taking care of hot stones

[MR.GPH]

I went for a  class for Deep Tissue Hot Stone Massage in June.  They told me to use a non-chlorine shock in the water with the stones, and then someone told me to use Tea Tree Oil.  What do I use? I'm confused and want to be sure before I go and actually do the massage that I'm being as hygenic as possible. Can anyone help me?!  Thanks in advance.  

 

[Tom J]

I have used both the hot tub tub 'shock' crystals (they smell funny) and mixtures of Tea Tree, Rosemary oils, etc (ones that have antiseptic values as well as therapeutic effects). In my experience, the most important thing to do is to wash your stones in between uses. They are porous & collect bits of skin, oil, dirt, etc. Scrub them with a brush under hot soapy water. Rinse them, and let them dry. That meets every standard I know for cleanliness. In the end, I stopped using the spa sanitizer crystals, and infuse the water with a wonderful detoxifying aromatherapy blend:  equal parts of Lemon, Eucalyptus, Clary Sage, Juniper Berry, Black Pepper and Rosemary oils. Your room/studio will smell heavenly for more than just your present client!JillSagetherapist

 

[Pompal 09.]

taking care of hot stones

This may sound queer but I run mine through the dishwasher sans detergent. It works beautifully.

 

[soccerangel922]

taking care of hot stones

I JUST finished a four day workshop in Hot Rocks. Our instructor, having been performing this therapy for seven years, had some excellent advice for stone treatment.Cleaning: Wash them, by hand, in warm water with dish soap, rinse them in cold, and lay them out on a towel to dry.Water: If you will be using your stones more than once in a day, three drops of tea tree oil not only smells nice, but it dramitically decreases the germ count.Recharging: Rocks, like everything else, have energy and need to recharge upon occasion. Simply set them out in the full moon once a night, and they should work well for years to come.

 

[Pompal 09.]

taking care of hot stones

I am curious, never having had a Hot Stone Massage.....what's so hot about it? And what does one charge for the service?

 

[snowboarding1236]

Responding to what's so hot about stones.   I have several clients that after having the Hot Stones prefer them over the regular massage.  There are so many different techniques to use the stones.   Possibly you have not had a stone massage yourself that was worth paying for.  I would bet if you did, you would not have to ask the question. :-*

 

[Chewyrite]

Stone Massage is the combination of heat with massage.  Even though we typically think of stonesas hard-never voluntarily wanting to sleep or sit on them-this is actually a very comfortable massage.The stones are smooth and typcially basalt stone.I do a kind of swedish stone massage (I don't treat meridians or have animistic beliefs about the stones).First you lie on a "spinal layout" of stones that treatsthose tight muscles that run up and down the spine.While you are lying on the stones, more hot stones may be placed on the abdomen (but this is usually a sort of energy work on chakras as opposed to necessarily trying to treat tight muscles-still it does feel good).Then the therapist uses heated stones to massage the arms and legs and neck.Anyways, this is a massage that involves deep, penetrating, comforting heat. About 95% of my clients pass out and snore half way through.  It is very relaxing.

 

[sun8979]

taking care of hot stones

We use a scrub brush and dishsoap to clean the stones and then spray them with rubbing alcohol. I clean them after each use. To be honest, I really don't like to give or receive hot stone massages. I am a very tactile person and want to feel the muscle fibers. With a stone between my fingers and the client, I can't feeeeeeel the tissues. Also, I like my massages to flow and can't get into the flow when I'm constantly messing with rocks. Maybe it's just me but I pass on the stones. Here we charge $65 for an hour hot stone. Otherwise an hour massage would be $45.

 

[Courtney Thibodaux]

The other therapist where I'm working keeps her stones in the water on low heat 24/7, and uses a bleach solution to clean them as suggested in the info that came with the stones. Most of what I've read and heard says not to store them in water ...hmmm... don't keep river stones in water...  : but who am I to say? She does have a sink in her room which facilitates cleaning individual stones as used, and I know she does use a stone or two from time to time on chair massages or to introduce the sensation to someone who hasn't experienced it before.I choose not to use toxic chemicals in my home and work environments and have been cleaning the wet room/ Vichy shower and my own stone setup with a non-toxic "hospital-grade disinfectant" (that phrase got me out of having to use bleach cleaner in the wet room, which I was told by management was required by the health dept.) which contains tea tree oil and a spritz of rubbing alcohol which also helps the stones dry faster. From time to time I'll fire up the small crock to keep a few stones hot and handy as a treat or an enticement to try a full-body stone treatment, but generally keep the full set clean and dry unless I have a stone booking. Once recently (in the year and a half we've offered the service) a client whose wife made his appointment only booked an hour massage and his gift certificate was for the stone therapy, which I only discovered halfway through his hour when he asked at what point he'd "get to feel like a pig at a luau" or something like that... meaning, "when do the hot stones come in?" (You know, there were SO many things that went wrong with that whole scenario we won't even go into it here... ) but needless to say he didn't get his stone therapy. I apologized for (someone else's) communication breakdown, only billed him for the $60 massage leaving him $15 credit on that G/C (stone therapy is $75/hr) and knowing he had another to redeem along with that credit balance promised him an hour and a half for his next session to make up for the mistake... so the spa and I would end up splitting the lost difference but would keep the client happy, or so I thought. Being the kind of person that I found out he is, on another visit when he was having a haircut I heard that he made some sort of negative comment about it. My point is that had I kept the setup ready to go I could've grabbed some stones and used them the rest of the hour, not said anything, and he probably wouldn't have known the difference... but I don't feel like having to do all the cleanup if I don't use the stones each day and I'm not sure I like leaving them in the water and on all the time. I've put some tea tree oil in the water when there's been a cancellation but would clean it all up if unused by the end of the following day. Am I being reasonable or just lazy?...and let me take this opportunity to apologize for my very first post being so long...  

