Properties, choice and use of birch brooms

If you are going to take a steam bath, it is worth to think about buying or making a broom on your own. The best choice is the birch broom. Such brooms have a lot of useful properties, it is important to learn how to steep and use them correctly.

There are many arguments in favor of choosing birch leaf brooms.

They contain many essential oils that help to reduce or prevent skin rashes. If you regularly steam in the bath with a birch broom, you can get rid of acne and dermatitis, reduce the manifestation of psoriasis.

With the help of birch leaves you can even out stretch marks on the body. This is especially true for women who have recently given birth. During pregnancy, the structure of the skin changes, it becomes less elastic, which is fraught with stretch marks covering the hips and abdomen. Medicinal birch leaves have the ability to whiten the skin, stimulate regenerating processes. Unaesthetic streaks over time become less noticeable.

Birch branches are excellent for muscle pain, stimulate the healing of cuts, have a positive effect on the kidneys. From the steamed leaves, healing juices are synthesized that improve overall health. When the steam settles on the heated heat, the nervous system calms down, the cells of the epidermis are saturated with oils, it becomes moisturized and acquires a velvety texture. The body is cleansed of toxins, excreted through the sweat glands.

Birch brooms are especially recommended for people with respiratory diseases, such as bronchial asthma, smokers. Steam has a healing effect on the bronchi, increases blood flow through blood vessels, on this background begins phlegm extraction. Sweating birch brooms is shown with colds.

Based on the practice of using accessories made of birch twigs, we can say that this is an effective way:

• Get rid of pain and muscle aches;
• suppressing minor acne;
• accelerate the healing of cuts and abrasions on the surface of the skin;
• Increase blood circulation, and activate the immune system;
• to stop the process of dandruff.

Refuse to use birch brooms if you are prone to allergies to this plant. With caution, it is necessary to use similar attributes and people who have very sensitive skin.

In other cases a birch accessory is only beneficial.

To understand which of the brooms is better - birch or oak, it is necessary to compare them with each other.

The birch broom has a special effect on the respiratory organs. Visiting the steam room with such brooms promotes the expectoration of phlegm. Birch leaves have a positive effect on dry skin.

Oak helps to reduce blood pressure, they are useful for the skin. With their help you can eliminate a variety of rashes.

If you compare the cost, the oak variety is a little more expensive, but it is more durable. Products made of oak branches and leaves are heavier and hold their shape better.

According to tradition it is necessary to prepare birch brooms on the day of the Holy Trinity. There is a popular belief that on this day the plants gain a miraculous power. For this reason, our ancestors collected herbs, dried them and then applied to the painful spots on the body.

The first 14 days after the Trinity, it is possible to carry out the harvesting of raw materials, it is recommended to do it in the second half of June and early July. During this period, the trees have the maximum beneficial properties. Do not harvest birch raw material in the first half of June, because the foliage is still very weak. It is also undesirable to do it at the end of summer, the leaves by this time become old and rotted, such a broom will quickly fall off.

The raw material should be harvested in an ecologically clean area, as far away as possible from the roadways. Such brooms will synthesize healing and fragrant steam.

It is necessary to choose mature trees. Young branches are too thin and they make brooms brittle. Do not make a broom from the branches of one tree - it will harm it. Cutting several plants will make a luxurious accessory for the steam room. To cut twigs you need to use a secateurs or a knife, act carefully so that the tree will quickly recover.

Choose a sunny day for harvesting raw material. It is unacceptable to cut branches after it has rained, as they will darken and begin to fall off when they dry later. Branches of summer trees are difficult to break by hand, so you need to have garden shears.

Raw material is spread out on a spacious deck and dried for a week. The dried twigs are combined in a broom, they are tied twice along the trunk and placed on a clean cloth. During drying, it is necessary to periodically turn the workpieces.

Before using the broom in the bath, it is traditionally steamed. Fresh branches and leaves do not need pre-treatment - it can lead to their sagging. The twigs are elastic enough as it is.

Dry brooms are immersed in cool water for about a quarter of an hour before use. After that, keep them in boiling water for about 2 minutes.

