While modern spas deliver excellent aromatherapy massage services using healing oil blends, very often the high rates and the time required can be a challenge for the busy individuals.
An easy way to enjoy this luxurious self-pampering is to give yourself a massage using a good quality body massage oil that’s a blend of cold-pressed oils and essential oils. Let’s know more about how to choose a good body massage oil with the right kind of aromatherapeutic qualities, and how to give yourself an aromatherapy massage.
For over 5000 years, body massage with aromatherapeutic oils has been a favoured self-care ritual that improves skin’s glow and smoothness, helps detox the body, and relaxes body and mind for sounder sleep. An aromatherapy massage is basically rubbing and kneading of muscles of various body parts – shoulders, chest, arms, legs, back, knees, hands or feet etc – using an oil blend enhanced with essential oils for relaxation and therapeutic reasons. Very few pampering rituals can match the joys of a good body massage.
First, a look at some key benefits of an aromatherapy body massage:
- It nourishes and hydrates skin, removes dryness and dead cells, boosts glow and increases smoothness.
- It helps fade stretch marks and encourages tissue regeneration.
- It has an anti-aging effect on skin and helps keep visible signs of skin aging at bay.
- It boosts blood circulation to enable toxin removal for overall wellness.
- It relaxes both body and mind while easing soreness and tension held in muscles.
- It promotes sounder sleep.
An aromatherapy massage in a spa can be an expensive and time-consuming exercise. However, you can give yourself a good body massage right at home using a good quality body massage oil.
Here are some tips for choosing a good quality body massage oil:
The body massage oil should have cold-pressed plant oils
Chemically refined and heat-treated oils are bad for the skin. In contrast, cold-pressed plant oils that are extracted without heat or chemicals are rich in natural healthy fatty acids, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants for rich skin nourishment. Some good cold-pressed oils to have in your chosen body massage oil are Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Jojoba Oil, Moroccan Argan Oil, Coconut Oil, Apricot Oil and Peach Kernel Oil.
The body massage oil should have pure essential oils/absolutes
Pure essential oils are far more than just pleasant-smelling additions to body massage oils. Essential oils are aromatherapeutic plant essences with rich healing qualities. Check the label of your short-listed body massage oil. Does it specifically mention ‘essential oils’? Not aroma oils, not fragrance oils. Aroma oils and fragrance oils have synthetic, lab-made fragrances that do nothing for mental and physical health. Some good essential oils to look for in your chosen body massage oil would be kaffir lime essential oil, lemongrass essential oil, lavender essential oil etc. You may come across an ingredient called ‘absolute’, such as ‘rose absolute’ or ‘jasmine absolute’. These are good, a kind of essential oils that are extracted differently but are the real deal in terms of benefits.
The body massage oil should have added vitamin E
While genuine cold-pressed oils usually have some amount of vitamin E already, it is always good to have added vitamin E in your chosen oil. You may see it written as tocopheryl acetate which is a highly bioavailable form of this vitamin that’s particularly good for the skin. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that helps the skin fight free radicals and also helps shield from sun damage.
The body massage oil should be without mineral oils and silicones
What’s not there in your chosen body massage oil is often as important as what’s in there. Please ensure by taking a good look at the ingredient list that there are no mineral oils (also written as petrolatum or liquid paraffin or liquidum paraffinum or white oil) and silicones (written as methicone, dimethicone, cyclomethicone, or phenyl methicone). The reason is that mineral oils and silicones are cheap and synthetic ingredients that form a layer on the skin that may help lock in the moisture but also suffocates the skin and can also trap sweat, dead cells, bacteria, dirt and sebum with it.
If you are looking for a quality body massage oil, we recommend WOW Skin Science Thai Body Massage Oil that’s a blend of premium cold-pressed oils, essential oils and vitamin E. More on this later in this blog post.
How to give yourself a body massage
It’s really simple to give yourself a basic but nourishing and healing body massage. Just take enough amount of a body massage oil in your palms and rub them together. Apply on your preferred body part – shoulders, chest, back, thighs, upper arms, lower arms, calves, ankles, feet etc – and massage using long firm strokes. Start on the upper parts of the body and finish at the legs and feet. On joints, use firm circular strokes. Take a warm bath or shower after the massage to get maximum benefits from your massage.
More on WOW Skin Science Thai Body Massage Oil
WOW Skin Science Thai Body Massage Oil helps rejuvenate body and mind; and also helps keep the skin healthy. It contains a rich blend of 6 pure cold-pressed oils – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Jojoba Oil and Moroccan Argan Oil – each one known for its healthy fatty acids and nourishing qualities. It also contains three pure essential oils – lemongrass, kaffir lime and jasmine absolute. All these are exceptional at reviving skin, soothing inflammation, and protecting from signs of aging, and relax body and mind. This massage oil also has vitamin E to protect from sun damage and free radical damage. It is also free of mineral oil, silicones, parabens and colour. Its exotic citrusy fragrance with a floral note is relaxing for the senses.
Massaging with WOW Life Science Thai Body Massage Oil helps strengthen the skin structure, strengthen the skin’s lipid barrier, and repair skin damage. It also helps reduce skin’s dryness and inflammations. This supports in improving skin texture and appearance. A good body massage oil to have on your vanity for sure.
