On 23 July 1622 in northern Italy, the anatomist Gaspare Aselli opened a dog that had been richly fed just before, expecting to look at nerves. Instead he saw whitish cords running through the intestines, and when he cut one, a creamlike liquid came out. He called them white and lacteal veins. It was the first description of the lymphatic vessels, published only in 1627, two years after he died. The discovery started with an unplanned look at a full stomach.

That is a good reminder of how little of the body we can see. Mary Ruth lymphatic support is a search for something invisible, and I want to be careful about what the drops are. MaryRuth's Organic Lymphatic Support Herbal Blend is a herbal liquid supplement, and the brand says it supports the lymphatic system and its functions. Its listed herbs include echinacea, European elderberry, blue vervain, yarrow, myrrh and thyme. MaryRuth Ghiyam, a health educator, nutritional consultant and chef, started the brand with her mother Colleen in 2014, and the line is vegan, B Corp certified and alcohol free on the drops.

The trick is to treat the drops as a question for your doctor, not a shortcut. The brand's own caution is to check with a healthcare professional first, especially if you are pregnant or nursing, take medication or have a diagnosis, and NIH notes that echinacea may weaken the effect of immunosuppressants. The rest of the first grid is the liquid line MaryRuth's built its name on: the Liquid Morning Multivitamin, the Liquid Nighttime Multimineral in Coconut, the Women's Organic Multivitamin Liposomal, the Daily Liquid Hair Formula and the Sea Moss + Immune & Energy Liposomal. I like the Morning and Nighttime pair as a bookend.

Dry skin, a dry brush and five minutes before the shower: that is the whole ritual. One gentle pass a day is enough, and the face is not part of it.

A Cleveland Clinic dermatologist says dry brushing exfoliates and may increase circulation and lymph flow, but there is no scientific proof that it reduces cellulite. That fits my experience, which is that the pleasure is in the texture of your skin afterwards. Skip broken, sunburned or inflamed skin and moles, she adds.

Costa Brazil's Lymphatic Dry Brush is the slim, long-handled one, good for reaching your back. HigherDOSE's Supercharge Copper Body Brush is the dark, dense oval one. Dr. Barbara Sturm's Medium Body Brush is the wooden paddle with a cotton band, the prettiest on the shelf, and Joanna Czech's Dry Massage Body Brush is another good one to try. Skin Gym's Body Brush is the plain, practical one. goop Beauty's Ultimate Dry Brush, Sephora Collection's Dry Body Brush and Kate McLeod's The Dry Brush are the simple ones for someone trying the habit.

A pairing I like: brush, shower, then an oil on damp skin. It turns a chore into a routine you look forward to.

What I would skip: brushing hard because you think harder is better. Gentle strokes are plenty.

Tools work best with slip. A little oil or lotion on the skin first means the stone glides instead of dragging.

Tronque's Body Gua Sha is the metal, leaf-shaped one, cool to the touch and the one I would buy for someone who likes objects. Skin Gym's Body Gua Sha is pink stone and curved, made to sit in your hand, and its Lymphatic Drainage Body Massage Tool is the wooden sculpting paddle that comes in a little pouch. Chillhouse's Muscle Muse Stone Body Gua Sha is for shoulders and calves after a long day.

Joanna Czech's Facial Massager, Lesse's Sculpting Tool and Ruechi Beauty's Kryo Sculpting Tool are smaller, for the face and jaw. Nurse Jamie's UpLift Body Sonic Massaging Beauty Roller is the sonic option, the one you would use while watching television.

I like these for how they feel, not for any promise. Ten minutes on your legs in the evening is a good way to end the day, and the only claim I would make is that you will probably sit still for a while.

What I would skip: pressing hard on your skin or over bruises and any area a doctor has told you to leave alone.

Warm the oil between your palms first. Cold oil on cold skin is the quickest way to give up on a routine.

Gente Beauty's The Lymphatic Drainage Effect is the purple bottle, one to try after the brush. Costa Brazil's Kaya Jungle Firming Oil is the glass-bottle luxury, and Sol de Janeiro's Bum Bum Body Firmeza Oil is the one with the famous name. Surya's Slimming Abhyanga Massage & Body Oil borrows from the Ayurvedic practice of oil massage, which is worth knowing before you buy it. OSEA's Undaria Algae Body Oil and Mara's Algae + Moringa Sea Sculpt Body Oil are the seaweed pair, for people who like the idea of the ocean in a bottle.

Clarins' Body Fit Active Contouring & Smoothing Gel-Cream and Mila Moursi's CelluFade Contouring Body Cream are the creams, lighter than an oil and easy to use after a shower. I would treat all of them as feel-good body care, not anything that changes your shape.

Use an oil on the legs, a cream on the arms, and the gua sha only where you carry tension.

What I would skip: a rich oil before you put on tight clothes. Give it a few minutes to sink in first.

For most people, the useful part of this edit is not the drops. It is the five minutes: a dry brush before the shower, an oil after it, a stone on the calves before bed. If you want to try the MaryRuth's drops, read the label, check with your doctor, and treat them as one small piece of a routine you already enjoy.

I would start with a simple brush and a bottle of oil. Aselli went looking for nerves and found something nobody had seen. You only have to go looking for ten quiet minutes.