Dori Zook wrote:

>I have no clue on soaps and shampoos, but I do know that plain old oils do
>wonders for the skin.  If the thought of rubbing olive oil on yourself seems
>a little too Crisco-esque (turn me over, this side's done!), use a "sweeter"
>oil, i.e. almond or grapeseed.  Go to Boulder and you'll find gallons of
>patchouli, dude. ;)

Your comment, "turn me over, this side's done!" :-) reminded me of
something: My massage therapist favors almond oil which works very well for
massage. However, it will impregnate the massage sheets and any clothes you
wear afterward, so be careful with the oils where clothes and fabrics are
concerned, at least almond oil.

If you don't wash things fairly soon afterwards the fabric will be left
with possible staining and an ongoing odor of almond oil. (It's not a bad
odor by any means, but on the other hand perhaps not something you'd want
wafting around with you as you go about your day, though that might depend
on the person.)

So as not to worry about it, what I do is just devote a certain set of
sheets for covering the massage table and old clothes to be massage togs
instead. Reserving certain sets of clothes might not be an option when
applying oil as a daily skin treatment, so depending on what part of the
body the oil was applied to, you'd have to be religious about the washing
afterward to avoid permanent scenting and/or staining.

Herb Finkelstein