A One-Day course with Kolbjorn Borseth
Overview:
This advanced course combines theory and practice and is a very intensive course during which we make professional massage products that can be for your own use, sold to your therapy clients, or sold commercially to the public.
There are many good base oils and blended massage oils on the market these days. However they may not be ideal for your individual clients needs. Different skin types and conditions would benefit using special blends of oils. Tailor-made massage oils are more like prescriptions than just simple lubricants.
A lot of massage products even contain mineral oils. They are synthetic, have a long shelf life, give good lubrication but can be very bad for the skin and body. They can create a thin film on the surface of the skin, blocking the pores and preventing the skin from functioning normally.
Kolbjorn Borseth studied Swedish Massage in 1986 at the famous Axelsons Gymnastiska Institut in Stockholm, the largest bodywork academy in Scandinavia. Around that time he also developed massage lotions for the school that has been used by its students ever since then. In 2008, Kolbjorn wrote and published a very comprehensive book about how to use vegetable oils, The Aromantic Guide to Unlocking the Powerful Health & Rejuvenation Benefits of Vegetable Oils, which has 212 recipes for oil blends, serums, compresses and in-depth information on the uses and properties of 32 vegetable oils, which will help you to tailor-make natural cosmetic products for a variety of skin and hair types & conditions. Kolbjorn has also included a fascinating introductory section which has useful tips, tables and in-depth information that you may not easily find elsewhere. For more information on Kolbjorn’s book, click here.
After the course, you will be able to blend a wider variety of vegetable oils and other active raw materials together for the different skin types and conditions.
On this course you will make professional massage and skin care products that can be for your own use, sold to your therapy clients, or sold commercially to the public. A comprehensive range of course materials are provided for each student and several products made during the practical sessions are for students to take home.
Who will benefit from attending this course?
- Mainly massage and bodywork therapists/aromatherapists who want to increase their knowledge about vegetable oils and their use and who want to learn how to enhance their practice by tailor-making products for their clients.
- Those who wish to make the products for their own use – you may be a private person who is very interested massage and/or in the properties of vegetable oils.
- Those aspiring to/already sell massage products to the public, either full or part-time.
Note: this course can be attended without first having to attend any of our other courses.
"Kolbjorn’s amazing knowledge and enthusiasm makes a really exciting subject even better!"
Ika, Bedfordshire, U.K.
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Course Contents:
The course starts with a theory part, during which we go through the main vegetable oils’ qualities in a massage context. We discuss why it is necessary to classify the vegetable oils more accurately in order to tailor-make massage products for different skin types and conditions. Here we classify the oils according to degrees of: fatty to dry; smooth to rough; thick to thin; sticky to non-sticky. Also very important for whole body massage is how long or short oils are. Last but not least when it comes to classifying the oils, we find out which note the oils are.
After the theory part, all the students test each oil on their own skin. Students are the divided into groups of 4 and Kolbjorn demonstrates how to make Massage/Skin Bars. Students then start making the massage/skin bars, to which they add a lot of anti-aging active ingredients. Massage/skin bars are solid massage “oils” that melt in your hands and which you then apply to your massage client’s body. You only need a small bar to massage the whole body. A clever thing that you as the therapist can do is to give the client the last bit of the massage/skin bar to take home and use as a moisturising skin bar. The bar will remind them of the massage you gave them and so is a good marketing tool to help you get repeat custom.
Depending on how big the course group is, the groups of students will be swapping products they have made amongst each other. You have a choice of making 29 different types of massage/skin bars. You will, at least, take home: an eczema/psoriasis bar; arnica healing bar; vitamin bar; sunblock bar; anti-aging bar; and of course a massage bar for a particular skin type or for black skin.
After lunch Kolbjorn will teach the students how to make two types of massage creams, one based on jojoba oil, and the other for sensitive skin or skin rejuvenating.
