I used to hear that after a shower you should “pat your skin dry” with a towel. However, I read an article some time ago that shared a very opposite view that I practice every single day.
In this article, the author had interviewed Centurians (those who were at least 100 years old) to learn about practices that they all shared. They only had 1 thing in common, everyone dried their skin after a shower the same way! The Centurians used their towel to brush their skin dry. I’ve talked about skin brushing multiple times in my “Healthy Tips” and this is a similar procedure. Start with your feet and with some pressure, sweep upward with a brushing motion everywhere to dry the skin. This pressure moves lymph, which helps clear toxins from the body, taking some of the burden off the immune system.
Towel drying this way doesn’t substitute for skin brushing, which also stimulates the oils in the skin to keep it moist, but I love this practice. I have to dry off after a shower anyway and this method not only stimulates the skin and moves lymph, but also feels so invigorating.