Massage oils V cooking oils !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[questionable]

Good evening, my partner keeps telling me that the carrier oils i use for massage are the same as cooking oil you buy in the supermarket. I don't know much about oils yet but i am sure they are not.

Can anyone help me win the slighty heated discussion

I just saw lemongrass oil for sale and that sounds lovely, does anyone else use this??

 

[Orange!]

I used to use virgin olive oil regularly, but tend to go for avocado oil or sweet almond oil. I have met people over the years who have used sunflower oil as a basic massage medium. Personally I wouldn't use a generic vegetable oil, but don't see why there would be any harm.
Haven't used lemongrass (presume you mean essential oil) but I know it smells lovely.

 

[filmizle]

The short answer is it depends!

I buy my carrier oils from the supermarket. The avocado oil is cold-pressed organic. They do a wide selection of different oils in 250ml bottles which makes it very good value for money. I recently bought 4 bottles of RTC Almond oil, which I usually get from my local Indian supermarket, for about half the price as it was "discontinued" (funny I thought, I've never seen it here before...).

Just don't use Chip 'n' Dry and certainly don't use it for massage if you've used it for chips beforehand...;-)))

 

[Just Jess SUSPENDED]

For a long time I only used sweet almond oil and bought it from specialist shops - cost a fortune! I was talking to my tutor, who reminded me that as I'm not an aromatherapist, it doesn't really matter what oil I use. I'm a sports massage therapist, my work is mainly about deep tissue work. The football team I volunteer with really don't care what I use. At the moment I use grapeseed oil, which I got in Asda for about £1. At home, massaging hubby and child, I use whatever's in the kitchen. The oil after all is merely to stop the hands dragging the skin when massaging to allow a deeper massage. It doesn't go into the skin and is wiped/washed off afterwards. I have known someone to use engine oil in an emergency!

 

[christianman]

Actually vegetable oils, or their constituents, do go through the skin, which is why we use them for aromatherapy, as opposed to mineral oils which form a barrier.

Lemongrass oil, as Jabba the Hut says, is an essential oil, and as such, must be blended with a vegetable based carrier oil.

 

[Afnan M]

Hi

I'm a great believer in using vegetable oils from food shops than specialist suppliers. I usually go for cold-pressed oils from health food shops, organic if possible. They are usually in glass bottles, better than absorbing chemicals from plastic bottles. My favourite 3 oils are: unrefined (untoasted) sesame, grapeseed, and cold-pressed coconut.

Cheers

RP

 

[Aamir Zaka Buttar]

Oh well i lost that one then, but i get to save a few pennies.

He is at present dancing round the room saying "told you, told you", not a pretty sight, hee hee

Aromababe, would lemongrass be used as a refreshing oil and how would i mix the lemongrass with the carrier oil?

 

[Scott Masler]

If there is a pure vegetable or nut/seed oil that you would ingest (eat) then I would use it for massage (chip n dry types excluded).

Regarding essential oils such as lemongrass, I would be very wary of using them unless you had read up on contra-indications for same.

Lemongrass can cause skin irritations and shouldn't be used heavily i.e high concentration to carrier oil nor used too often over a short period of time.

Also consider that essential oils are classified also by their "notes" i.e. top, middle or bottom and using too much of any one note may make the receiver too uplifted and jittery (too much topnote) or flattened/sedated by too much base note.

Theres a lot to know about essential oils as many are contraindicated to certain conditions.

Regards

Patchouli

 

[xxandyxxpandyxx]

As with all essential olils, lemongrass, should be used with caution. A maxium of 5 drops should be blended with 10mls carrier oil, but I would recommend a lower concentration for lemongrass.

It actually has a sedative effect on the nervous system, but like lavender, if overused, can have the opposite effect. As Patchouli say, it can be irritating to the skin, and can be photoxic (cause a reaction if going in the sun).

It has lots of other qualities and is also a good insect repellant.

 

[Beeba]

Adding mandarin essential oil can counteract the irritancy of the citral component. The recommended ratio is 20% d-limonene (the major component of mandarin) to 80% citral (the major component of lemongrass and citronella). It also helps to soften the scent.

 

[beicygievoini]

Ok i will leave the lemongrass alone. I thought it was under carrier oil section on a website, must have been wrong.