 

[supertop]

taking care of hot stones

I think you are being reasonable. I agree that it is probably not the best thing to store them in water all the time. Bacteria tend to thrive in moist conditions. I like the idea of the hospital grade cleaner. We use pinesol and my hands smell like that for another 6 hours after using it. YUCK!!! We don't do a lot of hot stone massage either so ours are always dry, unless we have an appointment coming up. I find that the turkey cooker we use is enough to spark a client's interest. That's our cue to explain the experience and let them know they can book one before they leave. We don't typically use them for anything but a hot stone massage--no freebies. Too much work to keep them clean and safe!!!Sadie

 

[Barbaros]

I use dish soap to clean each rock by hand after each client and let air dry.  One of the other therapist has let the stones set in water (clean, she never used them on a client that day) for a couple of days and mineral deposits were on the stones.  NO more setting in water.  We don't like chemicals so we use essential oils to "de-germ" them.  Our price is 95.00 for an hour and a half stone massage.  WE have many very happy clients.  To give you an idea, our hour swedish massage is priced at 50.00 an hour (INDIANA).  Hot Stone Massage is well worth the time and the TRAINING, more than just getting a book or video and some rocks (use basalt lava).

 

[I feel better]

Hi!  I bought a set of stones from TH STone and have watched the video and read the instructional booklet.  I was disappointed that there was not more info on handling the stones.  I have an 8 qt. roaster cooker and am having problems keeping the stones between the recommended 120 - 135 degree temp.  I have to turn it up on 250 to get the stones to the right temp. and then when I turn it down to 150, where I thought it should keep them hot, the thermometer goes below 120!  Any suggestions?  I would really appreciate the help.  Plus, I find I have trouble getting to the right stones quickly(and quietly).  Will that get better with practice or is it a rather slow process.  I welcome any tips or advice on how to set up stone massage in my practice. Thanks!.

 

[Shido42]

taking care of hot stones

I am taking a hot rocks class this month and would like to know where a good place to buy the stones would be.

 

[C S]

I checked several places online and decided to go with TH Stone.  They offered a set of 50 for $99 but included two free cold stones, a video, educational paper, and FREE SHIPPING.  I liked the free shipping part.  There are some cheaper sets from Massage Warehouse, etc., but don't include video and you will pay for shipping.  And there are larger sets but I was not sure I wanted to spend $300 for everything in case I didn't enjoy giving stone massage.The video was not very indepth but gave a general spa stone treatment and a very general massage therapy treatment.  She did some tapping of the stones to release energy but never explained it.  I would be very interested in finding out how your class goes.  I look forward to reading about it!

 

[jakemonster4]

taking care of hot stones

At our Day Spa... We wash them with dish soap and then pinesole and then spay with rubbing alcohol. But, we also put water in with them. at the end of the day they get cleaned.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Where to buy stones?  Try the yellow pages look for landscape stone wholesale or retail, ask for their mexican beach/basalt stones when you visit.  Most will let you pick a few stones no need to buy a whole bag.  Plan on spending a day and picking through alot of stones to get a pair that works.  The basalt will be gray, look for the smoothist you can find.  Another tip when you look at a rock you have an idea how heavy it should be if you pick it up and it seems heavier than you thought thats a good sign of high iron content (iron being more dense)  high iron = more heat retention.  Better yet email me where you live and I can tell you if there is basalt in your area (local lake or beach)

 

[KBT]

PattyIn order to break up knotted muscle tissue take a stone and turn it on end, place the end on the muscle knot (make sure you are not on bone) Tap the stone with another heavier stone.  The sound generated will break up the knot (like sonic waves and gall stones) It works like magic.

 

[balloon buster]

The roaster?  The temp dial on the roaster doesnot represent the internal temp of the stones.  I know this sounds odd but turkey roasters can be used as long as you use a meat thermometure (sic) they are metal with a little dial on top.  Place the therm. in the water with the stones dissregard what the dial on the roaster says if you have to keep it a 200 to maintain an internal water temp of 120-140 so be it.  I have two identical roasters bought at the same time one is set at 250 the other at 210 both maintain an internal temp. of 130 according to my thermom.  Just play with your roasters you'll find what works best for you.love and lightcrystal

 

[Chula Lula]

taking care of hot stones

Crystal I never have tried the taping you are talking about until today and it just so happens I did it by acident. Guess what it did loosen up and was easy to work right out.

 

[Yia!]

Thanks for your reply, Crystal.  It's nice to know that it will work with the roaster!  I will keep trying.  I appreciate the tip about the tapping.  I can't wait to try it!!