Hot Stone Massage

Hi,

I Live near Watford and a Massage Therapist qualified in Hot/cold stone therapy.

I'm happy to answer your questions,

Myarka.

Hi
I love doing Hot Stone Massage too, I bought all or most of it from Ebay, i did my reserach though on other companies and found Ebay the best. Hope this helps.

Vickie

I got mine from Physique.co.uk

I got mine from e-bay too..

I wouldn't waste money on buying a stone heater, just by a slow cooker from one of the supermarkets and it will be about a 10th of the price.

I also use laundry bags, large ones for back and chakra stones, small for toe and face stones. Then the rest go into a large bag for doing the actual massage.

For the cold stones I take them out of the freezer in the morning and put them in a thermos bag to keep them cold.

It's important to decide if you want natural stones or pre-shaped. I prefer natural, but I know a lot of therapists that use pre-shaped.

HTH,
Myarka.

Hot stone and advanced waxing

:)Thank you for your replies, greatly appreciated.
I have just bought some online, and cannot wait to start using them.

i also want to do the advanced waxing course and am lookinf for a volunteer to bring in to practice on, is any one interested. I have already completed my VTCT Waxing course.

hotstones

Hi
I love doing Hot Stone Massage too, I bought all or most of it from Ebay, i did my reserach though on other companies and found Ebay the best. Hope this helps.

Vickie

just wonderin

Hello angela128 and welcome to Healthypages. 🙂

What were you just wondering? Did you perhaps post your reply before you'd completed it?

Holistic

I had a rather strange experience with hot stone therapy..

I found a therapist that offered home visits, so I gave her a call and I was really looking forward to it.

Well, everything seemed fine at first, but about 10 minutes into the session she started REALLY sweating (poor lady) I didn't know whether to mention it or not, so I kept quiet. The thing is sweat from her forehead started dripping onto me:o and kind of ruined the experience. I will definitely be trying this therapy again though, it is very relaxing.

Well, everything seemed fine at first, but about 10 minutes into the session she started REALLY sweating (poor lady) I didn't know whether to mention it or not, so I kept quiet. The thing is sweat from her forehead started dripping onto me:o and kind of ruined the experience.

Hi RosieB,

This must not happen and it's is very unethical for the therapist to allow to happen. The last thing a client wants is a therapist dripping sweat all over them.

The skill of doing a Hot/cold stone treatment is temperature control, the therapist should use a combination of hot and cold stones to regulate the temperature of the treatment. If the therapist is getting too hot, they haven't really thought through the treatment very well.

However, having said that, there will always be some client somewhere that has all the doors and wondows closed and the heating on full in the middle of summer, but I very much doubt that was the case here. If it's a particularly hot day, I will give my clients a choice to rebook or take an alternative treatment.

But dripping on a client is a definate no no.

Myarka

Hi RosieB,

However, having said that, there will always be some client somewhere that has all the doors and wondows closed and the heating on full in the middle of summer, but I very much doubt that was the case here.
Myarka

Hi Myarka,

Yeah, I always take into consideration the room temperature when I have a home visit. It's funny you mention the stones being hot AND cold though, because the stones used in my treatment were definitely all hot..no cold ones at all..how strange. :confused:

Original stone therapy makes use of both hot and cold stones, myarka says. to have all hot stones is not necessarily a good thing, as it raises the body temperature and can make you too soporific.

some conditions dont react to hot stones and need the cold stones to benefit. some muscular problems need more cold than hot too. various techniques should be done with cold stones rather than hot (tapping comes to mind).

there are so many courses out there and some are only for a day, so its very difficult to incorporate all the techniques into that kind of training.

as for dripping sweat... ewww.... not nice. any massage can make the therapist warm, its a physical therapy afterall... and using stones, in the summer, one can get very hot. i've done the same as myarka before now and suggested a different therapy.

My first and only experience of hot stone massage was negative too I'm afraid.

The woman who suggested I might like to try it (a couple of years ago) does beauty therapy from home and I used to go and get my eyebrows waxed.

It was OK but nothing special and I think maybe she isn't very qualified or trained. Come to think of it, I've never noticed any diplomas or certificates on display. She only used hot stones, didn't get any cold ones.

I had to stop going to have my eyebrows done because she used to smell of cigarette smoke. Obviously I didn't say anything but she used to sit there telling me to drink plenty, eat healthily and cleanse my skin thoroughly ....... and I just couldn't take her seriously!:rolleyes:

Most of the girls on the course I did bought their stones from ebay. Several of us have bought slow cookers as well.

It was very unprofessional to drip on the client. Not pleasant at all. She must have realised how hot she was getting.

I will be working from home once I get going but was wondering how you manage heating your stones when you go to the client's house. Do you preheat them or add hot water to your heater once you get there?

Hot stone massage from home...

Hey

I am a practitioner who does home visits, and I am interested in adding HSM to my therapies...but how practical will this be on a home visit?

Please let me know!

Thanks!

Hi

I have done extensive training in Hot Stone Massage and find that it is a treatment best carried out from where ever you are based, ie home or salon.

I use about 50 stones in a full body treatment and wouldnt want to carry these as well as the heater (which is huge too) - best not to use slow cookers as they do not have the precise temperature controls and also your insurance co may not cover you, as it is not being used for the purpose it is intended.

I have however, offered a mini, taster treatment, at pamper parties, added on to a back massage to encourage them to try a full Hot Stone Treatment at my premises. Then you can simply take 6 - 8 stones and heat them in hot water - just to give them an idea of what is is like.

hope this helps.

