I have been making my own massage oil for about six years now. I started because I was unhappy with the commercial blends I was buying — too synthetic, too perfumed, often too greasy for an hour-long session — and I have continued because the blend I make is, by every measure I have applied, better than anything I have found on a shelf.
It uses four ingredients. The whole formula is a single small ratio that I can mix from memory. A 200ml bottle costs me perhaps three euros to make and lasts the studio about two weeks. The equivalent in a branded jar would cost ten or fifteen times that.
The four ingredients
Sweet almond oil. The base. About seventy percent of the blend. It is light enough to absorb during a session without leaving the client feeling oily afterward, it suits almost every skin type, and it is one of the most affordable carrier oils you can buy in volume.
Jojoba oil. About twenty-five percent. Adds a small amount of staying power, helps the hands glide for longer between re-applications, and contributes a subtle waxy quality that gives the blend a more satisfying feel under the hand. Slightly more expensive than almond, but the small percentage makes it economical.
Vitamin E oil. About five percent. A natural preservative — the blend keeps for several months in a dark glass bottle rather than the few weeks it would keep without it. Also produces a small skin benefit during the session.
Essential oil. About fifteen to twenty drops per 200ml of blend, which works out to perhaps half a percent. This is the variable ingredient. I keep three or four blends going at any time — a relaxing one with lavender and chamomile, an alerting one with rosemary and grapefruit, a deeper one with frankincense and cedarwood.
How to mix
Pour the carrier oils into a dark glass bottle. Add the vitamin E. Add the essential oils. Cap and roll the bottle gently to mix — do not shake hard, which introduces air bubbles. The blend is ready to use immediately.
Always use a dark glass bottle, not a clear one. Light degrades essential oils. A dark bottle stored in a cool place will keep a blend useful for three or four months.
A note on essential oil choice
Less is more. A blend with two or three essential oils is better than a blend with seven. The simpler blends have a more coherent scent and the body responds to them more clearly — too many oils produce a confused signal.
Start with one of the standard combinations: lavender and chamomile for relaxation, rosemary and peppermint for alertness, frankincense and orange for grounding. Once you have used one for a month, you will start to notice what you would tune. Adjust slowly.
On using it for self-massage
The same blend works for the home self-massage I do most evenings. A small palmful warmed between the hands, applied to the legs, the feet, the back of the neck. The whole self-massage takes about ten minutes and uses perhaps a teaspoon of oil. The bottle lasts months at that rate.
I have come to think that home self-massage with a good oil, done regularly even briefly, is one of the most underrated body-care practices there is. Ten minutes a few evenings a week, applied with attention, is a small kindness that compounds.
The simplest oil blend, made yourself, beats the expensive blends in a jar. The four ingredients are the entire formula.
