Face massage, new ideas needed

[Mindy]

I was chatting with a client today who LOVES her face massaged.  She and her husband have told many other new clients about my face massage, that it has returned great results.  She is in marketing and thought that it is siily that I don't advertise just a face/head neck massage, to get people used to massage, and for a quick (15-20 min tx) relaxing treatment.  So here I am, looking for different types of techniques to expand this idea and maybe a good lotion I can use on their face, that is good to massage with and good for different types of skin.  Or something different all together, use of hydrotherapy, hot stone, I've heard about indian head massage but don't know anything about it.  Any suggestion??? ???

 

[Rae]

I don't use any lotion or oil on clients' faces, especially because if they have skin like mine, anything foreign the skin is not used to causes rash or breakouts.  If a client wants a face massage, I do that FIRST when my hands are clean.  Their natural skin oil is usually enough for me to work with.  If a client specifically came to me for just a face massage, I think I'd ask them to bring their favorite moisturizer or facial lotion and use that, or ask if they don't mind the products I normally use on the body.

 

[Shady Vines]

Biotone makes a face therapy lotion - I havent tried it but its on my shopping list next time I need to reorder!  I am introducing a cool stone facial massage this summer, I am going to ust the smallest stones in my stone set and keep them chilled,  if it goes over well I will buy a marble set.You could start off with a warm towel wrap, that would be nice I think.    you could also add some ess. oils maybe.

 

[w j]

I don't use any lotion or oil on clients' faces, especially because if they have skin like mine, anything foreign the skin is not used to causes rash or breakouts.  If a client wants a face massage, I do that FIRST when my hands are clean.  Their natural skin oil is usually enough for me to work with.

I agree with this.  I HATE having anything like oil or cream on my face.In school we used rose/lavender water and just spritzed it on our hands (and rubbed them together) prior to starting massage on the face.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Oh I like the hot towel treatment to start with, fun, simple, and very cost effective.  I do understand why you would not like oils on your face, but the spritzer idea is fun and easy.  What do you guys do when massaging a scalp?  Do you just finger tip knead around the head, or is there something else that is fun?  How much hair manipulation do you use?  I love getting my hair washed just because of the massage but I do know people who hate it.  Is there some way of doing it and staying massage orianted and not to "foo fooy"?  I love to do add a cervical distraction to the head using a towel as well and it allows me to do ROM too.  Has anyone tried those nubby things that you put under the base of the occipital bone?  Do they work?  Are they too clumsy to use in the massage?

 

[Lesley]

Hazelnut oil is actually one of the best mediums for face massage because it is very light, has astringent qualities, ok for oily skin, and can be "blotted" off after massage with either witch hazel or rose water to tone.  Bon Vital has a good hazelnut oil. Doesn't have that "greasy" feel at all.Also, a nice aromatherapy inhalation during the hot towel wrap can be done by putting one drop of eucalyptus, pine, ravensara (you get the idea) on a cotton ball and place it on top of the hot towel right under the nose.

 

[Los Rojiblancos]

I have used the Biotone Facial lotion, and it is very nice.  BUT you should foller the idears suggesting asking first, even though I don't usually.  I generally just use a tiny bit of regular massage lotion for a tiny bit of slip. As far as ideas for the treatment, I suspect that you already have it in you to do, you're just letting the new concept rattle you a little.  You know what feels good so do more of that and less of what does not feel good.  mick

 

[Tom Odda]

Oil of Jojoba is also lovely on the face - low/no fragrance, silky feel with minimal amount, used in natural facial products (even those for sensitive skin).One idea, esp if you do the face massage at the start of a massage is to have the patient actually tense up their facial muscles - wrinkle their forehead, clench their teeth, squeeze their eyes shut - hold for a few seconds and then tell them to relax, breath deeply and as they relax their facial muscles, you gently, but firmly massage over them.  This is like instant relaxation.On the other hand, I find just a quick hand wash and finishing off with a facial massage and head rub tends to send my patients into a really deep relaxation to finish and they feel really rested.   One thing is to make sure that you have time in your schedule for them to take a few minutes to get up and get dressed in their own (sort of) time.

