The pH of skin is vital for protection against harmful bacteria, virus, mold and other microbial agents. In this brief 5-minute video, we'll review why any healthcare provider or cosmetologist who is working on human skin should know about it's acidic mantle and pH. A client's acid mantle should be preserved at all times for continued physical and physiological protection.
The pH of skin is taught in some of our oncology, manual lymphatic drainage and other classes as a vital part of our client healthcare bodywork and practice.
To learn more about massage precautions, etc., please register for quality, affordable, professional training at: https://ceinstitute.com/
Aromatherapy uses a combination of art and science to blend therapeutic concoctions with natural essential oils. In these times of coronavirus (COVID-19), the expertise to make your own hand sanitizer, air deodorizers, cleaning supplies and antimicrobial massage agents through aromatherapy is a valuable skill. Aromatherapy practice allows a creative opportunity for any business with the added bonus of being able to make crucial products that are not always readily available for purchase during times of high demand.
Chemical Properties in Essential Oils The theory behind aromatherapy practice is that the natural chemical properties that are found within a plant are the same natural chemical properties that will be found in that plant’s essential oil. Plants have many natural chemical properties within them to help pollinate, recreate and protect their natural survival from fungus, bacteria, insects and other environmental issues.
Essential oils are usually extracted via steam distillation from flowers, fruits, leaves, roots, tree bark and other plant-based organic material. Bottling up these natural protective plant properties with essential oil production is a magnificent use of nature itself.
Massage therapists can incorporate aromatherapy to create antimicrobial business-use products. (Antimicrobial is defined an agent that can kill or slow the spread of microorganisms which include bacteria, viruses, protozoans, and fungi.) Tea tree, eucalyptus and rosemary are some of the most popular essential oils known for their antimicrobial properties.
Some essential oils have better scientific research to prove their efficacy than others. It is up to every practicing therapist who chooses to use aromatherapy to research each individual manufacturer’s essential oil for its various uses and practices.
Today’s current working theory of COVID-19 infection is that human respiratory aerosol and respiratory droplets can be spread through person-to-person contact, and this coronavirus can also linger in the air and on surfaces for unknown periods of time.
As such, it is up to us to create additional methods (such as the use of aromatherapy) to sanitize our work environment to help protect ourselves and others from harmful bacteria, virus and other germs. Keep in mind when using essential oils that some clients may have allergies or irritable responses to certain plants or aromas. Someone could have a negative reaction even when a product is derived from nature.
Antimicrobial Product Recipes Here are some ways to promote antimicrobial sanitation in a massage therapy practice with aromatherapy via essential oils:
Hand sanitizer: Thoroughly mix one-third cup aloe vera gel with two-thirds cup rubbing alcohol and five to 15 drops of tea tree oil until well blended. Hands should be immersed with sanitizer solution, rubbed and remain wet for at least 20 seconds for efficacy.
Antimicrobial massage agents: Mix two to three drops of eucalyptus or rosemary essential oil with two-plus ounces of unscented massage cream, gel or oil for a single client’s use. High concentrations of any essential oil can be irritating to human skin, so it is recommended to place a drop of this concoction on the client’s inside wrist and wait a few minutes for a possible reaction before spreading the mixture onto the client’s body. Immediately discontinue use with any signs of redness or skin irritation, whether experienced by the client or the therapist.
Air deodorizer: Mix eight ounces of distilled water, 1 teaspoon baking soda with five drops of lavender essential oil and five drops of eucalyptus essential oil in a spritz or misting bottle. Spray mist into the air on the highest mist dispersion setting possible to allow the deodorizer to linger in the air for the maximum time possible.
Cleaning supplies: Various antimicrobial essential oils can be added to distilled water, alcohol, vinegar, castile soap and other formulas in a variety of mixtures and concentrations. You can find an endless amount of aromatherapy essential oil cleaning formula recipes through a basic internet search. These formula mixtures can be poured into a spray bottle for cleaning. You can also create cleaning wipes by depositing your formula mixture into a gallon-size plastic Ziplock bag with napkins or paper towels.
When concocting your own aromatherapy products, each therapist must decide how much essential oil should be added. We have provided specific quantities of how much essential oil to use in these recipes; however, some may prefer a stronger or different aroma while others will not. Selecting essential oils plus the quantity that is used in each recipe is always a personal choice. However, a therapist should factor in manufacturer recommendations, science or research studies to determine how much essential oil is required when attempting to create an antimicrobial product.
There are many other uses for aromatherapy in a massage therapy or spa business to promote an antimicrobial environment. This includes the use of ambient bowls, room atomizers or diffusers, homemade soaps and carpet deodorizers—the possibilities are vast. You will find many more therapeutic uses and options if you choose to study aromatherapy and invest in essential oils. A National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork-approved aromatherapy CE class lab is a great way to start learning more by mixing your own formulations.
Essential Oils’ Limitations Now, you may ask yourself, why don’t we make these easy-to-create, natural products all the time? That answer gets complicated, because essential oils, manufacturers, manufacturing processes, harvesting, extracting and other effects are inconsistent and sometimes unreliable.
Even the region or pH of the soil where a plant is grown can have a different natural chemical property from one year to the next, based upon the amount of fertilizers, acidic rainfall or drought for that year. And do not forget, aromatherapy is based upon the plant’s natural chemical properties. One year a plant could have satisfactory antimicrobial properties and the next year it could have less than satisfactory antimicrobial properties, which can be affected by human manufacturing processes and other factors .
Because essential oils can be inconsistent from year to year and brand to brand, their generic use is not always reliable for their intended purposes. As such, it is important to use proven products for sanitation and other safety measures whenever available.