If the branches are too dry, it is acceptable to increase the time of steaming. In such cases, the basin is filled with boiling water, and then the broom is immersed in it and covered from above.

Another option is also possible - the product is placed in hot water for about 2 seconds, and then in the stove. At the same time you should carefully control the condition of the broom, shaking and rotating it to prevent burning. You should make 2-3 approaches, the duration of each approach is 1.5-2 minutes.

During the whisking it is best to take a lying position. A person who will make manipulations with birch twigs is recommended to wear gloves, otherwise it is easy to get blisters.

Steam bathing with a birch broom is a whole science. There are several rules that must be followed.

• Massage is done with a moistened broom. From time to time it should be slightly moistened in warm water. Touching the body should be gentle.
• If the temperature in the steam room is over 60 degrees.Use the broom very carefully, otherwise the steam will cause burns.
• A properly performed massage It improves blood circulation, normalizes metabolism, removes pathogens, and strengthens the epidermis.

The massage procedure is carried out in a certain sequence.

• One person lies down on his stomach and stretches his arms along his body.
• The second person performs the duties of a bath attendant, using two birch brooms to stroke the body of the first person. The motions should be made from the bottom upwards, without pulling the brooms away from the body.
• During the reverse movement the brooms are patted on the sides. A total of 2-3 approaches is required.
• In the next stage the bath attendant lifts up the birch brooms to take in a small amount of heated air, then lowers them on the lower back of the person undergoing the massage and presses them with his hand for 2 seconds. Such manipulation helps to restore the muscles of the back after excessive strain, gets rid of soreness, speeds up the healing of various injuries.
• To get rid of back pain, you can also use stretching. To do it one should place the brooms on the lower back, then move one of them to the back of the head and the other one - to the legs. The stretching should be simultaneous. In the same way the shoulder blades and knees should be stretched.
• While massaging it is necessary to check that the brooms are in contact with the body of the bath attendant and not just moving through the air. But if the steam room is too hot, you may end up with burns. If you feel a burning sensation, the broom should be soaked in cool water.
• A great benefit to the body is bedding. This kind of massage is performed with intensive movements with the tip of the broom. The back is massaged first, then the lower back and finally the hips and feet. The whole procedure takes about a minute.
• Another popular massage technique is ploughing that involves light strokes of the broom with subtle touches on the skin surface.
• The massage is completed by rubbing. The body should be worked in all directions. After this procedure you may feel a little dizzy, so you should move with caution.

It is an effective tool for controlling the "steam pie". It is used to distribute steam around the room, directing it to specific areas. This is why it is recommended to make brooms that resemble fans rather than brooms.

The brooms are sprinkled on the stone basket of the stove in order to synthesize steam. They can also be steamed in a container with hot water, thus obtaining a fragrant medicinal infusion for later outdoor use.

Used brooms can be used for rough cleaning of the bath.

Prepared brooms need to ensure proper storage. They are placed in a cool, well-ventilated room. If these conditions are not met, the leaves will turn yellow and the broom will lose its aroma.

A good place for storage is hay. In such conditions, the leaves are even more full of nutrients, so their aroma is significantly improved.

The dried brooms are hung up in the anteroom or in another room so that they finally ripen. Periodically inspect them to make sure they are intact and not rotten.

High-quality accessories for the steam room have a delicate birch aroma. The color of their leaves is even, a characteristic matte cast is noticeable.

It is allowed to store birch brooms on a glazed balcony platform, but you need to minimize sunlight exposure.

To increase storage life, some people sprinkle brooms with salt. It is recommended to hang them by the handle to avoid damaging the structure. Hanging brooms should not touch each other, otherwise they will "suffocate", air circulation is necessary. There should be no draughts in the room - it will lead to crumbling of leaves.

If possible birch brooms should be stored in a bundle. The dried shoots are placed under a canopy on poles, and then placed in a loose sheaf. Dry branches are taken from it as needed and a broom is made on the eve of a visit to the steam room.

About how to make birch brooms for the bath, see the following video.