new stones what to do first ?

I would advise you to go on a course to learn how to use them, how to heat them, how to place them, how to massage with them as well as contraindications and contra-actions.

I agree with ylangrose, you should do a course first.

Placement of the stones is acutally quite critical, especially the spinal stones which the client lays on.

Also, it seems a lot of people don't understand that it's Hot and Cold stone therapy and you need to understand how to use the cold stones as well as hot.

Safety is essential and if you don't understand the safety aspects, you could not only harm your client, but you could hurt yourself as well.

Myarka

thanks so far

yes I am already looking for a local course

but whilst waiting I would have liked to have a play with the stones and get familiar with them but don't want to contaminate them with oil etc.

was jus twanting to se how they feel to use either warm or cold or wet with oil/water or dry

regards

Steve

Hi Stave,

If you're serious about training in Hot Stone massage, then get this

Myarka

The best 'oil' you can use with the stones is jojoba, it's not an oil, it's a plant wax, so you don't get any racid oil smell. The last thing you want is heating vegetable oil and having your room smell like a fast food place (heated oil/cooked food smell)
If you do 'contaminate' your stones, you can wash basalt ones with some pretty heavy duty cleaners and they survive without any problems - if they are really bad, a run through a dishwasher will get them clean, if not that bad but you want to get them back to un-oiled, soaking them overnight in a bucket with some dishwasher powder disolved or fabric stain remover for soaking will get rid of most things. You don't want to do that every time you use them, but it can be done occassionally. You should rinse them well and then wash as normal and rinse well again before using them, you want to get rid of all of the strong chemicals before getting them near any skin.

When you first get your stones, you want to wash them and 'oil' them up beforehand, that way you can get to know how much oil they might absorb. You wash them again and they will go back to looking unused IF you've usedjojoba. Use vegetable oil and they get a bit dark in parts, showing where there is still oil on the stones. (jojoba washes out easily)

In terms of when to apply oil, this is how I've always done my routine:

1. Using cleaned (and energised) stones, heat in water.

2. When heated, remove whichever stones I need first with scoop and place on towel until cool enough for me to handle (and not burn my hands!)

3. Add oil to stones and begin my massage routine.

4. Repeat with next set/size.

5. Once finished with said stones, place into bucket (if I'm at home, greaseproof bag if I'm doing mobile) for washing after treatment.

I've never put oiled stones into my water heater as they've been used and I wouldn't reuse/reheat them until they've been cleaned.

Tracy xox

I've never put oiled stones into my water heater as they've been used and I wouldn't reuse/reheat them until they've been cleaned.

Wow, how many stones do you work with? It made me immediately think you used a lot, but you mentioned mobile and I can't imagine lugging a lot of stones around for mobile work.
I generally use about 70 hot stones (that weigh about 40lbs) in a stone treatment, and I still occassionally find I've run out of stones and I DO return them to the heater! For mobile work I usually only take about 10 big ones (about 20lbs) and with that few I have to return them to the heater to do more work than just warm the muscles up with the stones.

I do know a lot of therapists that just warm up the muscles with the stones and then get more specific with their hands, but I use the stones all the way through the treatment.

hot sotnes first use

hi folks
thanks for all the replies and advice
Ialready have the LA stonetherpay manula by j scrivener
but whilst it tells a lot about stones the little bit I asked about is missing.
fronm the more recent replies it would appear that the best oil to use is jojoba after the stones have been heated

do you alll heat your stones wet or dry, as the heater that came with the stones has an inner holder so you can have a hot water bain-marie type use

thanks alllso far

steve

hi folks
thanks for all the replies and advice
Ialready have the LA stonetherpay manula by j scrivener
but whilst it tells a lot about stones the little bit I asked about is missing.
fronm the more recent replies it would appear that the best oil to use is jojoba after the stones have been heated

do you alll heat your stones wet or dry, as the heater that came with the stones has an inner holder so you can have a hot water bain-marie type use

thanks alllso far

steve

you really need to attend a course before playing with these items, and as you can see, text books don't help that much as they are geared towards therapists that have done the training or undertaking training.

Hi Steve,

Have you ever actually had a hot stone massage?

