Spring is here, and if your clientele is anything like mine, they are digging in the dirt at every opportunity. This means several things to me: one of them is it’s time to feature hand treatments. Hands are often neglected, yet they are used and abused regularly. (When is the last time you gave your own digits a good working over?) However, the Medical Spa industry is doing its best to change that; they educate the public on how aging, neglected hands can be. They are promoting treatments for hands exactly as they do for the face. With public awareness comes the opportunity for us. My monthly Wellness Experience (event) this May will be featuring hand treatments, including self-care. Let me share a sneak preview of some of the featured elements.
I love the opportunity to be creative, so one of my favorite things to do is come up with a way to meet wellness trends by using items already in my inventory. For example, Charcoal: What would happen if I added powdered activated charcoal to BIOTONE’s Firmi-Sea or Black Baltic Spa Body Mud and used it as a detoxifying masque……..
The Soil to Soul Hand Therapeutic Treatment Protocol:
Exfoliation
1 Teaspoon per hand – BIOTONE’s Exfoli Sea Salt Glow
Masque
Mix 1 tablespoon Firmi Sea /Black Baltic Spa Body Mud and 1 tablespoon charcoal into a masque, add 2 drops Detoxifying Complex blend – apply to the hands, wrap in plastic and keep warm. At the same time, you move on to treating another part of the body. (I use my electric mitts) Leave on for at least 15 to 20 minutes
Massage and Finish
Take your favorite media like BIOTONE’s Muscle and Joint Creme and perform a firm and therapeutic hands massage, include lots of spreading. I like to use tools to achieve a memorable experience and aid in my effectiveness. One of my new favorites is a Thai stick. It’s a traditional rounded wood tool that works great on hands and feet, and you can get it online at places like Amazon. I also love hot and cold flat stones that allow me to scrape the palm.
How about the Tropical Superstar Aloe
Aloe is traditionally used to soothe and help heal irritated skin, so it seems natural to add it to a masque for someone with fragile or abused hands. Use the same steps as the Soil to Soul but with an eye to a gentler nurturing experience.
Fresh out Of the Garden Nurturing Hand Treatment Protocol:
Exfoliation
BIOTONE’s Micro-Buff Body Polish and why not add a few crushed lavender buds to the mix
Masque
2 tablespoons of Aloe Vera Gel to equal parts European Rose Spa Body Mud and then add 2 drops of Lavender (and a few crushed dried rose petals, just saying). Massage and Finish with a hydrating and pleasant medium like BIOTONE’s Aromatherapy Massage Lotion or Herbal Select Massage Creme
At the Wellness Experience, I will also present some simple self-care how to’s, including self-care hand massage and a Tibetan Hand Energizing exercise. These Wellness events are a new addition to my practice, and I already have to limit attendance. I am looking forward to sharing with my fellow massage therapists how to execute these events this year’s World Massage Festival. Because sharing information is what it is all about. I want to take this opportunity to give special thanks to the BIOTONE crew for believing the same.
Note: Hand protocols are made up of the same basic components as body treatments: exfoliation, masque, massage, and finish. BIOTONE’s website has a whole host of menu and protocol ideas adapted for the hands. Check them out here.
Be well, Do good work, and write us about your favorite handwork.