massage and nudity
I read a thread by Creative_Vision regarding nudity in massage with interest. I share his views. My first experience of massage was in Belgium when i played professional sport for a club there. Its was a full body massage and i wastotally naked throughout. Without prior experience I naturally assumed this was the norm (which it is in Belgium and Holland). For the past 8 years I have regurlaly had massages from a female therapist in Herts (I live in Radlett) where i have been totally naked throughout. Like Creative_Vision, I find this more relaxing and less restrictive - provided the client and masseuse are comfortable. However, she has since closed her practice and moved away and i am looking to find a like minded professional masseuse. It is difficult to find because all you come up with is sexual services which is certainly not what i want. If anyone can recommend a suitable masseuse I would be very grateful.
Answers:
By ‘totally naked’, do you mean ‘naked under a drape (ie towel or sheet)’ or ‘naked without any draping’? If you mean ‘naked under a drape’, then any therapist who trained at the London College of Massage should be able to treat you, so I’d suggest asking the LCM if they can recommend a therapist in your area.
If you mean ‘naked without any draping’, then that is much less common in the UK, and I think that you would probably have to look for a therapist who is also a naturist, so I’d suggest contacting your nearest naturist group.
Alan
Answers:
Hi Alan,
By totally naked, I meant draped when i lay on my back. I have had massages from 2 therapists since mine left and have worn shorts for both. This meant that i did not get my glutes massaged, which is quite important as the sport i play results in aching glutes.
I guess i am looking for a masseuese who isn't embarrassed by nudity where i can get a full body massage.
I am very comfortable being naked provided the masseuese isn't uncomfortable. However, like my previous masseuese, this is built with trust.I think even i would be a little uneasy having a naturist massage for the first time with a new therapist. My previous therapist began with drapingbut then it wasnaked without draping, which we were both comfortable with. In my experience it is down to the client and therapist both feeling at ease. There appears to be a vast difference between therapists - some requiring clothing such as shorts and others who are a lot more open minded.Although it is not essential I would like to find a therapist with a similar outlook to myself in the Hertfordshire/ surrounding area. If anyone can recommend someone that would be great.
Answers:
I don't know of any massage therapists that actually advertise how the client should or shouldn't be dressed for massage. I usually explain to my clients that I need them to be in shorts at least, but that I had no problem if they would prefer not to wear anything, since this allows for a glute massage as well. The point that I don't offer a sexual service would have been made well in advance.
Have you considered approaching a therapist and explaining your preference? Most sports massage therapists would have no problem with nudity in any even as we're aware that, to get to the muscle origin/insertion. When clients become too adamant on nudity, etc. it can make the therapist uneasy.
Check the Itec and Embody website for a list of registered therapists. Explain where you found their details, what you're looking for and ask for their advice. To remove the stress from nudity, you could state that you need glute massage due to sport, etc. and leave it to the therapist to decide how to proceed.
Good luck!!!
((E))
Answers:
I can understand Russells point of view. A do a lot of sport, and with some sports your buttocks can ache a lot afterwards, and it is not easy to find a therapist who will give them a really deep pounding and work out!
This is not helped by the sexual overtones of the buttocks I guess, or the fact that some massages courses (like my VTCT one) dont really work on them very much. Crazy, since they are such powerful muscles!
Answers:
It is a tricky situation. I have no problem massaging glutes and for men to be naked under a towel. But as a woman working, sometimes on my own, I also have to be cautious.
One of the things that sets alarm bells ringing is when a new male client (who hasn't been referred by a friend or other client) calls and the first thing they ask me is 'Do you massage glutes/groin', etc?
It is a difficult situation, because many may be quite genuine, but in my experience, often they are probing to see if you will offer extras.
Hope that makes sense.
Lesley
Answers:
Hello Aromababe,
Glutes and Thigh massage are an integral part ofmy trainingroutine.Any new therapist i visit i always ask upfront what body parts they do even if they say they do full body.In my experiences(close on 750 various massages)at least 50% dont do glutes,tops of thighs,abs when they say they do full body.Why should i pay £25-£40 for only half the service.I see your point, and i think it has been covered many times in different threads there will always be a minority who make it difficult for genuine people.
