Imagine your perfect work environment - conducive to your health and well-being while providing a haven of comfort and relaxation for your facial client.
You've watched this month's video “How to Perform Your Best Massage” in May newsletter and have been mindfully aware of each massage stroke in your face massage sequence.
Now to deepen your knowledge even further let’s now consider 3 more factors; Pressure, Speed and Rhythm.
Pressure
In my very first job, at sweet 16, I quickly learned how much pressure to use when shampooing clients in a ladies’ hair salon back in my hometown of Birmingham, England. To me, this knowing came quite naturally. I received constant positive feedback about my shampooing and touch skills. I think it’s because I know what I like and what I don't like so I figured other people would like the same and for the most part they actually do.
Training yourself to give a great massage is like working out to get fitter or stronger. It takes time, repetition and practice. It is well worth the time and effort; your clients will love you for it. If you know you have a very light touch and clients are always asking you to “go deeper”, learn to use your body weight for added pressure and increase the pressure slightly in your hands.
This way you are slowly building the muscles in your hands and arms. Naturally, the more often you perform a massage you will build muscle and get stronger. That’s the nature of muscle tissue. Don’t be alarmed if your muscles ache after several massages if you’re new to the industry or haven't done one for a while, it’s just like getting back to an exercise routine.
However, if you are in pain, have inflammation, joint restriction seek medical advice as soon as possible.
Speed
How fast or how slowly you perform a particular massage stroke can vary greatly upon the stroke being used. Generally speaking, effleurage should move at an average of 7 inches per second. Approximately 3 seconds for an effleurage of the upper body.
Whereas one tapotement under the chin and on the platysma can be performed in half a second and 36 of them in 18 seconds shows a contrast between the two strokes.
Rhythm
While speed of a stroke can vary so too can rhythm. Whether you’re using a faster or slower rhythm as long as they are the same, it will feel great and enduce relaxation. For example, if effleuraging the face, keep the rhythm the same for each repetition, when you move to frictions on the chin ensure your left hand is evenly matched to your right.
Please leave a comment below if you found this blog post useful and consider sharing it with a fellow esty friend or colleague.