How Do I Choose The Perfect Massage Therapist?

What To Look For In A Reputable And Experienced Massage Therapist

Finding the perfect massage therapist can be a little like find the perfect blend of essential oils. You sometimes have to try a few before you find the magic combo.

We have been massaging for over 20 years now, and as well as massaging out clients we love getting massages ourselves. So here are our top tips on what to look for in choosing a massage therapist, and maybe some things that you might avoid.

How To Choose The Perfect Massage Therapist - things to look for in booking a massage, and what to avoid

1. The Most Obvious - Are They Qualified, And Do They Have Legitimate Massage Qualifications?

This sounds obvious, choose a therapist the knows what they are doing. Unfortunately, sometimes it's not quite so simple. When looking for qualifications, try to go for therapists that have a Diploma of Remedial Massage from Australia, and one from a nationally recognised training organisation.

There is a certificate IV in massage, which is a great entry level qualification But if you are really looking for trigger point or deep tissue work and you want a therapist that will unlock your stressed neck and shoulders, then make sure you book a remedially qualified massage therapist. A Certificate IV therapist is great for a relaxation massage and perhaps a little deeper tissue work, but if your back is particularly gnarly (not a technical term but you know what we mean), go for the higher qualification.

Also check where their qualifications are from. Dave's "You Beaut" Massage Certificate? Probably not what you are looking for. If you are looking for a cert IV, these are the numbers you need to see on the certificate HLT42021 Certificate IV in Massage Therapy, for the Diploma, HLT52021 Diploma of Remedial Massage.

There are short courses, sometimes just weekend course, in "whole body massage". Massage therapy is a profession that requires extensive training and experience to be able to do it competently, and most importantly, safely. Two days on a weekend might be great if you want to up your massage game when massaging your partner. It's inadequate if you are wanting to do it professionally on clients.

This may also shock you, but to hang out your shingle in Australia, advertise yourself as a massage therapist and take money from clients, you legally need zero qualifications. That's right, zip, nada, nothing, as the massage industry here is entirely self regulated. Personally, I think it should be fully regulated, with an overarching governing body like the chiropractic, osteo or psychology professions. Massage is a really powerful thing to do to a person's body, and if you don't know what you are doing then you can cause great harm. Anyway, off my soap box, but please if you are after a professional massage, don't assume that because they are taking your money they have done any training at all.

Don't feel shy, ask away, great therapists will always be proud to tell you of the training they have done.

2. But That's Not All - Make Sure They Have Qualifications For The Style Of Massage You Are After

Would you go to a pizza shop for chicken chow mein? Probably not. Same with massage. Book a therapist who specialises in the style of massage you are after.

For example, if you are pregnant and after a pregnancy massage, please make sure your therapist is trained in this particular style of massage. There are quite a few trigger points in the body to avoid during prenatal massage, and you want your therapist to know these and massage around them.

You also want your therapist to know to bolster under a pregnant client's right buttock to tilt the body, and move pressure off the vena cava and aorta. This also helps prevent supine hypotensive syndrome. This sometimes is not taught in detail, even in remedial massage courses. So if you are after a pregnancy massage, check your therapist has qualifications and just as importantly, experience, in this style. Same with lymphatic massage, this is a specialist massage style that often has a separate training course.

3. Look For A Therapist That Will Say No

Each health profession has a scope of interest. So if you wanted heart surgery, that would probably be outside of the scope of interest of a psychiatrist. Similarly, massage therapists have a scope of interest. Unless your therapist is also a fully qualified and trained chiropractor, we do not manipulate spines or "crack necks".

Yes, we get asked for this, but it is well outside of what we are trained to do. So if you do ask your massage therapist to do this, and they say sure, then please get off the table and walk out the door. It's unprofessional, and well, yeah, dangerous. So look for a therapist that will say no to doing things they are not qualified for, and who will instead refer you on to a professional who is.

4. Short Fingernails.

Ripple used to have a therapist working for us on the Sunshine Coast called Larissa. Lovely therapist, bright, bubbly and did truly awesome manicures and pedicures. The Mona Lisa Of Manicures. Larissa also had some seriously long acrylic nails herself. You could tell her passion was nails. However, those long talons made her completely unsuitable for doing our massage packages. So we just booked her on the mani and pedi bookings that came through, and never on the massages. She was happy doing what she truly loved, and our clients were thrilled to have nails done by someone who was obsessed with making them beautiful.

If you are after a great massage, long nails will not let the therapist do any deep tissue work or trigger point work. Therapists, even if they use their forearms a lot to massage, will always use their hands and fingers, and long nails and relaxation massage don't mix. There is a reason Wolverine never took up massage as a profession.

5. Stay Away From Therapists Who Advertise Sensual Massage

Unless you are after a happy ending style of body work, which really isn't massage therapy, be wary of "therapists" who advertise as sensual, tantric, full oiled body and other euphemisms for sex work.