Answers:
I think that Scorpio has made an important point with regard to many of the therapists listed on the ITEC / Embody websites which ‘MT2be’ recommended. Certainly these sites will give Russell a large number of therapists, but as we’ve discussed on earlier threads, many ITEC therapists are not taught a complete routine ie they aren’t all trained in pectoral/abdominal/gluteal massage.
The website for the London College of Massage, which I recommended in my earlier post, is
I’d suggest also consulting the following websites for lists of practitioners who have a qualification in sports massage or remedial massage (this means that they should all have been trained in full body massage including gluteal massage, although some of them may still have a ‘compulsory underwear’ policy):
Finally, massage on nude (but draped) clients seems to be the norm in America. The Jing College of Advanced Massage () was founded by two therapists who trained in America and encourage their students to adopt this ‘American’ policy, so Russell (and anyone else in a similar position) could ask them whether they can recommend a suitable therapist.
Alan
Answers:
Hi Russell
When I did my massage training we were 'warned' quite strongly about 'avoiding the boxer short area' with men whom we didn't know (as it could be embarrassing for the client as well as for us if there was a reaction apparently).
Sadlymassage has been linked so closely to 'sexual services' that many therapists will not cover those areas (including abdominals) except with clients they have built trust and rapport with.
Perhaps the answer is to advise the therapist of your sport and that you require the gleuts to be worked on and compromise by wearing a thong or pants that can be pulled up out of the wayso your manly bits are tidied away until you have developed some trust or why not visit a male masseur where this is less likely to be an issue?
A massusse's priority has to be her personal safety and as many of us work from home or alone in salons it is natural to be cautious when treating a man. Whilstthis is unfair on those of you who are genuinely seeking massage I am reminded ofmy friend who advertisedher massage in a local newspaper and only got one genuine enquiry (from a lady) despite thephone rining off the hook - the rest were all looking for 'extras'.
I hope youmanage to find someone to give you the massage you need.
Good luck
Answers:
I agree with Wand that all therapists need to be aware of their personal safety, but as we discussed on an earlier thread, in my opinion this is a separate issue from the nudity/underwear debate. I would have thought that the nightmare scenario for any therapist is to be alone in their clinic with a new client who turns out to be a potential rapist. In such a case, I think that the therapist’s ‘house rules’ on nudity v underwear, and even the detail of the therapist’s routine (eg do you massage the abdomen or not) are irrelevant: you are in serious personal danger regardless of your ‘house rules’ !!
At the risk of taking the thread off at a tangent, I think that the best way for a therapist to minimise the riskto their personal safety is to adopt a very cautious advertising policy (to avoid attracting the type of client who thinks that ‘massage’ is a synonym for sexual services) and always to ensure that there is someone else in the clinic whenever you are treating a client. I agree with a comment which another contributor made on the thread “attracting new clients”.:
Incidentally, last year the Sunday Times answered a reader's question about the 'etiquette' for a massage by saying '99.9% of therapists prefer you naked'. Judging by this forum, I think that '99.9%' must be an overestimate, as a result of the Sunday Times confining their research to established spas rather than to small clinics. Nevertheless, I would encourage Russell to keep searching !
Alan
Answers:
Of course, this issue has been around probably as long as the practice of massage therapy. While I - myself - did not start quite that long ago, let's just say I have been around A WHILE.
I have used a solution that has worked very well for me for many years now....and I offer it forcolleagues to consider. Unlike typical client intake forms that are pages and pages of questions, few of which have focus on the massage the client WANTS, mine does SPECIFICALLY address the issue of COVERING among other things.
On the back of my intake form, I have re-printed (from my website) my answer to the two most Frequently Asked Questions I get: one is about covering options during the massage, the other is about what muscles and tendons will get massaged. At the start of my sessions, I ask the client to read the back and then complete the form.
It may not be the perfect solution, but it the best one I have found to date.
Email me (I do not check my PMs often) if you would like to see my form.
Answers:
Good ideas, Mike...
I've been trained differently on this issue. When I was first trained in massage, I learned Swedish/Holistic massage andI was trained not to do the glutes on men or women. The training course is the same one (ITEC) that is used as part of the training for a beauty therapist, and the reason for the limited massage on men is thebeauty industry's desire to disassociate itself from the past connotations of the "massage parlour", and the need to protect the therapist, many of whom on the full time beauty courses at college are young school leavers.
