Nothing beats a professional massage, facial or Reiki treatment, which should be a relaxing, stress-free experience.

The therapies I offer can help soothe your body, mind and spirit by helping to improve immunity, circulation and anxiety. You’ll even sleep better. But before you book and have your therapy, there are some things you need to know and some prep work involved to make sure that you get the most from your treatment/s. And to avoid awkward moments, wasted cash and potential pain, please read the following tips and advice.

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Booking Your Appointment:

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1. Time your Treatment for the right time

 

There’s no perfect time to schedule a massage, facial or reiki. But you still should consider the best time for you before booking an appointment. Consider what makes sense for you and your schedule. Some people feel invigorated after receiving a massage or facial and prefer to make this the start of their day. Others use treatments as a way to eliminate day-to-day stress, preferring to book at the end of a long day. You know your body better, so trust your instincts.

 

When it comes to making an appointment, think about the best time for you. Ideally you should try to make an appointment at a time when you’re not rushing to get to the appointment  (give yourself time to account for traffic and parking), and at a time when you can go home and relax afterwards (it’s not a great idea to be rushing off to another appointment, doing your weekly shop, picking kids up, going back to work or even to a social event or gathering). You should also avoid any alcohol and caffeine for at least 24 hours after your treatment or therapy session as well as any heavy meals, as this will only counteract all the work that has been done. Please schedule your therapy when non of these will be a factor.

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Avoid going to the gym, sauna, steam or any intense exercise after your treatment or therapy session, ideally again 24 hours, please do this before your treatment at least 3 hours before.

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Avoid any microdermabrasion, any retinol and glycol acid products or treatments at least a week before any facials or facial massage treatments.

Avoid exfoliation of your skin for at least a week before having a facial.

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Avoid booking your facial or specific treatment near to a big event i.e the day before a wedding or special occasion. Book your facial at least 3-4 days before your event or special occasion to prevent any breakouts or skin flare ups for your special day.

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Avoid sunbathing before and after your treatment and any heat treatments such as saunas and baths after your therapy or treatment. Ideally 24 hours before and after. Do not tan or burn your skin near your appointment. Sunburnt skin isn't a good look anyway and doesn't feel good when having a massage or treatment.

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It's best to just head home, relax and eat a small healthy meal, read a good book and sleep as much as you can. Thats it! You can do whatever you need to do the following days after your treatment.

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2. Timing is everything

 

If you've never had a massage before, a good place to start is at a simple half hour basic massage, although you're welcome to go for any amount of time. I would recommend though a longer massage if you have a lot of tightness and stiffness and any concerns like painfully tight shoulders, stiff neck and lower back pain, please book 45 mins minimum as 30 minutes just won't make much sense or make a huge amount of different, 45 mins to an hour is best and highly recommended, especially if you have 2 or more problems areas you would like worked on.

 

If you are booking an hours massage and its your legs, lower back, shoulders, neck and other areas that are effecting you and the reason for a massage and that they are very tight and needing releasing. An hour for all of these areas is also not doable in an hours session, to be able to find the root cause and to make a big difference. I would only recommend a 90 minutes at a minimum or a 2 hour session for best results and to help you with all your areas of concern. This includes Facials also and any Energy Healing Sessions, if you are feeling that you need some extra time for your needs to be met in the correct timing of your therapy or session.

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3. When to Re-schedule?

 

It’s also important to think about changing your appointment sometimes. If you are sick or have a cold (particularly if you have a fever) it’s not a good idea to have a massage, facial, reiki or any other therapy that you book for. Apart from the fact that your therapist doesn’t want to get sick, getting a massage, facial or reiki can actually make you feel worse. Your circulation will be increased, including your lymphatic system. When you’re sick, your lymphatic system is already working harder to try and get rid of the infection and cleanse the body. The act of massage, also pushing it to work harder, will increase the aches, fever and general yucky feeling.

