ManaManaSpa

They should be smooth and polished. With no rough edges or sides that may cut or be abrasive to the skin. Also you should never pick stones from rivers or streams. They may contain microscopic cracks filled with water and may explode or shatter when heated. Buy stones that have been professionally made. That way your sure your getting a quality product without defects.

I chose my stones from the Dan River in NC and they were boiled to remove any microorganisms. The abrasiveness of some of them are beneficial to my patients exfoliation needs.
I use mostly quartz with some flint thrown in for color and texture.
The thing about no sharp edges, is a good thing so as not to cut the patient's skin.
I also use some of the smaller gemstones for this purpose and sometimes I use them cold from the fridge to relieve tension around the facial muscles.

What about a hot water bath like putting them in a crock pot?

We wrap our small stones in a heating pad. It works well. I would not recommend using a hot plate. It will not be an even temperature, and it sounds dangerous. Good luck!

no they arnt - they are rubbing all the last clients feces and dead skin all over you

One would hope so. I like Stuarts answer though. It's not like this is a regulated industry.

However, the chances of disease transmission would be quite low unless both clients had open wounds or sores.

It would be difficult for most organisms to survive on a dry stone for any length of time.

the heat destroys most of the bacteria but therapists do clean them between massages would be silly not to

I have been a licensed massage therapist for 8 years. If you go to a licensed professional, you should have no worries. I clean mine after every massage and then soak them with Ultronics, (it's suppose to kill just about anything.)

Hot stone Massage should be cleaned and sanitized after every use. I use antibacterial soap and mild bleaching to kill germs...
Talk to your therapist to see what he or she does...I am sure if you ask them the will not get offended by it. Plus you would hope your therapist sanitizes everything before use.

AND JUST FOR CLARIFICATION: Stuart, Massage Therapist haven’t worked for years to be call "masseuse” We are licensed professionals and the correct term are MASSAGE THERAPIST. There is a diffrence!!!!!

I'm a LMT, and I can't find anything in our state regulations (or any other state's regs) about this. I work with hot stones at a salon that specializes in hot stone massage, and I'm here to tell you that changing the water out and cleaning the stones between clients would be impractical. As far as germs go, the water that the stones sit in are is very hot (up to 130 degrees), plus we add an all-natural, mild antibacterial to the water/stones between clients. The water gets emptied at the end of the day and the stones and heating pot are throughly scrubbed with an anti-bacterial soap and sprayed with the all-natural antibacterial.

Yes, my stones are cleaned after each client.

I completely agree with micheleelainehood!

I too have been an LMT, WITH a cert in Hot Rock Therapy for several years now.

If you have 2 back-to-back Hot Rock Therapy sessions, unless you have a whole separate set up of the heater for the rocks, as well as a whole other set of rocks that are heating up while you're working on your first client, then it is impossible to clean them after every client. The rocks would not be hot enough for the next massage.

Also, depends on your instructor...although mine was pretty new-agey and they recommended at the end of the day also setting your rocks somewhere on the earth (dirt, sand, in moonlight, etc.) to allow the earth to rejuvinate and re-energize the rocks and such...although practically, this would also allow many of the germs and such to die off.

shoe polish

they're used to heat the body/muscles to give a warmth to help relax the muscles better.

1) grounding by bringing an element of the earth into the massage
2) heat - heat increases your circulation and promotes healing through the introduction of new blood cells.
3) pressure - I can get deeper into the body with less force and less pressure from my fingers / knuckles by the use of a warm stone
4) placing the hot stones in other areas of the body while you work on a different spot relaxes and prepares the places untouched and allows the whole body to benefit while working on a specific area

In most hot stone massages, smooth river stones that have been heated are used to massage muscle tissue. In Chinese medicine, hot stones have been used for thousands of years to increase yang energy and to help relieve Qi Stagnation.

Some massage therpaists combine traditional massage techniques with hot stone massage. They place a combination of hot and cold stones along your meridiens and down your spine. The different temperatures start releasing tensions in the muscles, then the therapist will actually use the stone to give you a massage which is ten times deeper than using hands alone. I had one last year and I felt amazing afterwards. I would definitely recommend it. The stones are not so hot that they are unbearable either. They should be heated using a professional water bath which the stones are placed in prior to treatment and the stones should be clean.

Have a look at my friends website for more info. http://www.pearlofhealth.co.uk/

Hot stone massage is a great way to relax and get toxins out of your body. The stones are used as a type of Hydrotherapy to relax the muscels with heat. This will make the job easier for the therapist to work with the body to release all the toxins by massaging. I love this modality of massage and it is very popular. Most of my clients ask for it.
If you have aches on your body, tell your therapist first where your feel the pain so they can know where to put the stones at and massage more.
Hot Stone Massage is intergrated with Swedish Massage techinques. So you do get a massage after the stones have been on your body for so long.
I work at a spa and what I do is I make a body wrap first on the client then put the stones where the client specifies where the pains or aches are at. Then I take off the stones and unwrap. then begin to massage. Remember to always drink lots and lots of water after any massage session so your body can get the full effect of detox. I am sure your therapist will tell you that anyways
I hope this helps....

The benefits of hot stone massage are as follows.
Stress Reduction
Increases heart rate
Relaxes connective tissue
Increases metabolism and elimination
Increases blood and lymphatic circulation

Stones created by volcanic action, such as basalt stones, are used as Hot Stones. The application of hot stones is beneficial when increasing the amount of blood supply to an area and is very effective when used for relaxation.
There are various methods of hot stone treatments. Some do have a layout for the stones whereas others simply (and more effectively) actually massage with the stones. There is no right answer to which is better. I personally don't like to recieve hot stone massage. I would rather have a deep tissue massage anyday. However, I do have clients of mine that love recieving hot stone massage. If you need help finding a therapist who does hot stone in your area, drop me a line. Therapeutically yours . . . .

try to those health care centre like OSIM OGAWA