Our faces take up so much of our self care routines that sometimes we forget to give our curves what they deserve. But make no mistake, the skin below your chin needs just as much care and attention because friendly reminder – your skin in general is the largest organ in the body.
If you’re looking for a OUAI to keep dead skin cells at bay and maintain your softest, freshest body, try oil scraping on your next self care Sunday. Before we get into the nitty gritty of this technique’s benefits for your body, we’re going to take it back a couple thousand years.
In ancient Rome and Greece, athletes would slather olive oil on their bodies before a competition or training. Post-workout, they reached for a tool called a strigil, or a handheld J-shaped metal tool. Like exfoliating 2.0, the strigil was used to scrape unwanted nasties off their skin – like sweat, dirt, and dead skin – to reveal a soft, new layer of skin.
Another benefit to oil scraping is it helps promote lymphatic drainage, increases circulation, and helps release toxins. Here’s how: Lymph nodes are located beneath the surface of your skin. Every now and then the interstitial fluids that gather beneath your skin need to be flushed into your body’s natural detoxification system.
Using a strigil-like tool can help move those accumulated fluids into the lymphatic system where they get cleaned and mixed back into your bloodstream. In other words, oil scraping can also help simulate lymphatic flow and drainage, releasing the excess fluids that can make your skin look puffy.
With a tool similar to a strigil and the right kind of body oil or body cream, you can practice oil scraping at home to exfoliate and keep your skin healthy and glowing like the ancient Romans.
Oil Scraping Step By Step
Step1: Get nude and get wet, then lather up with Body Cleanser Melrose Place, infused with hydrating jojoba seed and rosehip oils to cleanse and refresh your bod.
Step 2: Right after the shower, while skin is still warm, apply a good amount of Rose Hair & Body Oil to your legs, arms, and anywhere you feel needs a refresh. Our rose-scented oil is silicone-free and moisturizes with a fusion of rosehip oil, shea oil, and absinthium oil. You can mix in a dime-size amount of Body Crème for added slip and hydration.
Step 3: Now it’s time to scrape a-OUAI the gunk off your body. We love Esker Beauty's Body Plane tool, which uses a colloidal sterling silver blunt edge to gently scrape off impurities and ditch dullness. We also love the Nurse Jamie Beauty Blade. Using slight pressure, glide the tool over your skin with the blade facing down. Wipe off excess oil and grime from the blade in between and repeat until you've covered all areas of your body.
Scroll down to shop the oil scraping staples like Rose Hair & Body Oil and Body Crème
