As a 19-year-old, I was on my way down to the Lower East Side in Manhattan. Down to the Russian baths, where I loved to hide away from the hustle and bustle of New York.

I was working as a fashion model in the metropolis of metropolises, and walking down the street was like being at a casting. That’s why I loved the unpretentious Russian Baths on ‘women’s days only’ – it was a different world to the one outside those closed doors.

There was a very special feminine atmosphere in there. Women pottered about with just a towel around their waists, and the atmosphere was loving, non-judgemental and inspiring. At least, that’s how I experienced it, and in many ways it was a complete contrast to the fashion industry I was in.

Every time I was there, women would approach me: “Here, wouldn’t you like half a grapefruit peel to exfoliate your thighs?”, “Have you tried a scalp massage with this oil?” or “Would you like a few homeopathic drops to calm the mind?” and much more.

One day, a woman handed me a dry brush and said: “Here, try this; it’ll invigorate your body, and you’ll never get cellulite if you use it regularly.”

At first, it felt a bit strange to ‘scrub’ my body. I’ve always had a tendency towards dry skin, and there was something really lovely about brushing my skin. It felt gentle, yet invigorating. I brushed one side of my body: the sole of my foot, my leg, hip, buttock and arm. I then sat there, completely fascinated, and noticed how one side of my body felt alive and pulsating and the other side felt completely different – flat and almost ‘begging’ to have a go too.

That day marked the beginning of my appreciation for dry brushing, and it has stayed with me ever since as a recurring ritual in my daily life.

Dry brushing removes dead skin cells. At first, you’ll notice how it ‘dusts’ as you brush. My need for body care products is drastically reduced during the periods when I brush daily. 

Skin tone improves, resulting in a more beautiful and firmer skin surface. And one of my main motivations is that it helps prevent and combat cellulite.

If you think of the human body and the lymphatic system as an aquarium filled with lukewarm seawater, this provides a good illustration of how the lymphatic system works.

Just as a well-maintained aquarium is beautiful when the water pump and filter are tailored to the needs of the fish and plants, it is not ideal when the pump or filters become blocked and the water becomes cloudy. The entire basis of life disappears and the fish die.

The body is like an aquarium, where the cells depend on a continuous supply of oxygen-rich blood and fresh tissue fluid.

Dry brushing is therefore beneficial for the lymphatic system, as the fluids located in the skin’s surface are stimulated to flow more freely.

Dry brushing feels, more than anything, like how I feel after a dip in cold seawater. It awakens my body and my mind. The shift in mindset from before I brush to after I’ve brushed is really noticeable. Both on the body, where the whole system is kick-started, but also on the face, where puffy morning eyes and sluggish skin are transformed into radiance and vitality.

I’m so delighted that so many people are ‘brushing along’. It’s the finest skincare and, at the same time, a very loving thing to do for yourself and for your mind. I love all the feedback people send us. Just think how many incredible positive results can be achieved with a beauty ritual that’s hundreds of years old.

A study from the University of Sunderland in England shows that daily dry brushing reduced the test subjects’ cellulite by an average of 26 per cent in just 5 weeks. Dry brushing clearly outperformed both exercise and cellulite creams. Just imagine if the test subjects had been dry brushing for a year?

If you want to see it to believe it, you can find the clip here.

The study is featured 31 minutes into the programme and lasts about 10 minutes. There are a few adverts in between, but they’re short.

All the best

Mette Skjærbæk