For the past couple of years, I’ve worked in a trip to my local massage therapist every few weeks. Because of the time I spend at the computer, my shoulders and neck tend to tense up and bring me pain. An hour of deep tissue massage therapy and I’m back in action and pain-free.
A few months ago, Shannon, my massage therapist, replaced her usual massage oil with Beesilk Jr. She said she used far less oil as a result, and her clients leave with their skin feeling nourished and soft, rather than greasy. If you’ve ever had a deep tissue massage, you know that it takes quite a bit of strength and pressure for the therapist to do her job, and having the right amount of friction is important. Although Shannon loved the Beesilk Jr. she needed a little more oil added to it to be ideal. I came up with the right proportion of ingredients to make what Shannon calls the perfect massage cream:
1 oz beeswax
2 oz almond, jojoba, grapeseed or olive oil
3.3 oz shea butter
Melt in a double boiler, pour into containers, and use by scooping and massaging into the skin.
Optional: stir in several drops of essential oil right before pouring.
If you’re a DIY’er, try out this recipe to use yourself, or to give a jar to your favorite massage therapist.