Skin Brushing

Aajonus described having looked at brushed skin under a microscope on multiple occasions and finding consistent results: the cells were scratched, oozing, and sometimes actively bleeding. He used the language of abrasion rather than stimulation to characterize what the brush actually does to the skin surface. He described seeing the scratches directly and noted that yellow, white, and red material seeps from the damaged cells. This was not metaphor or inference; he framed it as direct laboratory observation.

He specifically referenced a person who brushed his skin and had good color as observed by the naked eye, and used that example to illustrate the deceptive nature of brushing. The good color that person displayed was, according to Aajonus, "mostly scab" at the microscopic level. The fact that this person oiled his skin afterward meant the skin appeared moist and healthy, but the underlying condition was one of micro-injury and healing response rather than genuine vitality. The appearance of health was concealing ongoing cellular damage.

In written correspondence dated February 22, 2002, Aajonus gave a direct one-sentence evaluation: "It damages skin cells." He elaborated that when brushed cells are examined under a microscope, they are scratched, oozing, and sometimes bleeding. This was his complete published position on the practice, delivered without qualification or suggestion of a safer brushing method.

Rather than brushing, Aajonus described a different approach to stimulating the skin and moving lymph that involved using the hands without pressing into the skin. He specified placing the hands so that they "barely touch the skin" and allowing the electromagnetic field of the hands to gently massage the skin and lymph. He stated directly that the results from this approach "prove to be better" than what dry brushing produces.

This approach works entirely differently from brushing. Instead of mechanical abrasion to stimulate circulation, it uses the body's own electromagnetic properties. Aajonus regarded the electromagnetic field of the hands as a real and meaningful force in the context of skin and lymphatic stimulation, and the recommendation to barely touch the skin was not incidental but integral to the method working correctly.

Where brushing proponents argue that physical abrasion is necessary to slough off dead skin and expose the layers beneath, Aajonus described a different mechanism that accomplished this without damage. His primary method involved applying coconut cream to the skin before bathing, which he described as softening dead skin and loosening it without any abrasive action. After applying the coconut cream, he used a cotton cloth or a silk cloth to wipe the skin. He was explicit that abrasion was not necessary for this process to work, and that the cloth, unlike a brush, would not cause the kind of damage a brush produces.

He described his own experience with a tribe in the Philippines who used smooth, soft stones from the ocean to remove accumulated dead skin after weeks without bathing. When he observed their backs, he could see "round balls, little round long things with like scrolls that would come off," which was simply dead skin rolling off with the gentle friction of the smooth stone. He then had one of the tribal members do this to him, and the result was that no dirt came off because he had been applying coconut cream regularly, which had prevented the dead skin from hardening and accumulating in the first place. This illustrated his broader point: coconut cream applied consistently prevents the dead skin buildup that makes brushing seem necessary.

He described the cloth method in practical terms. A cotton cloth or silk cloth used after applying coconut cream does not require vigorous pressure. He noted that the wiping can be done vigorously if someone prefers the feeling, but that pressing hard is not necessary. The critical distinction he drew was that a cloth, even used with some energy, "is not going to hurt you as a brush would."

Aajonus did not ignore the fact that people who brush their skin often report improvements in appearance, tone, or how their skin feels. He addressed this directly by explaining what is actually producing the visible change. When the skin is abraded and then oiled, it takes on a certain color and texture that reads visually as health. The oil fills in the damage and prevents the dryness and peeling that would otherwise signal injury. The increased color comes partly from the inflammatory response to abrasion, which brings blood to the surface and creates what looks like a healthy flush.

He made the point about the person he observed who was "bragging" about having brushed his skin and who did have "good color." Aajonus used that specific example to make the deception concrete: from the outside, this person looked healthy and vital in that area. Under the microscope, the tissue was in a state of microscopic scabbing. The oil applied afterward kept the skin from feeling rough or looking obviously damaged, but the structural condition of the cells told a different story.

Rather than dry brushing, Aajonus recommended the hot bath as the proper environment for loosening and removing dead skin and drawing toxins. He specified a temperature of 102 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and described staying in for a period long enough to soften the skin. For people using municipal water, he specified that at minimum three things were needed in the bath: vinegar, milk, and sea salt.

The hot bath worked by softening the dead skin through warmth and moisture in a way that did not damage live cells. After soaking, the softened dead skin could be removed gently using a cloth rather than a brush, relying on the natural loosening produced by heat rather than abrasion to do the work that brush advocates claim only mechanical scrubbing can accomplish.

Aajonus tied the accumulation of dead skin to more serious conditions than most people associate with a simple cosmetic concern. He described scenarios in which old dead skin not removed from the body could contribute to conditions such as lupus and MS. Lupus he described as a dissolution of connective tissue that disintegrates, and MS as a hardening where nerves die and the process backs up all the way into the brain. He framed the removal of dead skin as a genuine health concern, not merely an aesthetic one.

In this context, the argument from some practitioners that vigorous brushing is necessary to deal with dead skin buildup was something he directly opposed. He acknowledged the concern about dead skin accumulation while simultaneously rejecting brushing as the solution. The hot bath, coconut cream, and cloth method was his answer to the same underlying problem without the microscopic damage that brushing produces.

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