However,when I did my Sports Therapy training, it was a lot less 'squeamish' - and muchmore clinical;we had to cover all skeletal muscles, including the glutes, and the hip flexors, (which surface in the groin). I also think it's tricky to do any of the hip rotators, extenders& flexors with shorts on. The TFL and theRectus Femoris (the big quad) originate at the front of the hip bone (ASIS) too, so you can't really get these muscles worked on without the hands going 'under cover' !! By clever towel placement, the client is never exposed, although it is easierifthey are naked under the towel.
It might help the client to approach a Sports Massage Therapist, rather than a Swedish or general massage therapist, letting them know when they book their appointment, rather that they want to be naked,butthat they need their glutes doing... and unless they wear a G-string :Dit's not possible to do that with underwear or shorts on, I'm sure they'll get what they need. I use and move towels around all the time, so I'm just exposing the body part I'm massaging. That way, the modesty of both client and therapist is preserved, and the client gets what they need...
Answers:
You're quite right that regardless of house rules, someone may encounter a rapist, but clients looking for extras are not the same thing as rapists,rules reduce the number of clients looking for extras making appointments.I do think the no unknown male appointments within 48hrs rule cuts out the clients looking for extras and possible random rapists, neither wants to be bothered waiting 48hrs for an appointment. The random rapist israre - most rapes are committed by someone that knows the victim, it's not a sexual gratification thing, it's a power thing. The average female does not spend a lot of time worrying about being a victim ofrape, just the same way most males do not think they are going to be the vicitm of rape. As mentioned in other posts by many different people, most clients looking for extras will end up being a bit embarrassed when they find out they they're not going to get extras, they don't turn into rapists, making it clear to those clients they're not getting extras in the initial phone call means nobody wastes their time expecting extras when they turn up, I've found no appointment available for 48hrs means the discussion doesn't have to get any clearer, they aren't prepared to wait that long and end the phone call.
Idon't expect to be raped by a client, just as an accountant does not expect to be raped by a client, or a doctor does not expect to be raped by a patient, or someone working in a shop alone does not expect it to happen - it does happen, but most people are not living their life in fear expecting it. I have come to expect phone calls from people looking for extras because massage is linked to the adult industry in some peoples minds, other professions don't encounter clients looking for extras on such a regular basis.
Back to the original topic - If someone has sports related issues, just like AvalonDove said, the easiest way to have sports related issues dealt with is see someone with sports training, rather than just swedish/holistic/aromatherapy training, and if you want a full body massage plus targetted sports related work, don't expect it in a 30min appointment, and even a 60min appointment could be a challenge.
Answers:
By ‘totally naked’, do you mean ‘naked under a drape (ie towel or sheet)’ or ‘naked without any draping’? If you mean ‘naked under a drape’, then any therapist who trained at the London College of Massage should be able to treat you, so I’d suggest asking the LCM if they can recommend a therapist in your area.
If you mean ‘naked without any draping’, then that is much less common in the UK, and I think that you would probably have to look for a therapist who is also a naturist, so I’d suggest contacting your nearest naturist group.
Alan
Answers:
Hi Alan,
By totally naked, I meant draped when i lay on my back. I have had massages from 2 therapists since mine left and have worn shorts for both. This meant that i did not get my glutes massaged, which is quite important as the sport i play results in aching glutes.
I guess i am looking for a masseuese who isn't embarrassed by nudity where i can get a full body massage.
I am very comfortable being naked provided the masseuese isn't uncomfortable. However, like my previous masseuese, this is built with trust.I think even i would be a little uneasy having a naturist massage for the first time with a new therapist. My previous therapist began with drapingbut then it wasnaked without draping, which we were both comfortable with. In my experience it is down to the client and therapist both feeling at ease. There appears to be a vast difference between therapists - some requiring clothing such as shorts and others who are a lot more open minded.Although it is not essential I would like to find a therapist with a similar outlook to myself in the Hertfordshire/ surrounding area. If anyone can recommend someone that would be great.
Answers:
I don't know of any massage therapists that actually advertise how the client should or shouldn't be dressed for massage. I usually explain to my clients that I need them to be in shorts at least, but that I had no problem if they would prefer not to wear anything, since this allows for a glute massage as well. The point that I don't offer a sexual service would have been made well in advance.
