Change the Pace with Massage Cream

by Brandi Schlossberg
   As a massage therapist, especially if you work alone, it is important to avoid feeling bored, getting burned out or falling into a rut. One of the best ways to stay enthusiastic about your daily practice is to incorporate a touch of diversity into your work.
   This may mean learning a new technique to complement your current hands-on skills or attending community events to offer chair massage and promote your business. However, achieving a change of pace may be as simple as selecting different kinds of massage cream to try out on different clients.
   If you want to venture beyond your current massage lubricant, there is a wide array of massage creams on the market today. There are massage creams available to suit nearly every type of client, along with creams that work well for a wide range of different people.
   For instance, there are organic massage creams for those bodyworkers who hope to help the environment, as well as boost their own health and safety, along with the health and safety of their clients—especially those clients who may be ultra-sensitive to certain chemicals or artificial ingredients.
   Additionally, there are massage creams created for certain types of massage or specific areas of the body, such as the face. A facial massage cream may differ from an all-over massage cream, in that its ingredients promote firmer, brighter skin and are balanced to benefit the sensitive skin of the

face.
   When aromatherapy is added into the mix, the range of massage creams expands even more. As a massage therapist, you may choose to purchase a cream mixed with relaxing essential oils or a few different creams with a variety of scents to suit the moods of more clients.
   There are also massage creams on the market that offer pain-relieving benefits. These creams typically contain ingredients, such as Arnica montana. This mountain plant, common to the Northwest U.S. and Central Europe has long served a pain-relieving role in homeopathic medicine.
   Besides Arnica, menthol is another ingredient you might find on the list of a pain-relieving cream’s active components. Menthol can be manufactured synthetically or derived naturally from mint oils. It’s widely used to relieve minor sore throats and has the same effect on sore muscles.
   If you usually use a massage lotion or oil, switching to a massage cream may be an even more dramatic way of altering your daily practice, as it will likely change the way your hands glide along your clients’ bodies.
   One of the main characteristics of massage cream that sets this lubricant apart from others, such as gels, lotions and oils, is the smooth glide it can provide while maintaining the right amount of resistance.
   Don’t ignore the numerous options available when it comes to massage cream. It may seem like a small detail, but it stands to make your work more satisfying and add a bit of diversity to your everyday routine.

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