Beauty and The Beast: Dry Brushing For You and Your Horse

We all know the benefits of brushing our horses on a regular basis (why, hello there shiny hair coat) but did you know there are actual benefits to dry brushing yourself.

What is dry brushing? It’s pretty much what it sounds like, you take a dry stiff bristled body brush and use it to gently massage your body in an upward motion starting at your feet and working up.

Why do this? There a quite a few benefits to dry brushing besides the fact that it helps your skin look and feel smoother, softer and glowier (similar to what brushing does for our horses). It helps boost circulation and therefore helps lymphatic drainage by speeding up the rate of blood pumping, which helps get the lymph through the body, therefore removing toxins and pathogens more quickly. It also exfoliates dead skin cells which leads to softer, healthier looking skin and it plumps the skin which can help reduce the appearance of cellulite.

Sign me up, how do I get started? This is super easy, just invest in a good dry brush (I recommend this one from Goop Beauty, G. Tox Ultimate Dry Brush $20) and twice a week before you get in the shower while your skin is still dry, start at your feet and massage the brush in an upward motion toward your heart working up your body. Vary the pressure to find what is the most comfortable for you. Then hop in the shower and wash off those dead skin cells.

Does it work? I have been doing this for about a year and I can honestly say I love it. It wakes me up in the morning and makes my skin feel tingly and good afterwards. I have also noticed that my skin is no longer dry and flaky but seems to stay smoother and softer even during the cold, drying winter months. I would definitely recommend adding it to your morning routine.

Grooming your horse, similar to dry brushing makes them look gorgeous but it also has health benefits such as promoting circulation, massaging muscles, sloughing off dead skin cells, removing dust and dander that builds up under the coat, and stimulating the production of beneficial oils which are then brought to the surface producing shine. Grooming also relaxes your horse and generates feeling of friendship.

I really enjoy grooming and have a plethora of grooming products that I use to help my horses stay and look their best. But I am always looking for new ones to try and I have recently stumbled on a product that has solidified s permanent place in my grooming tote. Thanks to a catchy Instagram ad (I swear they read our minds) I discovered the StripHair Gentle Groomer and immediately ordered one. I have used it non-stop since it came in and am totally hooked.

The StripHair Gentle Groomer is a flexible, rubber, rectangular grooming tool that has grippy (yet soft) diamonds that gently rub over the coat stripping hair, dust and dander. It reminds me of a more gentle version of a stripping blade. It really pulls the hair off and even on my super slick horses I still got a lot of hair to come off while using it. So if you have a thick, wooly horse who is shedding this will really help get the hair off. It’s grippy diamonds and bendable shape also help remove dried on mud, something that I have had to do on a daily basis. It is super flexible so it conforms to the entire body and is safe to use everywhere, including legs, face and all delicate areas. You can also use it when bathing to help massage the soap in and it really gets them clean. Shooter gets canon crud build-up on his back legs and I have been using it scrub his back legs and have noticed a major improvement. I would definitely recommend giving it a try and adding it to your grooming routine. You can also use it on your dogs too! Available to order online www.striphair.com for $29.95.

Here are some pics of me using the StripHair Gentle Groomer on Scout. You can see how slick she is but how much hair the groomer was able to pull off.