Have you considered approaching a therapist and explaining your preference? Most sports massage therapists would have no problem with nudity in any even as we're aware that, to get to the muscle origin/insertion. When clients become too adamant on nudity, etc. it can make the therapist uneasy.
Check the Itec and Embody website for a list of registered therapists. Explain where you found their details, what you're looking for and ask for their advice. To remove the stress from nudity, you could state that you need glute massage due to sport, etc. and leave it to the therapist to decide how to proceed.
Good luck!!!
((E))
Answers:
I can understand Russells point of view. A do a lot of sport, and with some sports your buttocks can ache a lot afterwards, and it is not easy to find a therapist who will give them a really deep pounding and work out!
This is not helped by the sexual overtones of the buttocks I guess, or the fact that some massages courses (like my VTCT one) dont really work on them very much. Crazy, since they are such powerful muscles!
Answers:
It is a tricky situation. I have no problem massaging glutes and for men to be naked under a towel. But as a woman working, sometimes on my own, I also have to be cautious.
One of the things that sets alarm bells ringing is when a new male client (who hasn't been referred by a friend or other client) calls and the first thing they ask me is 'Do you massage glutes/groin', etc?
It is a difficult situation, because many may be quite genuine, but in my experience, often they are probing to see if you will offer extras.
Hope that makes sense.
Lesley
Answers:
Hello Aromababe,
Glutes and Thigh massage are an integral part ofmy trainingroutine.Any new therapist i visit i always ask upfront what body parts they do even if they say they do full body.In my experiences(close on 750 various massages)at least 50% dont do glutes,tops of thighs,abs when they say they do full body.Why should i pay £25-£40 for only half the service.I see your point, and i think it has been covered many times in different threads there will always be a minority who make it difficult for genuine people.
Answers:
I think that Scorpio has made an important point with regard to many of the therapists listed on the ITEC / Embody websites which ‘MT2be’ recommended. Certainly these sites will give Russell a large number of therapists, but as we’ve discussed on earlier threads, many ITEC therapists are not taught a complete routine ie they aren’t all trained in pectoral/abdominal/gluteal massage.
The website for the London College of Massage, which I recommended in my earlier post, is
I’d suggest also consulting the following websites for lists of practitioners who have a qualification in sports massage or remedial massage (this means that they should all have been trained in full body massage including gluteal massage, although some of them may still have a ‘compulsory underwear’ policy):
Finally, massage on nude (but draped) clients seems to be the norm in America. The Jing College of Advanced Massage () was founded by two therapists who trained in America and encourage their students to adopt this ‘American’ policy, so Russell (and anyone else in a similar position) could ask them whether they can recommend a suitable therapist.
Alan
Answers:
Hi Russell
When I did my massage training we were 'warned' quite strongly about 'avoiding the boxer short area' with men whom we didn't know (as it could be embarrassing for the client as well as for us if there was a reaction apparently).
Sadlymassage has been linked so closely to 'sexual services' that many therapists will not cover those areas (including abdominals) except with clients they have built trust and rapport with.
Perhaps the answer is to advise the therapist of your sport and that you require the gleuts to be worked on and compromise by wearing a thong or pants that can be pulled up out of the wayso your manly bits are tidied away until you have developed some trust or why not visit a male masseur where this is less likely to be an issue?
A massusse's priority has to be her personal safety and as many of us work from home or alone in salons it is natural to be cautious when treating a man. Whilstthis is unfair on those of you who are genuinely seeking massage I am reminded ofmy friend who advertisedher massage in a local newspaper and only got one genuine enquiry (from a lady) despite thephone rining off the hook - the rest were all looking for 'extras'.
I hope youmanage to find someone to give you the massage you need.
Good luck
Answers:
I agree with Wand that all therapists need to be aware of their personal safety, but as we discussed on an earlier thread, in my opinion this is a separate issue from the nudity/underwear debate. I would have thought that the nightmare scenario for any therapist is to be alone in their clinic with a new client who turns out to be a potential rapist. In such a case, I think that the therapist’s ‘house rules’ on nudity v underwear, and even the detail of the therapist’s routine (eg do you massage the abdomen or not) are irrelevant: you are in serious personal danger regardless of your ‘house rules’ !!
