Spa+Clinic Team Anthony Kingston from White Lotus Anti Aging explains the whole body wellbeing benefits that an acupressure mat can bring clients, even while they recline for a facial.
Imagine a product you can send your patients home with that mimics the endorphin release of an acupuncture treatment and that the patient can apply effortlessly (this always improves patient compliance). It is that simple with the acupressure mats. The patient simply lies on the mat for 10 minutes before bed. This can be done with bare skin or a shirt on for those who find the other stimulation too strong.
The mats are also used by some practitioners during treatments to increase stimulation. This depends on the exact therapy being applied. For treatments like massage this is generally too intense for most patients and is better suited to more gentle practices like aromatherapy.
Acupressure mats had their origins in ancient India and China. In India it can be traced to the original bed of nails while in China similar acupuncture mats were used to apply acupressure therapeutically.
The modern incarnation of the acupressure mat is actually a Russian invention during the cold war in the 1970s. Ivan Kuznetzov used an acupressure mat he developed from studying a bed of nails acupressure mat from India. He used this bed of nails mat to treat his own health problems and then promoted it to doctors throughout Russia. It was then widely researched and by the end of the 1970s was widely available in pharmacies across the country.
One of the original researchers from Russia then moved to the USA, where she repeated some of this early research. Her scientific trial involved results for 126 individuals. Her main findings were 98% reported relief of pain; 96% reported being relaxation benefits; 94% recorded an improvement in sleep; 81% recorded increased energy levels.
These mats make ideal accompaniments to salons and spas who do a lot of work with relaxation and increasing sleep for those experiencing stress. In this way the product allows you to continue to assist your patients between treatments and improve your overall results.
When choosing an acupressure mat to resell, I advise choosing the best, as the mat will reflect the quality of your clinic and any defects will reflect poorly on you while a good quality mat will act as a positive reminder.
Some points to look for:
”?”? – Wider mats are better – Generally you will need one that is at least 40cm wide to accommodate most backs comfortably.
– Safety in materials – Look for mats that don’t use toxic glues and use food grade plastic rather than cheap ABS plastic as they are going to press into skin.
– The addition of memory foam to the mat dramatically improves the experience of lying on the mat.
– Some mats come with velcro straps allowing you to wrap them easily around problem areas like the knees and elbows.
– Make sure the mats arrive with full instructions to avoid long follow-up explanation calls
Whatever you do if you are interested in stocking this product look for a recognised supplier of high quality mats and test them for your self to see if they will make an ideal addition to your spa.
White Lotus Anti Aging retails and wholesales the Euromat Acupressure mat.
