by melb on Tue Nov 30, 2004 12:34 pm
1)where to purchase the paraffin?
no idea, different country, but I get mine from a beauty supply place
2)what's the best way to apply it to the clients hands
and feet(prone or supine)..brushing or gauze wrap..etc?
the whole secret to paraffin is you need a sealed layer, so you get the sweat under the layer of paraffin when it's hot and then it is reabsorbed into the skin as it cools down to super hydrate the skin, putting cream on helps before the paraffin is applied as it gets absorbed into the skin much quicker too.
Dipping is the best for hands/feet, but you need a bath big enough for the hand or foot. This is where I have the problem with out calls as that is a lot of paraffin to carry around heated, before or after, and it takes a long time for paraffin to warm up evenly - most things will say 4 hrs to melt on high, turn down and then allow another hour to get to an even temp. You dip 3 to 8 times over the bath, once it stops dripping you dip again. After the last dip (how many is determined on how hot they can take it) you can put the hand/foot in plastic bag, then a bootie. When it cools down it will all slide off in one paraffiny glove. THAT is what you are trying to have happen with any method. Dipping uses the least amount of paraffin compared to the other methods.
Brushing just doesn't get the sealed effect, unless you are using a big brush and it is very fiddly trying to apply the paraffin underneath the foot. Brushing is used for covering large flat areas, or the face, where you put the gauze on first anyway. Brushing only the top of the foot does not give the foot a paraffin treatment.
Gauze wrapping isn't too bad buy it isn't quite as snug on the feet as the traditional dip, plus you need a full size bath to have a big enough piece of gause to completely wrap quickly. Again it is mainly used for large areas like the back and legs, though can be used for feet if you are working out of a paraffin bath. Gauze allows you to cover a large area very quickly. You get a LOT dripping around with gauze no matter how careful you are. (and I am sure someone will say they have no trouble with drips using gauze but it's not an easy way to start)
Bagging/gloving is the neatest, and probably the most hygenic anyway. Last place I encountered paraffin in the training they dipped hands but always bagged feet because of the health issues. Most people say dipping feet is ok as the bath is too hot for something to live in it, but it is often recommended to have a different bath for feet, so bagging feet would mean you could just have one bath. Fill the fingers of a latex glove up with paraffin then put the hand in, plastic bad and mittens. Bagging feet get a freezer bag big enough for the feet along the closed end of the bag. Put the foot flat on the floor in the bag with the seam running down the middle of the bottom of the foot. Pour the paraffin in and then mould it around the foot until it solidifies. The bag/glove are not quite as good as dipping, but you can use a much smaller bath.
3)what should be done as preparation? ie..should towels be placed on the floor/and or table under the feet/hands to catch dripping wax?
you take the bath to the client you don't get the brush/gauze/ladel of paraffin on one side of the room and run across to the other side of the room to get to the client - you will drip. You don't want towels to catch the drips - it is hell to get out, makes getting oil out of massage linens seem like a complete breeze. You need thick paper to catch the drips, or plastic sheets, you shouldn't really be dripping but you will (if you aren't dipping hands/feet) Towels under the paper/plastic.
4)transporting to an outcall...Jill/Sagetherapist seems to have a good solution..
Seems to be the best idea, but I still can't see it as something I could just take along in case. Any more suggestions??????<br>I am thinking a facial paraffin pot with a very solid lib seems to be the best option. I don't think I would every consider outcalls with a full size bath - too much risk of spillage and burns. You can't have the paraffin in the bath below the minimum level it will get too hot to use, they are carefully callebrated to heat at least so much paraffin and less than that they will overheat and you will be up for burning someone.
I think a kitchen digital thermometer with the probe on the end of a wire to check the temp would be needed too.
I'm still thinking it's way too much work for outcalls, unless someone has a bit more light to throw on the subject?
Last edited by
ccMarie on Sun Sep 06, 2009 6:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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