Myarka

yes have had 3 and each one was totally different.

wasn't paying that mucha ttention at the time as I was enjoying the therapy more and hadn''t considered that one day I might want to do it my self

the stones where used differently each time but mostly just for massaging with only one actually used placement of the stones
so not sure what type of hot stone therapy they were

hence now have become therapist want to learn the proper way to use them. however I like to "play" with new toys just like anyone else so I can see if I will like using them.

thansk for all the info am booking course shortly

Steve

I didn't think you could heat dry stones or put stones back in the water due to cross-contamination?

Why would dry heating the stones be a concern for cross contamination? I had one treatment in London where they were dry heated, and the fact that there were no poorly handled wet stones used did make it much less distracting than many stone treatments I've had where the wet stones and/or wet hand have ended up being applied. The treatment beyond the actual application was pretty average, but no poorly handled wet stones put the whole experience up into the really good stone treatment range. Dry heated stones you would have to wash and sanitise after every treatment.

If you have either enough chemicals in the water to kill anything of concern or you wash and sanitise all your stones after every treatment there should be no concerns about cross contamination. The real discussion begins when trying to figure out what 'enough chemicals' means. Personally, I think if you are reaching into a heater full of clean water and clean stones with an oily hand you just used on the client, you are cross contaminating the water anyway with your hand, regardless of returning stones in the heater, cross contaminating the water is cross contaminating the stones. Whatever the stones have picked up from the client is also on your hands.
If your hands never touch the water because you use a tool to get the stones out, that means it's not a cross contamination issue, but I've never heard of anyone so far that says they ONLY use a tool to remove stones from the heater.

Hi Steve

I purchased my set of stones several years ago, and for a long time just used them for personal use before doing a course. As I am a mobile therapist, I thought it wouldn't be practical to do mobile hot stone. I have since learnt otherwise, and like Cola just take 8/10 stones with me.

It is worthwhile buying a thermometer to get your stones to the correct temperature, which I was taught to heat to about 120/125 Fahrenheit. Like previous posts say, you can take them out and let them cool to a level where they are comfortable for you to handle. As a rule, (unlike pictures everywhere suggest), you do not place the stones directly on the skin, if you are using them as placement stones. It is advisable to place a towel on first and lay the stones on the top.

Personally, I do not oil the stones themselves. I heat them up in water, and when they are at the correct temperature I remove a couple which I will be working with. I apply the oil to the person receiving the treatment (I use grapeseed) and I have enough oil on my hands to coat the stones. It is advisable to not overdo the amount of oil used, as if the stones become too slippery then you could drop them (ok if you're wearing steel toecap shoes!). With regard to cleaning them, I just use hot soapy water and something to scrub them with. I would be reluctant to use any harsh cleaning chemicals, but that is just my personal opinion. If you want to re-energise your stones there are several methods. Some people leave them out in a Full Moon, I have heard other people bury them in the garden, or you could just soak them in water with a rock salt in it.

I find the stones wonderful to work with, and have used them with really great results. I hope you get many years of pleasure from them.

All the best and good luck,

Greta :nature-smiley-008:

Hi cola, I didn't mean dry heating the stones will cause cross-contamination.
I don't like the sound of chemicals in the water, maybe a few drops of e/o.
I ONLY use a tool to get stones out. 🙂

Great 🙂
I've got to ask how this it all works though. How many stones do you use in a treatment (on average)?
I don't think anyone has mentioned using a tool to remove the stones to avoid cross contamination on here before. What kind of toool is it? Do you often do back to back stone treatments?
I have enough trouble with my cold stones that don't get returned to the chiller once used piling up during a treatment, I'm having a challenge with the thought of the hot stones piling up, though, I suppose you just put them into a bucket or something?

It's always interesting when you come across someone that is doing things differently.

What's the problem with dry heating stones? I know lots of the books say you can't dry heat stones, but I think they are in terms of using an oven or something like that. As with any heating method, if it is heating beyond the temp the stones should be used at, it means there could be problems with burns etc, but I can't see any problem with dry heat when it is only heated up to a safe working temp for the stones. I can say the dry heated stone treatment I had was incredible for the flow of handling the stones and there were no problems with too hot stones or too cold stones being used.

Hi ya

I would look at doing a course and reading around the subject and when youve done your course practice, practice, practice

If you are using hot stones, you need to think about the temperature, the h&s issues, contraindications etc, Its really difficult to explain what to do first because I personally go with the flow of the area that I feel needs the heat and stones the longest to reap the benefits.

As many have said on here course is the way to go and will be able to answer your questions.

Good luck - gets me thinking that I could do with some pampering:p