Keeping Clients Climate-happy

How do you deal with clients that are always hot or always cold? Each client will have a different preference for temperature during the massage. Some may run hot, some cold, and some will be just right. It’s important to ask the client before each session if they are warm enough or too hot. Then make adjustments to make them more comfortable.

If clients are too cold…

- Warm up chilled clients with a massage table warmer pad.
- Add an extra blanket on top of the sheets.
- Keep another blanket in the room in case one blanket isn’t enough.
- Use a massage table warmer pad to apply heat underneath the client, along with the warmth of a blanket on top.
- Keep the client covered as much as possible. Only uncover sections of the body as you need access to them.
- Use flannel sheets instead of cotton or poly.
- Suggest hot stones as an add-on treatment.
- Wrap the hands and feet with hot, moist towels. Before the towels cool, replace them with fresh ones from the hot towel cabinet.
- Drape the base of the neck with a hot towel. Replace with a fresh hot towel as needed.
- Warm up your hands and the massage oil to keep from chilling the client with cold hands or lubricant.
- If you can control the temperature of the treatment room, turn up the heat (or turn down the air conditioning) before the client arrives.
- Use a space heater to warm up the room before the massage session. If it tends to run on the noisy side, turn it off just before the session begins.

The physical exertion of the massage may leave you hot while the client is still cold. Compensate for this by wearing light, loose clothing.

If clients are too warm…

- If you can control the temperature of the treatment room, turn down the temperature before the client arrives.
- Use cotton massage sheets and forego the blanket.
- Use a ceiling fan or small portable fan to circulate the air. For rooms without air conditioning, set a small bucket of ice in front of the fan to cool down the air. Leave the fan on during the massage. It’s also a great way to muffle outside noises.
- Uncover the client’s feet, lower legs, and arms to help cool down the entire body.
- Offer moist, refrigerated towels or a refrigerated eye mask to the client. Wrap the neck and feet with cool, moist towels.

If you know that a client is always cold (often the elderly or very thin people) or always hot (often heavyset clients and menopausal women), write it down on their chart so you can adjust the temperature of the room before the client arrives.