 

If you need to change your appointment (for any reason), always, always, always call your therapist. It’s common courtesy – after all, if your therapist was sick, or had an emergency come up, you would want them to let you know. While it helps to give as much notice as you can like with my 24 hour cancelation policy that I have in place, we are all human and sometimes unexpected things happen. But please keep in mind that I run a busy practice and I often have clients waiting on my waiting list if I get a cancellation. If I receive your cancellation within less that 24 hours, I often cannot fill the appointment time that is cancelled, as it's not enough notice for me to be able to fill it again, resulting in a loss in my earnings for the duration of the appointment time that was cancelled. Please read my Terms and Conditions to familiarise yourself before going ahead and booking an appointment. So that we are both happy with the conditions of booking.

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4. Shave or wax a few day's before,

 

I offer many different types of body treatments and some may cause your skin to react if you have just recently shaved or waxed. Shave and wax at least 2-3 days before, this will allow the pores to close and the skin to be able to receive treatment without any skin sensitivity and reaction, same for eyebrows and any face waxing for Facials.

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Avoid any facial waxing or laser treatment of your skin such as eye brows, upper lip or chin areas for at least 48 hours before any facials.

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On The Day Of Your Appointment:

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1. Wear comfortable clothing:

 

Think a little about what to wear. . Wear comfy, loose clothing. Who wants to pull-up Spanx and slide into stilettos after you’ve relaxed? Plus, when you get a body treatment, your skin will most likely be very moisturized and can almost “stick” to your clothing. Wearing loose, comfortable clothing is a good idea.

Remember that you will have to take off most of your clothes, depending on what areas you are having massaged or treated, so lots of layers with lots of buttons and zips and clips, is probably not going to be the best option. Wearing your favourite comfy track pants and t-shirt (for example) is a great idea, and it means you’ll be nice and comfortable putting it back on and going home too. After all you’re having a treatment, so comfort is the number one priority. Many people come to their appointment straight from work, so a good idea is to bring your trackies with you to change into after you get off the treatment bed.

 

Same for Yoga, Meditation and Reiki, please wear loose, comfortable and warm clothing that you feel unrestricted by and so that you can sit, lay down and move easily with, is key to an enjoyable treatment or session.

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2. Leave your valuables and jewellery at home

 

Keep all jewellery at home, especially if it is valuable. I do provide a jewellery box to keep small items in, but it might be easier, time consuming and safer to leave it at home.

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3. Workout before your massage, not after

 

Massage or workout, which one comes first? Definitely work out before, not after, your massage or facial. Worked-out and exercised muscles will be tired and benefit the most from a massage. Working out immediately after a massage is not a great idea since you’re likely to stress and strain the muscles that were just relaxed. Plus, you’ll run the risk of being too tired and injure yourself. In fact, it’s best to wait about 24 hours before working out after any treatment I offer, especially massages. Allow your body to heal after a massage.

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Light stretching before your massage or treatment is recommended to help stretch out tight and stiff muscles.

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4. Shower at home before your massage or treatment

 

Best to avoid showering after your treatment as this could remove the theraputic aromatherapy oils or products that are best left on the skin to help maintain treatment results and benefits of your session. Ideally at least 12-24 hours if you can, to get the best results from the products. It would be a shame to wash it all off. If you can wash before your massage at home that would be best. Plus it helps to warm the muscles before a massage, which results in a more relaxed massage and better results. 

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5. Avoid wearing Heavy Make-up

 

Especially if you are having a Facial, to avoid wearing heavy waterproof eye make-up and lip make-up, as this will take up precious time in your facial to remove all traces of it, leaving less time for all the nice bits like the facial massage, foot, hand or head massage. Come bare faced, so that your therapist can get a clean canvas to work on and can spend more time treating your skin. Plus any remnant of make-up on your skin can mix with the skincare ingredients in your facial and can cause a cluster of breakouts!

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So if its early morning and your appointment is in a couple of hours, either avoid wearing it, or remove it before you arrive for your appointment time.

