Elements Float Wellness Centre
Dry Brushing Before an Infrared Sauna: Benefits for Skin, Sweat & Lymphatic Support
A simple ritual designed to complement an infrared sauna session: dry brush before, wipe and refresh during, then rinse and rehydrate after.
At Elements, we are introducing a simple way to make your infrared sauna ritual feel even more complete: our Pre / During / Post Infrared Sauna Pack, with a dry body brush and soft bamboo cloth to use before, during and after your session.
The idea is simple: prepare the skin, enjoy the sweat response, gently clear perspiration & toxins from the skin, then rinse and rehydrate. It creates a practical ritual around the sauna experience without overcomplicating a Detox.
Dry brush before your sauna. Use the bamboo cloth during your session as perspiration builds. Rinse and Rehydrate.
1. Dry brushing: exfoliation + lymphatic-focused support
Dry brushing is performed on dry skin using a natural-bristle body brush and gentle, directional strokes. Its most straightforward benefit is mechanical exfoliation – lifting loose, dry surface cells so the skin feels smoother and prepared before your sauna.
It can also be used as a lymphatic-focused wellness. The brushing pattern in the Elements guide follows the body toward major lymphatic drainage regions such as the groin, underarms, neck and backs of the knees.
Why is that interesting? Research using near-infrared imaging has shown that gentle manual lymphatic drainage can measurably influence lymphatic movement. In one human study, lymph velocity increased immediately after manual lymphatic drainage in healthy control limbs and in people with lymphoedema [1].
Dry brushing is not the same as clinical manual lymphatic drainage, and it has not been studied to the same degree. However, the research gives useful scientific context for why gentle, directional touch is used in lymphatic-focused wellness practices. Paired with the warmth, circulation and relaxation of an infrared sauna, it creates a complementary pre-sauna ritual.
Gentle exfoliation • smoother-feeling skin • skin stimulation • a mindful pre-sauna ritual • directional brushing that follows common lymphatic drainage regions
2. Infrared sauna: warmth, circulation + sweat
Infrared sauna uses radiant heat to warm the body at a lower air temperature than many traditional saunas. Research on sauna and passive heat therapy has reported potential benefits involving circulation, cardiovascular responses, relaxation and recovery [2,3].
Heat also stimulates the body’s natural sweat response. Sweating is primarily a thermoregulation mechanism, but perspiration contains more than water. Human studies have detected salts, minerals and some trace elements and compounds in sweat [4,5].
3. Why wipe sweat during your sauna?
As perspiration reaches the skin surface, your bamboo cloth can be used to gently pat or wipe it away. This physically removes sweat, salts and the surface residue carried with it, helping the skin feel cleaner and more comfortable as your session progresses.
Because studies have detected trace elements and other compounds in perspiration, wiping sweat away also removes that perspiration from the skin surface [4,5]. We describe this as part of a sweat-and-cleanse detox ritual rather than as a medical detox treatment.
Wipes away perspiration • removes sweat and surface residue including toxins • helps clear surface oil and loosened skin debris • keeps the skin feeling fresh and comfortable throughout the sauna
4. Skin benefits: prepare, sweat, cleanse
The dry brush and bamboo cloth work well together because they support different parts of the same skin-care ritual. Dry brushing prepares the skin; sauna creates warmth and perspiration; the bamboo cloth provides gentle cleansing as you sweat.
A controlled study of regular sauna users also found differences in skin physiology, including more stable epidermal barrier function and greater stratum-corneum hydration compared with non-sauna users [6].
The complete Elements Sauna Detox
Dry brush on dry skin for around 5 minutes using light, gentle strokes.
Relax into the infrared heat and use the bamboo cloth to gently wipe or pat away perspiration.
Use the cloth to refresh the skin, rinse, then rehydrate and moisturise if needed.
BRUSH → SWEAT → WIPE → RINSE → REHYDRATE
The Elements Pre / During / Post Infrared Sauna Pack is available to purchase at Elements for use with your infrared sauna routine.
Click through to “How to Dry Brush Before an Infrared Sauna: A Step-by-Step Guide”
Research referenced
- Tan IC, Maus EA, Rasmussen JC, et al. Assessment of lymphatic contractile function after manual lymphatic drainage using near-infrared fluorescence imaging. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2011;92(5):756-764.e1. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2010.12.027. View study
- Hussain J, Cohen M. Clinical Effects of Regular Dry Sauna Bathing: A Systematic Review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2018;2018:1857413. doi:10.1155/2018/1857413. View study
- Beever R. Far-infrared saunas for treatment of cardiovascular risk factors: summary of published evidence. Canadian Family Physician. 2009;55(7):691-696. View study
- Genuis SJ, Birkholz D, Rodushkin I, Beesoon S. Blood, Urine, and Sweat (BUS) Study: Monitoring and Elimination of Bioaccumulated Toxic Elements. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 2011;61(2):344-357. doi:10.1007/s00244-010-9611-5. View study
- Kuan WH, Chen YL, Liu CL. Excretion of Ni, Pb, Cu, As, and Hg in Sweat under Two Sweating Conditions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022;19(7):4323. doi:10.3390/ijerph19074323. View study
- Kowatzki D, Macholdt C, Krull K, et al. Effect of Regular Sauna on Epidermal Barrier Function and Stratum Corneum Water-Holding Capacity in vivo in Humans: A Controlled Study. Dermatology. 2008;217(2):173-180. doi:10.1159/000137283. View study
Wellness note: This article is for general wellness education and is not intended to diagnose, treat or replace medical advice.
