Would you like to know a really cheap way to make your face look years younger? Of course you would! Who does not?
Well, get yourself a two dollar soft bristle toothbrush and you’ll be on your way. Regularly brushing your FACE (yes, your face) with a toothbrush will help keep your skin youthful. You do not believe me? Tempted to stop reading? I know it sounds crazy, but stick with me. Have you heard of the company? sonicare? They make electric toothbrushes. Guess what? Now they also make a brush for the FACE. It’s the same design, just a little bigger. It costs $200. People who have it seem to love it. If you have an extra $200, by all means, buy it. But if you only have an extra $2, I promise you that a regular soft-bristled toothbrush, used correctly, will give you great results. I’ve been doing it for 15 years and even though I’m in my 40s, they still ask for ID at Trader Joe’s when I buy red wine. (If you’re anti-aging obsessed, red wine is the only alcohol you should be drinking, by the way.)
This is what you do:
1. Wet your face and neck with warm water. You may want to open up your pores by applying a warm cloth for a few minutes.
2. Apply skin cleanser of your choice to face and neck. If you have dry skin, you may want to use a moisturizing cleanser. If it’s oily, you can use something that treats oily skin. Use what is already working for your skin. Apply it all over your face and neck, unless it’s an acne formula, then use something less drying for the skin around your eyes. (You may want to do the eyes separately.)
3. Apply the cleaner to the toothbrush. This helps the brush glide over the skin more smoothly.
4. Start brushing gently in small circles. You decide where you start, but I like to start on the sides of the mouth where the lines form.
Brush clockwise and counterclockwise all over cheeks, chin. On the forehead, you can brush in circles and also up and down. Pay attention to the area between your eyebrows, where the expression lines appear. Brush in circles, clockwise and counterclockwise. If you have higher forehead lines above, by raising your brows, brush in circles over those lines and up and down as well.
5. Make the eyes last. And be very, very nice in this area. If you have used a drying cleanser, wash it off the brush before you do the eyes and use something more moisturizing. You can even brush with moisturizer on the eye area. Place the brush on the outer part of the eye closest to the hairline, where you may have crow’s feet, and GENTLY brush towards the bridge of the nose. When you start, use just a few brush strokes. No more than four to start. As you do it more often, you use more pressure and more strokes, but start slowly.
6. Even with light pressure, your skin is likely to look red, depending on your skin tone. Don’t worry. The redness will disappear in several minutes. If it hasn’t subsided after an hour, you’ve brushed too hard or this procedure isn’t appropriate for your skin. Start with very little pressure and increase over time if you are seeing good results. If your face becomes inflamed or irritated, your skin may simply be too sensitive for this.
7. Always, always, always, without exception, follow up with some kind of moisturizer. Use one that you have already been using and that you know works well for your skin. If you’re brushing during the day, use a moisturizer with sunscreen, preferably one that has an SPF of 30 or higher. If you’re brushing at night, follow up with a great night cream.
Nighttime is when skin repairs itself, so if you brush, then apply a night cream designed to replenish and repair, and sleep, you’ll get an added benefit. This is because brushing and exfoliation prepare the skin for products to penetrate more effectively.
Do this regularly, a few times a week and you’ll soon notice that your skin looks clearer, younger, with fewer lines and more vibrant.
Why is this? Some reasons:
1. Brushing brings blood to the surface of the skin. The blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the skin cells. So, you are helping to “feed” your skin when you brush it. By doing this regularly, you nourish your skin regularly. If your nutrition is good, that further improves the quality of the blood that is delivered to the skin tissues. Therefore, eat a good diet and the results will improve even more.
2. Exfoliation helps remove dead skin cells. When we are young, our skin cells regularly renew themselves unaided. However, as we age, that process slows and old cells stick to the surface longer, resulting in a dull complexion. Regular exfoliation assists the skin in this cell turnover, allowing older skin to more closely resemble its younger self.
3. Exfoliation also draws out impurities from your pores, helping to keep them cleaner and smaller. As we age, our pores start to look larger. Pore cleansing helps skin look smoother and firmer.
4. Brushing stimulates the muscles below the skin’s surface, similar to how they would be stimulated by a facial massage. As it sweeps across the skin, brushing in circles and up and down in certain areas, the small muscles below the skin’s surface are stimulated. Blood flow to the muscle is occurring. This stimulation helps keep these muscles conditioned in a way that they might not otherwise be. If the muscles below the skin’s surface remain conditioned, your face holds up better over time and there is less sagging.
When I first started brushing my skin, I limited it to a few times a week. This is what I recommend to start with. Everyone’s skin is different, so you’ll find what works best for you. When you start, be sure to use a SOFT BRISTLE toothbrush. Build up slowly. If your skin responds well to the procedure (you can tell by how it looks and feels), it’s okay to do it every day or every other day. When I started, years ago, I only brushed a few times a week. Now I can brush every day and my skin loves it.