If its after work, please remove whatever you can, especially if its waterproof and tough to remove.

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After your Facial it is recommended to avoid wearing makeup at least 12-24 hours after your facial to allow your skin to breathe. So schedule a facial in when you haven't got any social activities that require you to put make-up back on.

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6. Don’t eat before your treatment or session

 

Please avoid eating before your massage, reiki, yoga or meditation session, eat a light meal about two hours beforehand to allow for digestion.

Being uncomfortably full will just ruin your experience

Having a big meal right before your massage is not a great idea, and its contra-indicated to massage and some other therapies.

Again, remember that you will have someone pressing on your back (and maybe even your stomach), so if you’re tummy is full, that’s really not going to be comfortable or relaxing.

 

So eat a light meal at least 2 hours before your appointment time of your therapy you have booked. If you have eaten just before the time of your therapy, your therapist may not be able to provide your therapy due to the fact that this is a contra-indication and the appointment will have to be payed for and rescheduled for another date.

 

The same for water, please don't drink any water, tea, coffee, juice anything for at least 30 -40 mins before your therapy session as water acts as a detoxifyer and will effect your digestive tract and your bladder during the therapy booked, especially Yoga and Meditation.

Make sure that your body is fully hydrated at least 2-3 days before any of my therapies that you book, This means drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day over 2-3 days before your therapy to get the results you are looking for from all of the therapies that I offer. 

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7. Avoid alcohol on the day and the day before.

 

Contrary to urban legend, a massage isn’t good for a hangover—it may make you feel even worse! And it can, as your blood pressure drops and your more receptable to feeling very unwell and I have had a few clients who have drunk alcohol after there massage and have been rushed to A&E, its definatly no joke!

So avoid all alcohol before and after any of mine and other therapies. Any alcohol consumed before 12 hours of any treatment or service provided is contra-indicated and treatment will not be able to go ahead and will have to be payed for and rescheduled for another date.

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8. Drink plenty of fresh water

 

Drink plenty of fresh clean water at least 2-3 days throughout the days before having a massage, facial or Reiki Session and other therapy sessions to get the best results from your treatments. This is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! And will give you outstanding results from your session if your body is already hydrated. I cannot recommend this enough!!! Your body will thank you for it!!!

And to avoid drinking any water at least 30 minutes before your therapy starts. 

 

Because water acts as a detoxifyer and will effect your digestive tract and your bladder during the therapy session that is booked, especially any Massages, Facials and Yoga and Meditation.

Make sure that your body is fully hydrated at least 2-3 days before any of my therapies that you book, This means drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day over 2-3 days before your therapy to get the results you are looking for from all of the therapies that I offer. Including Reiki and other energy therapies.

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9. Drink coffee before, not after

 

When booking an early-morning  session, drink your morning coffee before — not after — your appointment. Drinking caffeine after your appointment can tense the previously relaxed muscles. Choose a caffeine-free herbal tea instead. Your muscles will thank you for it!

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If you do drink coffee or any caffeine, please drink your coffee or tea at least an hour or two before your therapy or massage or if you can avoid altogether. As caffeine can be enough to prevent you from relaxing completely during your session. As your body will be tense and will tend to fight against the therapist. In your head you'll likely be making lists and reviewing things from work or regarding home life, instead of lounging and relaxing, letting go and enjoying your relaxing treatment or session. 

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10. Be on time, please

 

If you’re returning to the same place regularly, please always aim to be there 5-10 minutes early. This means you have time to find parking, go to the toilet, and start to unwind and relax. There is nothing worse then running in to your appointment, late, frazzled, stressed and tense – not a good way to start relaxing. If you're late, it'll cut into your treatment time, which will mean less time for your massage, reiki, facial or yoga and meditation session and less time for your appointment allicated time. And you will be still paying the full appointment price afterwards.

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Your therapist wants to work on you for your entire scheduled appointment. But arriving 10, 15 - 30 minutes late will mean cutting your time short to accommodate the next client who is scheduled in after your time.

