personal grooming

[webbster]

Hi everyone,

I am just about to start an itec holistic massage course but missed the induction.The tutor apparantly told everybody that we need to buy uniforms, wear our hair up in a bun and keep nails very short indeed. All ladies who wear acrylic nails must remove them. Many of the ladies are not happy that they will not be able to wear their false nails until the end of the course, even if they were kept short.
Is there anything else i need to know? Do you need to remove jewelley - including your wedding ring?

Is your appearance taken into consideration at your exam?

 

[nona_goldencat]

Yes you do get marked on appearance for the exam! Your nails will need to be short to massage - there is no way round this. I used to wear my nails long but since starting massage have always kept them just above the quick. Any longer and you risk scratching your client.
You will have to remove jewellery, I think you are allowed to keep your wedding band on.
Hair should be clean and kept off the face.
ITEC can seem quite pedantic but when you start working you realise that most of the rules are common sense!
Short nails are a small sacrifice if you really love the work Good luck and enjoy it!

 

[MsJamersRN]

ITEC are the pickiest of picky when it comes to appearance. No nails, hair scraped back with no dangly bits hanging down, your hair shouldn't be touching your collar, your trousers should not touch the floor, no designer markings on your uniform. I could go on and on. When i did itec i wore a while polo shirt, tucked into my trousers (plain black jogging trousers) and plain black trainers.
With regards jewellery, i would just avoid wearing any at all. I believe that wearing a wedding band is acceptable, but I don't wear any jewellery at all now i am practising as it can be a real hazard.
It all sounds like a pain, but although some of the rules are a little over the top, they are good habits to get into, and will ensure you adhere to good standards of hygiene and client safety once you get into practice yourself.
Good luck with it all. I am sure you will enjoy it immensely!

 

[CrackerBoy67]

Not sure if you should also avoid wearing heavily scented perfumes too. I can't remember if this was an ITEC rule or those of the spa that I worked at. I wouldn't like to be massaged by someone with long nails real or false. As mentioned earlier it is common sense and good habits to get into.

 

[Iron Rabbi]

I'm glad I did an MTI course

A colleague of mine once did a sports massage course, and there were 3 ladies there who left halfway through the first session when they were told they had to lose the nails

 

[?Mamibella]

Why would anyone think you could learn massage and have long nails??

 

[Sinfuel]

ooooooh and don't forget, no chewing gum!! lol. One of my pet hates is when people leave their mobiles switched on, SO Bloody annoying!
Lovely as she was, our tutor didn't have the back bone to tell them to turn them off!
If you missed your first lesson ask your tutor for the paper work she'll have given out, otherwise go on to the ITEC website, you'll find everything you need there. Don't ever be afraid to ask, good luck with your course x

 

[nicInvave]

Unfortunately, massage therapists have to sacrifice their nails keep them short and filed, so there are no rough edges - I always look forward to having a holiday so that I can grow my nails. Nail polish is out - when I trained with ITEC way back the standard dress was black trousers, with a white polo shirt and black shoes, long hair must be put up. I used to wear a small chain always, which I think was ok and also a wedding band for married practitioners.

Binah
x

 

[Mitsuna]

When I trained one person hadn't removed her false nails and made red score marks all over someones back....!

 

[Uncannyxman]

I like long nails for back tickles ^_^

 

[Stephen E]

And my pet hate is therapists who use fake tan to enhance their appearance and then engage in massage without scrubbing their hands meticulously! Have almost retched and thrown myself from the table when the same hands are applied to my face and on one occasion under and almost into my nostrils .....

 

[red dye #2]

Acrylic nails (or gel) are a health concern - doesn't matter if they are short acrylic nails or long ones, they can harbour a LOT of nasty bugs under them, just one little lift on one corner and a lot of stuff can grow in there. Most nail techs I know won't let anyone near their face with acrylic nails, too risky for skin treatments, they'd probably think the same about massage. If you saw some of the things that can take hold under an acrylic nail..... add oil and the skin of someone else, I wouldn't want them mixed together.

If you disregard the hygiene issue with acrylic or gel nails (gel are less prone to lifting but still a concern), they can actually prevent scratching, acrylic nails are not as sharp as natural nails (they're thicker because the acrylic is a layer on top of the natural nail or form and so are relatively blunt). I came across one massage lecturer that raved about how great acrylic nails were since she didn't have to worry about scratching anyone anymore, I was horrified, but she thought the hygiene issue was overkill.

I keep my nails short, but very occasionally there will be the day that I think 'whoops, should've dealt with that nail before I started', one of those days my hand slipped or something near a client's ear and I cut his ear with my thumb nail!!!!! I still don't quite understand how I managed to do that, but I am more diligent about keeping the nails down after that incident, though if I had acrylic nails I wouldn't have cut him.

 

[Miss Nancy]

I really don't think it's possible to be a serious massage therapist is you have nails at all. Surely this is obvious???
Anyone who walks out of a course because they have been told to get rid of their false nails is obviously not serious about becoming a massage therapist!

 

[musicismyhottsexx]

I have to say i did chuckle that some ladies left a course because they had to remove their false nails. I don't have any but i am a nail biter so i will have to try hard to give this up. Wouldn't look very nice to a client. Thanks for all the tips, i hadn't even thought about the perfume one so thats something to consider. Can't wait to get stuck in to the course now!

 

[Crekelill]

Another thing is that they don't like you to overdo the make up, having said that we have all seen therapists who look like they just came off the cat walk!

Enjoy the course

'Bella

 

[Rock Firestorm]

You can surely still wear nail varnish as a massage therapist, no? I understand keeping everything short, that would be a definite must, but as long as you stick to a short and natural manicure, you should be fine.

I used to get massages from students at the local massage school, and had to ask someone to cut their nails in the middle of a session because their thumb nails were too long. Short nails just come with the work, but that doesn't mean they can't look nice, right? good luck with the course

 

[Pompal 09.]

No, we weren't allowed anything like that at all I just buffed mine to a lovely shine lol

 

[sweetmama]

Well the OP only mentioned acrylic nails, not nail polish. Nail polish doesn't last well with the nails and hands covered in that much oil. You're almost having to go for professional UV set top coat to be hard wearing enough for an oily environment like a massage, and a UV top coat is getting pretty close to a thin UV set gel/acrylic..... Anything that lifts or peels on the hands and nails can be a hygiene issue.

 

[?Ashley?]

More rules we have is non-scented deodorant & 1 inch heels.
As you cant wear a watch, its advised to get a fob watch.

 

[cynic32]

I've just started a VTCT massage course and our tutor says that personal appearance and uniform is really important. We have to wear black salon tops, black cropped trousers and flat black non-slip completely enclosed shoes.

We also have to have hair tied back, no jewellery (other than wedding band) and no nail varnish.

Having said all that, I went to a lot of trouble to get the cropped trousers (which were stipulated on prospectus) and several people are wearing long black trousers which I would have preferred. Also several of us were badly let down by a salon company and are still awaiting tops, so we don't all look too professional at the moment!

I was interested to read about non-scented deodorants because I have a bit of a "smell" prob with a few of my classmates but have not mentioned it to anyone. Mainly because I don't know how to, but it IS relevant. A few of them smoke and I don't think it's good to massage someone smelling of stale smoke. They nip out at break time and come back really smelling of it and it's not nice! Any suggestions on how to get round this one? Thanks.