 

[hotchic_foxy101]

If you have access to hot stone equipment or even just a bowl of really hot water, doing face work with hot, polished stones can be very nice.  I often fancy myself as "Too tough for Fluff" but have to admit that hot stone facial massage feels very nice.

 

[Brother Jonathan]

I thought I would answer the question posed in here specifically about scalp work. I personally LOVE scalp and face massage so tend to also give a longer scalp and face massage than many therapists (at least the ones who have worked on me.)Q: "What do you guys do when massaging a scalp?  Do you just finger tip knead around the head, or is there something else that is fun?  How much hair manipulation do you use?"A: I start by using my fingertips with a nice firm direct pressure that does not slide over the skin. I work the sides and top of the head then turn the neck both ways to get the back as well. Secondly, I go back through the process only this time I allow my fingers to "slide" over the skin. More like the hairdresser does when shampooing. Then I grab little fistfuls of hair (obviously doesn't work with super short hair)and gently pull while also moving in a small circular rotation (hope I described that okay). Finally, compressions with your palms on either side of the head feels great!

 

[WHY]

IDI, International Dermal Insitute the education side of Dermalogica has a class called Stress Therapy Treatment.  It  gives you a short routine for head/face and back - I think the head/face was 20min (or maybe it was 15min) and could be offered on it's own.  Whatever, it is a very good routine which you can expand on.  Plus if you do the 2 day course you get a lot of face and back massage  Most of the people doing their courses come from a beauty background, so you will probably pick up some finer fluff points too - always handy when doing the face  Their Aromatherapy: Face and Neck and the Chinese Acupressure courses are also very good for face routines.  Locations all over the place.

 

[Cericoe]

Try Japanese Facial Massage (Ko bi do). You can get the book and video on MW. No oils are used that I know of, and it is a much deeper facial massage than we normally give.


Life is good,

Jingluo

 

[ouragon]

As for scalp massage, I hate it when I get one and the therapist lets their fingers slip over, making a rasping or velcro-ey sound. I do love my scalp moved with sustained pressure though. I asked a couple of longterm clients about it & they were split down the middle: most just enjoy it, period.

For face I use a drop of non oily facial lotion (smells faintly of cucumbers, I love it) & mist rose & geranium water in my palm to make that tiny bit o lotion go a longer way. I do all different techniques, including very light, rapid tapping or drumming of the fingers. One of my favorite esalen instructors taught us to finish off with a beautiful, long stroke from the chin up, using your forearms rolling to the fingers. I often do that then tap lightly & rapidly, gradually slowing down & arriving at the scalp to begin the work there.

Jill/sagetherapist

 

[Duct Tape Fixes All]

I find I can't do this too many clients as most people don't have long hair. I do and it feels amazing. I ask if the client has a tender scalp before trying it and tend not to do this until I know someone a bit.

Gather the hair up at just above the crown chakra in one hand. Get a good grip on it that will afford even pull all over the scalp. I usually twist it a bit and wrap it around my wrist so it isn't going anywhere. Gently lift the head off the table slightly and give a slight pull superior. Hold. Lay the head back on the table without taking any pressure off the hair. Let go of the hair suddenly. All those little Arrector Pili muscles gasp "we're free! we're free!" and heave a collective sigh of relief. I can't tell you how great it feels.

Maire

 

[Banana Chicken Head]

Face massage, new ideas needed

.....Finally, compressions with your palms on either side of the head feels great!

Ooooohhhhh, I never really thought of doing that! That's definately going into my routine!

I usually start on the face. I spend a lot of time holding pressure points and releaving sinus pressure. Even if they don't complain of sinus problems I always address it. I get a lot of comments about how my clients didn't even realize they were feeling stuffy until then. I use my palm and press firmly down on their forhead, a little reminder to relax. Once I put pressure down I firmly and slowly push up their forhead into their hairline. It feels very good. After all that I go in with some nice deep circular massage all around the face and especially in front of and behind (at the same time) the ear.