 

If this is the first time you’ve been to me, you will need to fill in a consultation form. This is a requirement of therapists who have therapy insurance, and is a vital aspect of the insurance is their updated paperwork and signed consent forms, to be able to provide the best service for you. It also helps the therapist to know a little bit more about you, what you’re hoping to get out of the treatment and what things they need to lookout for, or avoid.

So if you are new, please arrive 15-20 minutes early.

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11. If you have a health concern or condition,

 

Please let your therapist know if have a health concern or condition or that you’ve had a change in your medical condition and any changes in your medication since your last therapy session, let your therapist know that too. Telling them halfway through a deep-tissue massage that you bruise easily because you are on blood thinners may be too late. Or that you had an injury such as broken collar bone or any recent or past fractures. Your therapist will need to know this way before your treatment begins if she/he is moving your arm or legs in different directions.

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During Your Appointment/ Treatment Session:

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1. Please Remember to breathe

 

Sometimes, without realizing it, we tend to hold our breath. But during a massage, particularly when the therapist is working out a knot, it’s crucial to breathe. In fact, it’s important to breathe fully and deeply. It’s especially important to oxygenate the blood supply to aid tense muscles. Deep and slow breathing, according to research, it has even been reported as a complementary approach in the treatment of chronic pain. So don't forget to be aware of your breathing during your session, for best results. It deepens the relaxation and accelerates the purification process. Maintaining a good breathing pattern is recommended for best results for your sessions, whether its a massage, facial or reiki session. This is especially true in a Yoga session.

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2. Be a slacker

 

Be loose, relaxed, don't try to be alert, trust your therapist and let go. It's OK if you fall asleep, it happens very often and it's a good sign - that its doing its job. Be loose and relaxed especially in all Massages, Facials, Reflexology and other therapies as well as in Yoga or Meditation sessions. You will get the best results and feel much more relaxed.

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3. Let Go and Relax

 

Let your therapist move your limbs whenever they need to put them. Relax and let go of all your muscles and tension, avoid moving and holding on to your arms, legs, hands, unless you're asked to. Massage and therapies in general are an up-close and personal experience, and your therapist wants nothing more than to give you the best experience possible. So most importantly, get comfortable, relax and enjoy. 

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4. Stop Thinking, Start feeling

 

Do not think of anything else during the massage or facial or reiki treatment that you are having. All worries, concerns have to wait for the whole session. The only thing that matters is that you give yourself the time to relax, let go and enjoy this time of relaxation, peace and quiet time for yourself. Leave highly critical, or any judgements at the door. Don't try to be alert, trust your therapist and let go.

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5. Massage and the "No Pain No Gain" Concept

 

Massage doesn't have to be painful. Some muscle knots and certain forms of tension respond well to firm pressure and a few clients need a deeper massage. That doesn't mean you need to experience it for yourself. Harder and firmer massages is most of the times bad massage and can have a more detramental effect on the body. So it really shouldn't be painful, if it is please inform your therapist as soon as it gets uncomfortable as bruising isn't a good look or feel to the body and muscles.

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6. Talk to your Therapist

 

Let your therapist know if anything feels uncomfortable during your session, like the pressure, temperature or anything that will help you feel more comfortable and relaxed. Your therapist wants you to have the best experience possible. So please keep her informed, even after your session has ended and if you have any concerns or quires after your session. Its important to have feedback to know whats works and what doesn't, making each session fully customized to your needs.

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7. Follow the Aftercare Advice from your Therapist after your session/therapy

 

Take on the advice and guidance that your therapist offers after your session/treatment, its there for a reason and to help you to get the best results from your therapy or session. And allow time to relax after your session or treatment back at home. Your body has just received a work out, and is still detoxifying the bodies systems, so take rest, relax and be gentle with your body.

Leave jobs and to do lists to another day. Let this be YOUR day for YOU. And enjoy!