How does one learn to do a facial massage?

For a beginner cosmetologist, there is nothing harder than learning the steps and techniques of a facial massage. Perfection is achieved by constant repetition of the same technique several hundred times. But what do you do if the courses did not allow for enough time and you need to start working at a salon right away? How do you convince a client that you are a professional? Just one wrong move can cause you to lose the client. With regard to body massage, it is much easier to master. In a classic facial massage there are 34 techniques which do not repeat, however, the sequence has to be very precise because that is the key to achieving optimal results of the procedure.

Professional tips. Tricks of the trade. Exchange of experience.

Memorization in this case is useless. But there are several options for successfully learning the massage without harming the client.

Step one.

Carefully listen to your teacher and try your best to repeat the techniques as precisely as possible. As soon as you understand a principle, move on to the next one. Don’t fixate on the order of the techniques on the first lessons; just try to learn the technique itself.

Step two.

Remember the name of the technique. In order to help, some teachers give unusual names to different techniques and manipulations. Thus, the student develops associative thinking which helps instantly remember the technique. In psychology “association” is defined as a connection between two ideas, when the appearance of one brings the other to mind. For a beginner cosmetologist: How to learn a facial massage. These associations were categorized as associations by similarities (red-purple), by contrast (large-small), by adjacency in space and time (the smell of spices arouses appetite), by cause-effect (strong wind chills). It was discovered that the power of association depends on a series of conditions (the strength of impressions brought on by the elements of connections, their novelty, as well as the capabilities of the individual). For instance, “snail”, “fork”, “eight”, “pie”, “dumpling”, “wave” help refresh the memory of motions that are used on the client’s face and consequently help perform the given technique.

Step three. Muscle memory

The concept of muscle memory is well known, its causes were determined by sports physicians as the workings of the nervous system. However, scientists from Norway, under the supervision of Christian Gundersen from the University of Oslo demonstrated that muscle fibers have their own memory and their mechanisms are associated with the appearance of new nuclei. Thus, all manipulations that are repeated several times throughout the day allow for the acceleration of the metabolism of the “right” muscle fibers which develops the skill until it becomes automatic. In this case, one can say that repetition truly is the key to the success of a new cosmetologist. The more times you repeat the techniques, the higher your level of professionalism. That’s why you should massage any face that you can get your hands on. Special attention should be paid to relatives and family members. It’s possible that psychologically it is difficult to get yourself to massage a person who is close to you if you are not yet a specialist with years of experience and confidence, but for beginners, these “strict” judges are a must.

Step four. A little about “tricks” in the good sense of the word.

If an aspiring cosmetologist is thrown directly “into the abyss” of a beauty salon than he or she can get away with using certain tricks. But he or she needs to have a very special cheat sheet. The cheat sheet has to be placed on the hip of the cosmetologist, and it has to be made of thick laminated paper (or cardboard) in order to avoid damaging it with cream or oil. Since a cosmetologist will make their own cheat sheet, it can include drawings, personal notes, and associative names of various techniques. This type of tool can only be individual and personal, because to learn how to do a massage only with somebody else’s cheat sheet is impossible, just like it’s impossible to learn how to fly a plane by using the airplane’s manual. This, however, does not mean that you will always be peaking at a cheat sheet when working. With time your muscle memory will develop and you will be able to enjoy the working process together with your client without stopping to think. If you forget the next technique, don’t panic, just use gentle strokes along the main message lines until you remember the next technique.