Dry brushing, one of the latest skin crazes, sort of feels like a massage, it only takes a few minutes, and it reportedly provides a variety of significant benefits–everything from lymphatic drainage to improved circulation and cellular exfoliation, purportedly helping to make your skin glow–but for most people dry brushing remains a mystery. How does it work? How do you keep it from hurting? Will any old brush do? To demystify the process of dry brushing, we spoke with dermatologists who shared their wisdom, and techniques.

Among other benefits, dry brushing is a fantastic exfoliator. “Dry brushing, or when you use a large bristle brush to massage the skin while it’s dry, helps to exfoliate and increases blood flow,” says Dr. Sapna Palep of Spring Street Dermatology in New York City. While benefits aren’t clinically established, derms tend to regard it as a worthwhile practice.

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