We will also be making the specific Swedish massage lotions that Kolbjorn developed for the Axelson’s Gymnastiska Institut in Sweden as a lotion is most commonly used for massage in Sweden because it contains both fat-soluble and water-soluble ingredients. Traditionally, this was a product based on paraffin oil for lubrication purposes, but after 1 and a half years’ development work on Kolbjorn’s part, the teachers at Axelson’s Institute accepted his new formula that was based only on vegetable oils. This is the unique formula that offers such good lubrication for whole body massage that you can access at this course.
Students have the choice of making up to 3 out of 10 specific recipes for massage lotions such as: 2x recipes for specific skin types or ; 1x dry skin; 1x sensitive skin; 1x oily skin; 1x mature skin; 2x skin rejuvenation; and 2x sports massage lotion recipes.
After making the 3 massage lotions, students will make at least 3 types of massage oil blends: 1x Swedish Massage oil; 1x vitamin massage oil for a specific skin type; 1x sports massage oil.
Finally, the last products that students will make on this course are face oils, either: for specific skin types; soothing; or healing.
NOTE: Before learning how to make a product Kolbjorn will discuss the benefits of the product and demonstrate the exact utensils and raw materials required. ALL raw materials and utensils are provided and students usually work in groups of 4 per table. A printed hand-out of the recipe and technique is also given to each student at the beginning of every demonstration. This enables the student to focus upon the 'hands-on' aspect of the session and ensures that each participant leaves with a complete set of notes and recipes for future reference.
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The day is completed with a Questions & Answers session.
What you receive as a participant on this course:
- 5 x 30g/1 US oz different types of Massage/Skin bars
- 2 x 30ml/2 tbsp/1 US fl. oz jars of different Massage Creams
- 3 x 30ml/2 tbsp/1 US fl. oz bottles of different Swedish Massage Lotions
- 3 x 25ml/0.845 US fl. oz bottles of different Massage Oils
- 2 x 25ml/0.845 US fl. oz bottles of different Face Oils
- 1x theory brochure containing: the classification of vegetable oils; 7 recipes for Swedish Massage Oils; 5 recipes for Vitamin Massage Oils; 4 recipes for Sports Massage; 3 recipes using avocado oil as the main ingredient for 2x massage oils for black skin, 1x whole body massage oil; 2 recipes using apricot kernel oil as the main ingredient for Swedish Massage Oil for sensitive skin; 4 recipes using jojoba oil as the main ingredient for 2x sports massage oils, and 2x Swedish Massage oils; 5 recipes using macadamia nut oil as the main ingredient for 3x body/massage oils for mature skin, and 2 massage oil blends for mature/sensitive skin; 4 recipes using sweet almond oil as the main ingredient for 3x recipes for Swedish Massage Oils for dry skin, 2x recipes for Swedish Massage oils for dry/sensitive skin; x3 recipes using thistle oil as the main ingredient for 1x Swedish Massage oil for all skin types; 1x Swedish Massage oil for dry/mature skin; 1x warming Swedish massage oil.
- 1 x 12-page recipe brochure for Massage/Skin Bars and Massage Creams: 29 recipes for Massage and Skin Bars plus extensive information on how to add other active raw materials such as colours, flowers, tinctures, chocolate, etc to them for different purposes; plus 4 recipes for Massage Creams.
- 1 x 8-page recipe brochure for Massage Lotions and Face & Body Oils: 8 recipes for different Swedish Massage Lotions; 14 recipes for different Face and Body Oils.
- We will provide each student with all of the materials and ingredients and recipes to make all of the products.
- A Completion Certificate will be handed out after successfully completing the course.
Note: this course can be attended without first having to attend any of our other courses.
Course Schedule
09:45 Registration
10:00 Theory on the classification of vegetable oils.
11:15 Tea Break
11.30 We make MASSAGE BARS
13:00 Lunch
14:00 We make MASSAGE CREAMS
15:15 Tea Break
15:30 We make SWEDISH MASSAGE LOTIONS
16:45 We make MASSAGE OILS
17:00 Questions & Feedback. Certificates are handed out.
17:30 Course Ends
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