At the risk of taking the thread off at a tangent, I think that the best way for a therapist to minimise the riskto their personal safety is to adopt a very cautious advertising policy (to avoid attracting the type of client who thinks that ‘massage’ is a synonym for sexual services) and always to ensure that there is someone else in the clinic whenever you are treating a client. I agree with a comment which another contributor made on the thread “attracting new clients”.:
Incidentally, last year the Sunday Times answered a reader's question about the 'etiquette' for a massage by saying '99.9% of therapists prefer you naked'. Judging by this forum, I think that '99.9%' must be an overestimate, as a result of the Sunday Times confining their research to established spas rather than to small clinics. Nevertheless, I would encourage Russell to keep searching !
Alan
Answers:
Of course, this issue has been around probably as long as the practice of massage therapy. While I - myself - did not start quite that long ago, let's just say I have been around A WHILE.
I have used a solution that has worked very well for me for many years now....and I offer it forcolleagues to consider. Unlike typical client intake forms that are pages and pages of questions, few of which have focus on the massage the client WANTS, mine does SPECIFICALLY address the issue of COVERING among other things.
On the back of my intake form, I have re-printed (from my website) my answer to the two most Frequently Asked Questions I get: one is about covering options during the massage, the other is about what muscles and tendons will get massaged. At the start of my sessions, I ask the client to read the back and then complete the form.
It may not be the perfect solution, but it the best one I have found to date.
Email me (I do not check my PMs often) if you would like to see my form.
Answers:
Good ideas, Mike...
I've been trained differently on this issue. When I was first trained in massage, I learned Swedish/Holistic massage andI was trained not to do the glutes on men or women. The training course is the same one (ITEC) that is used as part of the training for a beauty therapist, and the reason for the limited massage on men is thebeauty industry's desire to disassociate itself from the past connotations of the "massage parlour", and the need to protect the therapist, many of whom on the full time beauty courses at college are young school leavers.
However,when I did my Sports Therapy training, it was a lot less 'squeamish' - and muchmore clinical;we had to cover all skeletal muscles, including the glutes, and the hip flexors, (which surface in the groin). I also think it's tricky to do any of the hip rotators, extenders& flexors with shorts on. The TFL and theRectus Femoris (the big quad) originate at the front of the hip bone (ASIS) too, so you can't really get these muscles worked on without the hands going 'under cover' !! By clever towel placement, the client is never exposed, although it is easierifthey are naked under the towel.
It might help the client to approach a Sports Massage Therapist, rather than a Swedish or general massage therapist, letting them know when they book their appointment, rather that they want to be naked,butthat they need their glutes doing... and unless they wear a G-string :Dit's not possible to do that with underwear or shorts on, I'm sure they'll get what they need. I use and move towels around all the time, so I'm just exposing the body part I'm massaging. That way, the modesty of both client and therapist is preserved, and the client gets what they need...
Answers:
You're quite right that regardless of house rules, someone may encounter a rapist, but clients looking for extras are not the same thing as rapists,rules reduce the number of clients looking for extras making appointments.I do think the no unknown male appointments within 48hrs rule cuts out the clients looking for extras and possible random rapists, neither wants to be bothered waiting 48hrs for an appointment. The random rapist israre - most rapes are committed by someone that knows the victim, it's not a sexual gratification thing, it's a power thing. The average female does not spend a lot of time worrying about being a victim ofrape, just the same way most males do not think they are going to be the vicitm of rape. As mentioned in other posts by many different people, most clients looking for extras will end up being a bit embarrassed when they find out they they're not going to get extras, they don't turn into rapists, making it clear to those clients they're not getting extras in the initial phone call means nobody wastes their time expecting extras when they turn up, I've found no appointment available for 48hrs means the discussion doesn't have to get any clearer, they aren't prepared to wait that long and end the phone call.
Idon't expect to be raped by a client, just as an accountant does not expect to be raped by a client, or a doctor does not expect to be raped by a patient, or someone working in a shop alone does not expect it to happen - it does happen, but most people are not living their life in fear expecting it. I have come to expect phone calls from people looking for extras because massage is linked to the adult industry in some peoples minds, other professions don't encounter clients looking for extras on such a regular basis.
Back to the original topic - If someone has sports related issues, just like AvalonDove said, the easiest way to have sports related issues dealt with is see someone with sports training, rather than just swedish/holistic/aromatherapy training, and if you want a full body massage plus targetted sports related work, don't expect it in a 30min appointment, and even a 60min appointment could be a challenge.