External Detoxing
Detoxing your body is not just about what goes on with your body internally. Although stimulating the aeiox process inrougn aiei, exercise and nutrition is the most important part of the process, what happens to the body externally can also play a part. Body-brushing, heat treatments and massage are three excellent ways that you can use to stimulate detox from the outside.
Body-brushing and body scrubs
Every day an estimated 450g (1 lb) of toxins leave the body in sweat carried out through the skin - but only if the pores, through which sweat travels, are clear. Every day our skin cells regenerate; old ones die, and new ones are created, pushing the old cells away. However, as we age the process slows down. Skin cells die, but new ones to replace them don't appear as rapidly. This means that the cells aren't pushed off the surface, so it's harder for them to shed, and they build up. Cosmetically this creates a dull appearance, but in terms of detox it can cause a blockage that reduces the amount of toxins excreted from the cells. Removing dead skin cells is therefore an important part of the detox process.
- Body Scrubs.
In health spas, it's common for a little damp sea salt to be used on dry skin (and not on wet skin as most people think). This is then rinsed off in a shower to reveal smooth and revitalized skin.
- Body Brushing.
Choose a natural-bristled brush with medium-hard bristles. Synthetic bristles or those that are too hard can scratch the skin. While the skin is dry, use long, firm (but not hard) strokes to brush the whole body one area at a time. Always start with the soles of your feet, because stimulating these actually starts the lymph flowing. Brush smoothly 4-5 times, always in the direction of the heart, moving around the whole body part. Do this around your calves, then your thighs and hips. Now do your arms, chest, torso and back. Finally, brush your stomach. Once you've finished, shower or at least rinse the skin off. As well as obviously cleaning the skin, the repeated motion of brushing or scrubbing the body causes the speed of the circulation to increase (helping flush toxins out of the system faster), and this is also believed to promote lymph flow.
Sauna and steam treatments are used in countries like Sweden and Finland to help keep the body healthy and toxin-free. There are certainly some research studies that say they can make a difference: during a sauna the heart output increases by up to 75 per cent, boosting blood flow, and 70 per cent of that blood reaches the skin. Any toxins carried in the blood are therefore closer to the surface of the body and, so the theory goes, will be more likely to be sweated out.
So how should you use saunas and steams? While intensive detox regimes claim that saunas of two to three hours can also break down fat stores and help release oesticides and heavy metals into the system, such a long length of time is not recommended by this book. Not only have we already seen that releasing large doses of chemicals into the system confuses the body, but sitting for that long in a sauna without medical supervision could be harmful.
If you want to use saunas to help your detox process, stick to 10-20 minutes at a time at a heat you can bear. Don't eat a heavy meal or drink alcohol before the treatment, but do drink plenty of water before, during and after your session. You can lose 30ml (1floz) of water or more in a sauna, which is enough to dehydrate the body and start to slow urine production, which defeats the object. Finally, if you have any medical problems that involve your heart, blood pressure, respiratory system or skin, see your doctor before using saunas or steams to check if they are safe for you. Saunas and steam rooms are not recommended for pregnant women.
Smokers and Saunas
When smokers leave a sauna they often leave a yellow tar residue on the towels. And when Finlandia Sauna replace the benches in their public saunas they often find a fine layer of black tar underneath. If that doesn't make you want to stop smoking, nothing will.
body and start to slow urine production, which defeats the object. Finally, if you have any medical problems that involve your heart, blood pressure, respiratory system or skin, see your doctor before using saunas or steams to check if they are safe for you. Saunas and steam rooms are not recommended for pregnant women.
Massage
When it comes to detox, massage works on two main levels. First, massage helps reduce stress, so it can be used to reduce cravings for the toxin-filled goodies such as alcohol, cigarettes or sugar that many of us turn to when we're under pressure. Second, the pressure of the hands on the body can act in the same way as exercise or body-brushing to stimulate blood circulation and lymph flow.