Jude 🙂

Thanks for your advice judetait, greatfully recivievd.

After rooting around on Healthy Pages yesterday I also came across the name "Hot Stone Hut" () which I have found the most compresnive guide to HSM for newbies like me...well worth cheking out and she even has a free 'how-to' booklet!

I emailed Mariah from Hot Stone Hut the question about mobile HSM and this is the advice she has given me:

I have 6 - 8 of my favorite working stones that I use for the massage, and then take smaller lighter stones that aren't much trouble to carry, like toe cozies and facial stones.

And you can definitely get by with just the working stones.

I did mobile massage using the moist heating pads. I would heat the stones before I left, put them in an insulated zippered bag ( you can even get these on wheels - people use them for carrying beer!) and then kept them warm on location with the pads as well. I used Thermophores bought from Relaxus. Not sure if you can get them in 220 volts.

I thought I would post this information as it might be useful to others too.

On the same kind of note - has anyone trained in HSM with Natural therapy Studios? I was wondering if it is any good? I wanted to do a weekend course of at least two days but they have been full up the only times I can do. I am also going abroad to work in December and would like to do the course before I go to add to my skill set...

Many thanks in advance...

x

I do hot stone massage and do it as a mobile treatment. Wherever possible, i try and heat the stones up before i get to the client's otherwise i just heat them up there. I take my hot stone heater with me, so its not a problem and it ensures the stones are hot during the treatment.

Even if i haven't had chance to warm the stones up before hand, i just put them on and about the same amount of time as it takes me to set up, the stones are ready.

My clients love having hot stone massage, especially in this weather and the fact that they can have it in their own home.

I tend to keep everything hot by putting it in a big cooler bag that you normally use for picnics.

The only downside of doing it mobile, is that its another piece of equipment to carry.

Hi All

I'm very new to healthy pages and intrigued by the Hot Stone Massage Discussion. I've just returned from a weekend CPD course with Dror Steiner

[DLMURL] http://bodyologymassagecourses.co.uk/our-courses-explained/hot-stone-massage.html [/DLMURL]

The course was absolutely amazing and I would definitely recommend it to anyone thinking of doing a hot stone training course.

I thought it might be of interest that Dror also sells his own untreated natural Basalt stones which have been specially created for his school.

I did a lot of research on the different sets available and I'm really happy with the quality, size, weight, usability and value of the bodyology set.

I'm unsure if you can buy them if you haven't been on the training course but it may be worth looking into.

I would also recommend using a slow cooker to heat the stones.

Morphy Richards 6.5Litre slow cooker was on special offer last week at Argos, only £24.99. I thought this was quite a bargain.

Rachael Hibberd

Hi Rachael and Andan,

thank you both for your great advice.

Rachael - does a slow cooker do the same thing then? that is amazing considering the price difference...I am just researching where to buy everything now!

I did a course on the weekend with MSCM - yes it was OK, not what I expected for a two day course as it was very very basic. It is a good start in Hot Stone as you get perform a practical but I still would have preferred more theory and different application techniques.

If anyone else has used a slow cooker instead I would love to hear from you!

x

Slow cookers are designed to heat things above a suitable temp for stones. Paraffin heaters are suitable substitutes for stone heaters, paraffin is heated to about the same temp, anything designed to melt chocolate is another option. Using something designed for warming above stone temps means possible burns, and burns do happen, rice cookers and fry pans are even more of a concern. You can use anything you find that works to heat stones, but if you want to heat the stones safely, you don't use something designed to be used at above a safe temp. There should be no need to dunk stones in cold water or take them out of the heater to cool down before you use them, you should be able to use them from the heater on the client.

Hi Again

We were taught to use a slow cooker on our course and therefore a particular technique for slightly cooling and handling the stones.

It does get them incredibly hot because you are heating them to boiling temperatures. I guess it's probably worth checking that the stones you have are up to withstanding these temperatures because you wouldn't want them to break.

Saying that there are low and medium settings on the slow cookers so you don't have to go that high.

Rachael Hibberd

A nice solution is to use a commercial [url]bain marie[/url]. A bit expensive, but if you work in a clinic where you're doing a lot of stone massages, then you get all the control you need and you don't need to handle wet stones.

Myarka.

I do hot stone massage and do it as a mobile treatment. Wherever possible, i try and heat the stones up before i get to the client's otherwise i just heat them up there. I take my hot stone heater with me, so its not a problem and it ensures the stones are hot during the treatment.

Even if i haven't had chance to warm the stones up before hand, i just put them on and about the same amount of time as it takes me to set up, the stones are ready.

My clients love having hot stone massage, especially in this weather and the fact that they can have it in their own home.

I tend to keep everything hot by putting it in a big cooler bag that you normally use for picnics.

The only downside of doing it mobile, is that its another piece of equipment to carry.

Has anyone seen this new mobile hot stone heating bag? Vulsini? I've been looking through their website and it looks like a really good idea. I've been practising as a mobile therapist (as well as at home) for around 8 years and whenever my clients request for a mobile hot stone therapy I get stressed with the amount of prep and all the equipment that it entails. Apparently this bag doesn't use water and heats the stones with a dry heat! As well as being a carrying case for the stones 🙂

It looks a bit pricey but the amount of time I'd save! Have a look and let me know what you guys think

Tracy xox