However, due to today’s consistent sanitation supply shortages, the practice of aromatherapy is an acceptable backup option when regular sanitation supplies are not available. And in some perfect circumstances, these types of self-made aromatherapy products could be as good as, or better than ordinary store-bought items themselves.
It is always good business to have extra sanitation measures available, especially during a pandemic. To that end, consider adding antimicrobial aromatherapy practices, when necessary, to your existing sanitation habits to help protect yourself and others from contagious microbial agents.
Athletes are a mostly underserved market in the massage therapy and spa industries. Take your massage therapy or spa appointment beyond the regular service with customary add-ons for your weekend warriors and pros.
In this brief 8-minute video, we'll share some add-on service suggestions for athletic clients, which includes scrubs, hot towels, hydrotherapy and more.
Many massage therapists, bodyworkers and more are taught that working around the ankles could cause a miscarriage. In this brief 5-minute video, we will review whether or not it is safe to press around the ankles in a prenatal client.
Myofascial release bodywork is different than regular massage therapy strokes. Myofascial tissues are broken down into three general subcategories which include superfiscial facia, myofascia and visceral fascia. When working with myofascia, practitioners will need to execute specific techniques and applications to primarily address this special layer of soft tissue.
In this brief 6-minute video, we'll share our thoughts about why massage therapists should learn myofascial release bodywork to target myofascia.
There are many different reflexology charts available for use today, but many of these charts do not have matching reflex points. So how would a practitioner know which chart depicts accurate reflex points?
In this brief 10-minute video, we'll review several different foot reflexology charts to show what are commonly accepted reflex points, and more importantly, what might not be a commonly accepted as a true reflexology point depiction.
In this freebrief 9-minute video, we'll review several geriatric medical condition changes that occur with age. Any massage therapist or bodyworker should know these conditions and more prior to working with a geriatric clientele. We'll briefly review cardiac changes, orthopedic changes, changes within the organs and more.
Would you like to take live, online, computer-based training but do not know where to start?
Many of our masssage therapist, cosmetology and bodywork students would like to train from home with a live instructor, but simply do not know how - given most of their work does not include using a computer.
As such, we provide free Welcome Webinars to helpensure a quality or complete live interactive webinar CE class training experience. Students will receive an invite to our welcome webinars AFTER they have registered for one of our live interactive webinar CE classes. Welcome webinars are FREE optional meetings that can help students learn how to view, operate and participate in our webinar program and are great for those who are new to online/webinar training.
Our next welcome webinar is available this Thursday evening, January 7, 2022! Please check your email within 5-minutes aAfter you register for your live webinar training to find your free welcome webinar registration invitation. We hope to see you there!
Suggested appointment prices for manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) services are difficult to develop for some practitioners, especially when they first get started in the modality.
In this brief 7-minute video, we'll review some tips to follow if you're trained in lymphatic drainage and wondering what to charge for your service. This video was primarily created for CE Institute LLC students who train in our MLD application - however some others may find it helpful.
Here is some basic info about setting prices in general for massage therapy and bodyworker services:
Here are some common questions, answers and tips about setting these massage prices:
What should I charge for a one-hour treatment or service? Look to your local peers and consider what they are charging? Consider their property amenities, training or years of experience with their one-hour price. Then, look to your own practice and try to determine if your service is the same, less or better than what they are providing and charge accordingly.
It is important to consider your market’s average price for viability of your own.
Should I charge more for specialized work more so than a "regular" appointment? This can be one of the most puzzling questions and situations in practice today.
One solution would be to charge a fairly high hourly rate and tell the client that they can have any type of service for this charge. Then, I may discount the service if it’s an easy appointment, or they book regularly, or whatever feels appropriate.
Sometimes I feel that massage therapists should charge a little more than their “average” market price so that there is room to offer discounts on slow days/seasons and for repeat/good clients.
Some customers may also be intrigued as to why you “costs” more than average, too. Keep in mind that good pricing involves providing your best possible service for the best possible charge.
How do I explain a price difference for different services? While I personally charge an “expensive” one-size-fits-all price for services, some therapists will have a low base price for massage, and charge more for additional modalities.
It’s perfectly acceptable to charge more for harder or complicated work. Here are three reasons why therapists can (and sometimes should) charge more:
Additional equipment and/or training was involved to provide the service; therefore, a higher price will recoup the financial investment for training and/or equipment. This is often applicable for prenatal, stone, aromatherapy, NMT and so forth.
The work is physically “harder,” which means you will not be able to provide as many appointments that day. This is often applicable for deep tissue and hot stone work.
Extra time is required to provide the service. This often applicable to mobile appointments, stone work, prenatal, shirodhara, etc. (Be sure to add any parking expenses to a mobile appointment price, too!)
What is the best practice to charge for add-on services? You should always charge for “add-ons” such as a foot scrub, paraffin or anything else that would not be normally added to the scheduled service.
If you do provide “add-ons,” it’s important to publicly post a detailed price list of these add-on services on your website, at the reception counter and/or in your service menu.
And, if a client requests an “add-on” during service, tell them the additional costs for the “add-on” before it is provided. While it’s never ideal to talk about money during a service, it could also be considered unethical to charge more than agreed without the client’s informed consent.
Setting your own appointment prices can often feel confusing and conflicting.
Using these guidelines will hopefully help make decisions about this important process. Be upfront, honest and clear about pricing. Regardless of what you charge, you should always provide a professional, reputable service that is reliable for your customers.
Good business usually provides good prices, so don’t be shy to charge what you’re worth, and let those cash registers ring!
We are pleased to announce that we will continue our live interactive webinar training without end.
We are continually updating our live interactive webinar program with best practices. These updates and our most updated practices are reflected in our new Quick Start Video.
Please review this quick 13-minute quick start video to learn what may be required and how to get the most out of our live interactive webinar, computer-based training. Thanks so much and we hope you enjoy the experience!