Chinese research has also shown that, when the body is massaged, the temperature of the skin increases, and this widens the gaps between the cells of the body. These gaps are where the lymph flows, and by increasing their size you stimulate the flow of lymph, allowing it to feed more nutrients to the cells and collect more waste products from the area.
So how do you use massage to help you detox? The most important thing to do is to choose the right type. Massage comes in many different forms, and while something like a sport massage will help relieve the pain of an injury, it won't have maximum benefit for detoxing.
Manual Lymph Drainage.
This is the most beneficial type of massage for detoxing. It uses a mixture of long gentle strokes with pulsing techniques to focus completely on stimulating the flow of lymph.
Full manual lymph drainage must be carried out by a specialist, or the lymph can be damaged, so ask at your nearest natural health store or centre for recommendations or check your local telephone directory for practitioners. However, you can carry out a very gentle form of lymph massage yourself.
Aromatherapy Massages.
These treatments apply pressure to the body to increase blood flow while scented oils with various detox properties are absorbed into the skin.
Although you'll get the best results from massage if you go to a professional, there are some basic techniques that can be learned at home. The simple neck and shoulder massage that is shown opposite can be carried out on yourself if you need to de-stress or detox from something like a hangover. Then, there's a fuller back massage regime that you can carry out on someone else - or, more importantly, that you can teach someone to perform on you when you need to relax or want to deliver the healing power of aromatherapy oils to a wider area of your body.
Simple Neck and Shoulder Massage
You don't need any oil to carry out this massage, but if you want to use one, try the de-stressing blend or add the ingredients from the energizing bath blend to 12ml (Vzfloz) of carrier oil.
- Tilt your head back and, with the palms and fingers of each hand, gently squeeze each side where your neck meets your shoulders. Still squeezing, gently tilt your head forwards. Hold for a few seconds, then tilt your head back up.
- Stroke the back of your neck for 30 seconds. Then use the fingers of both your hands to make deep circular pressures all around the neck area, steering clear of the spine itself.
- Place your left hand on your right shoulder and squeeze the muscle. Release, then tap the area 4-5 times with the palm of your hand. Repeat the process on the other side.
Before you start, make sure the room is warm, and dim the lights to aid relaxation. The person to be massaged - your massage partner - should lie on their front, on a firm but supportive surface. Cover their lower body with towels to keep them warm. The masseur should use a massage oil to help their hands move smoothly across the skin. Either use a specialist detox blend or make your own.
- Make contact with the skin. Ensuring that your hands are warm, place them very gently on your partner's back at the base of the spine. Leave them there for a few seconds. Now, with your fingers together and the whole of the hand touching the back, make one constant movement to slide your hands up the spine Sweep around the shoulder blades and back down the spine. Do this 10 times.
- Place your thumbs either side of your partner's spine. Move them up 7.5cm (3in) and gently rotate each thumb. Continue up the spine like this until you reach the top. Bring your hands back to the starting position by sweeping them down the sides of the back, then repeat the thumb move. Do this 5 times.
- Sweep your hands up to your partner's shoulder blades. Then, working on one shoulder at a time, push the heel of your hand against their shoulder blade, pushing up to the top of the shoulder.
- Now, without breaking contact with your partner's back, move so you are standing in front of their head. Depending on the difference in your height, you may have to 'walk' your fingers up their body to retain contact while you do this. Now, starting with your hands at the top of your partner's back, push them very gently down the spine, around the small of the back, then up the sides of the body. Do this 10 times.
- Bring your hands back to the top of the spine and place your thumbs at the top. In one movement push your thumbs down the spine, pressing fairly hard on the muscles (but not so it hurts). When you reach the base of the spine, bring your hands back up by sliding them around the sides of the body. Do this 5 times.
- Finish by repeating the sliding movement in step 4 10 times. Break contact with your partner gently, one finger at time, then cover them with a warm towel and leave them to relax.