It's really not their fault that they have to advertise with these euphemisms (our archaic laws in Australia relating to sex work are a whole other issue), and we don't mind if that is what they would like to do for work. But massage therapists, like the therapist you go to because you want a professional massage, will never advertise with these. Instead you may see us go out of our way to stress our qualifications in remedial massage and use the word "professional" a lot.

6. Towels As Fresh As The Sunshine

If your therapist rocks up, food in their teeth, towels that smell of rancid oil, and a table that looks like it's as old as the Great Wall of China, then the quality of the massage you receive will probably be the same. A great therapist will take pride in not only their massage but also in how they present themselves. So fresh new towels, a massage table the doesn't creak and groan with every movement and good personal presentation will usually mean an equally good massage.

7. It's The Little Things

There are a whole lot of things a massage therapist can do to turn a good massage into a great one. Little things that take just the bit more effort. Things like hot towels on the feet after your reflexology treatment. Or essential oil blends used instead of just a plain base oil. Calming relaxation music in the background. All these things can greatly add to your massage and also shows that your therapist cares about providing the best experience possible.

8. Heard It On The Grapevine

One of the best ways to find an awesome therapist is by word of mouth. So if you are looking for a seriously good therapist, put out the word, to your friends, on facebook groups, or start trawling through Google reviews. Really great therapists will often have a cult following (more Swiftie style following than Jonestown with the Kool-Aid cult), clients that will follow them to where they operate and who book ahead to make sure they don't miss out on their regular massages. So ask your friends. Even a generic post on FB will often get gushing reviews for therapists with magic hands.

And when you find a good therapist, look after them like the precious diamond they are. Just the basics. Show up on time, pay them promptly, rebook each time in advance, don't cancel last minute, shower before you go and say thanks at the end. It's the simple things, but when you find the perfect fit, look after them like the treasure they are. They will appreciate it and be happy to keep taking your bookings.

9. Questions

If you book with a therapist, and they don't ask you any questions about what you want from your massage, or about your health history, allergies etc, then how are they supposed to give you the massage you need or would like? A great therapist will ask about what you would like from your massage that day (and if you are a regular, that may change from massage to massage) plus they will do a full consult on your medical history as it relates to massage.

That bulging disc that has been causing you issues for 6 months? Yeah they need to know about that. The allergy you have to nuts? They need to know that too before they use a nut based oil on your skin. A good massage therapist will ask and not assume. We also aren't clairvoyants, so if there is something we should know before your massage, please speak up.

10. Set Routines "Yawn"

This is by far one of the best ways to suss out a therapist who truly loves what they do and is awesome at it, compared to one that is just going through the motions for the dollars. Great therapists don't have set routines. Sure they will have their favourite signature moves, and their own style, but you won't ever see them doing the exact same McDonald's massage on client after client.

Why? Cause we want our massage to count, for it to be exactly what you want and what your body needs. And a set routine, where you can see the therapist counting in their head "one two three four this side and one two three four that side" has no interest in personalising the massage to you. Instead they are just following a rote sequence that has no correlation to you. So ditch the one two three four therapists and instead find therapists that free style.

A great massage therapist will have a whole conversation with your body while they massage, finding the stiff muscles and using all the tricks and techniques they know to unlock them, regardless of what set routine they were originally taught. Massage is intuitive, so find a therapist who is confident enough in their abilities to be able to talk to your body through their hands.

11. Skip Therapists That Look Like They Have Just Had A Quadruple Espresso aka "It's The Vibes, Man"

Following on from the intuitive thread above, try to find a therapist that has the the same "vibe" as you. Yes I know that sounds pretty hippy, but energy is important, man.

If you are wanting to get revved up before a marathon, then sure book a high energy, lots of quick moves, intense, therapist. But if you are wanting to let go of stress, relax, unwind or just generally chill with your partner, then look for therapists that reflect that energy.

There are so many tricks and tips that an experienced therapist can do to make you feel relaxed. That dark towel they put over your eyes when you are lying face up along with the dimmed lights? This is not just something nice to do, but the darkness will activate the pineal gland and it will release melatonin, which relaxes your body and gets it ready for sleep. So try to look for a therapist that reflects your energy. You are more likely to get the massage you would like.

11.Whatever Makes You Happy

So this is the best bit of advice on finding an amazing massage therapist. Find one, that when you get off the table, you think "wow, that was incredible." Yep, it's that simple. Massage should be awesome. If you get off the table and you think "Meh" or even if you think "yeah that was nice", that might not be the long term therapist for you. Massage, when done right, will transform you. You will get off the table feeling almost euphoric, like jelly, and seriously happy and relaxed. Truly, this is how massage should make you feel. And if you don't, feel free to keep searching. Each therapist has their own style, strengths, and eventually you will find one that makes you feel like you just walked in the clouds. Don't settle for "meh" or "okay".

If you have any questions or would like more info or tips, please drop us a line. Ali has been massaging for over 20 years and loves just to make people happy. So if we can help you, we will.