I do circular massage (without letting the scalp move around) with my fingertips all over. I start from the hairline and move my way down and around the sides. Then I start from the bottom of the hair and work my way up and around. I let the weight of the clients head rest on my fingers while I massage so it's a nice deep pressure. Lots of "Oh, that feels good!" I also do a good bit of combing through the hair with my fingers and even a little gentle pulling as well.


Steph!

 

[Lover of Life]

I love facial work! My MT does wonderful facial massage, and has just learned some new stuff, which is very nice, and what stuck in my mind the most was a 'continuous hand' type move on the forehead.. Palm flat, and working up from the brow to the hairline, as the hand moves up, the other hand joins at the bottom, so the join cannot be perceived, and as each hand lifts off it starts again at the bottom. It's a lovely move, and feels great. Other nice moves I learnt from Indian Head massage are to work carefully all around the attachments around the jaw, and the chin - it's amazing how much tension we hold round there.

 

[Bart]

Try Japanese Facial Massage (Ko bi do). You can get the book and video on MW. No oils are used that I know of, and it is a much deeper facial massage than we normally give.


Life is good,

Jingluo

I have this book and video. There is a 2 page discussion on using products for the skin. No specific brands are mentioned. A cleanser is used first then a moisturizer. The moisturzier used will depend on the client's skin condition. No one product will be satisficatory for all. They stress the importance of using lubrication to avoid pulling the skin.

I bought my books through japanesemassage.com . It was the first course in a series offered in Colarado and some distantly. The webstie is no longer available. Does anyone know why?

 

[Elsie May]

I bought my books through japanesemassage.com . It was the first course in a series offered in Colarado and some distantly. The webstie is no longer available. Does anyone know why?

The google cache is from mid 2005. The contact details is listed as info@kobido.com http://www.kobido.com is available, you could try contacting them to find out what happened. There was a news item from 2004 saying they were going to concentrate on the Kobido range, so maybe that's what it is.

 

[gaston M]

I just found this class offered by the International Dermal Institute http://www.dermalinstitute.comn They run courses all over the US and in the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Germany. I have been extremely impressed with every class I have done with them, so I would imagine this is up to their usual standard - I'm actually doing this class in June. They're primarily directed at beauty therapists as post-graduate education, but bodyworkers are able to do quite a few of their classes.

UPDATED: I did the course last weekend (got in an earlier one). It was great. They went into the facial muscles quite a bit and specific moves for muscles. Quite a few of the moves are European facial moves, which took me a bit to pick up, they look like they would just be fluffy moves, and certainly felt like fluff moves when I was doing them, but they actually felt very effective to receive. People have been saying I look like I've had a holiday The aromatherapy aspect of the course was minimal, the pressure pionts weren't amazingly different, but they did work through the layers of muscles, which I would assume is a skin therapists idea of deep tissue for the face. It's a 20min routine, but you can obviously use any of the moves without doing the whole routine. It was offerred as a 2 day class out here, though the US calendar shows it as one day?

Advanced Face Massage
theory and practical
09:00 AM to 06:00 PM (2 day class or maybe one day??)

How long have you been performing the same massage routine on your clients? It's time to step it up with this two day class that will teach you the most comprehensive techniques discovered from around the world! In this interactive class you'll learn techniques for each method that you can adapt into your routine and customize for every client. You'll have the opportunity to give as well as receive the treatment in class! Walk away feeling refreshed and confident in your new techniques that will take your treatments from good to insanely great!

In this class you will learn:
* Deep tissue manipulations
* Aromatherapy massage
* Myofascial release in the neck and shoulders
* Remedial massage movements
* New pressure points for the face and scalp

 

[Psycho?Kitty]

I have received a few mailings from the dermal institute and have been impressed with what they have to offer. It's hard to weed through all of the many workshops out there....for some reason, I seem drawn to theirs.
Next time a brochure comes, I am going to look for that face massage workshop! It sounds great.........and I know I could use some fresh ideas!!