Return to the Light Summer Massage Lotion Recipe

While canola oil is the easiest to work with (it is the only oil my students have consistently been able to successfully work with their first time, every time), if you are patient, almost any oil or oil blend can do the job. With some oils you may have to shake your lotion two or three times a day for several days to get it to blend.

You can also experiment with different herbs in your base infusion. Comfrey and arnica are both great for relieving aches and pains in the muscles and connective tissue. Most any herb book can give you ideas for other herbs.

Nice essential oils for winter incldue chamomile, thuja, cedar and bois de rose. A drop of ginger, black pepper or capsicum essential oil added to 6-8 ounces of base oil will warm your clients' skin with a nice, sublte effect. Keeping your clients warm in the winter is a good way to ensure they will come back!

Coconut oil, cocoa butter and beeswax can be added to your oil/lecithin blend. Warm up your blend in a small saucepan on low heat, and stir in up to one tablespoon of any of the previously mentioned ingredients, which you have also warmed ahead of time. You will have to warm the aloe vera gel and your blend each time to pull this off. And while it does make a thicker product, it is not nearly so cooling. Nice for spring and fall perhaps, but all these ingredients have a tendency to block the pores of individuals with sensitive skin. You can use this blend for clients who have thick, dry skin, such as someone who works outside exposed to the elements.

In the lotion recipe, you can replace half the aloe vera gel with herbal-infused glycerin. Dilute 2/3 cup glycerin with 1/3 cup water. Follow the instructions for making the infused oil, replacing the oil with the glycerin.