortlessly - right under your nose!  -- PS: remember to re-dip in the scrub as often as necessary to replenish the exfoliant as it suds up in the rub.

Once you've completed this process - I also like to use the opportunity to get a super close shave while the hair follicles are stimulated and pores are open - it's time to rinse.  

You've kept the heat going from the shower for a few reasons.  

1)  While your oil production is up from the dry-brushing, you want to keep your skin soft and moist for scrubbing so that the rub feels like a nice all over scratching-that-impossible-itch.

2)  You're in the process of upping your blood flow, and heat promotes that three-fold when combined with the super-exfoliation and circular heart/ thyroid aiming direction of your scrubbing. 

3)  You're about to take your thyroid on a joy ride that will reset it to "OPTIMUM".

After rinsing, hang out in the water and slowly lower the temp.  Do this incrementally, allowing your body to adjust to the cooler temperatures.  If you absolutely cannot handle going all the way down to COLD, then slowly take it to LUKEWARM and call it a day.

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Ready for that last blast of body loving goodness?

Here it is.  After you've dried off... 

(I suggest patting your skin dry rather than rubbing with your towel as your skin is in a pretty smooth state already and if it could talk, it would ask you to be gentle so it could hang on to all that natural moisture it just produced with the pampering you provided)

It's time to put that oil to use.

- if you have a nut allergy, you can reach for a different oil or your favourite lotion.  just keep in mind that it's important to use something natural and fragrance free while your pores are open -- fragrances will burn a bit and if you shaved, will leave razor burn bumps in place of those freshly cleaned pores -

It's up to you how you apply it.  If you ask me, the go-to micro circular motion is the best.  However, a sweeping motion is just fine as long as you still start at the tips and work in towards the heart & thyroid.

This is your opportunity to touch on any last dry spots -- especially the bottoms of your feet -- and really pay attention to detail.  

TIP: I like to put on a thick pair of socks or terrycloth slippers immediately after moisturizing my tootsies... and since your face got a pore-clearing steam, you might want to apply a gentle toner and follow up with your favourite moisturizer.

YOU'RE DONE!

Congratulations!!! 

You Just Did the Following:

• Stimulated Blood Flow and Lymphatic Drainage
• Removed Dead Skin Cells, thereby tightening loose skin
• Stimulated/ Regulated Healthy Hormone Production
• Activated Natural Oil Production/ Skin Moisture
• Reduced Cellulite
• Strengthened Your Immune System
• Stimulated the Nervous System, thereby toning muscle fibers
• Nurtured a Healthy Attention and Affection for Your Body

Time to take in some water.  

If you're a savvy gal.. and you are if you're reading this blog... you've probably placed some strawberry and cucumber slices in a pitcher and now have a natural electrolyte-replenishing beverage to enjoy while you paint your nails or curl up next to your sweetie for a relaxing afternoon in front of the tube wearing your newly irresistible skin. 

xoxo,

Disclaimer: Estoy, Je Suis and it's author(s) are not a professional medical resource and, as such, not liable for your personal health and safety.  If you have a medical condition that may be agitated by fluctuating or extreme temperatures, hormone stimulation, skin exfoliation or any other step in this article (especially heart conditions or thyroid disorders), please consult your health professional as to whether this process is safe for you to conduct and/or how it may be modified to best suit your personal needs/ circumstances.