Massage - Head

Do you know how many facial expression we make in a given day?! Well we don’t know the exact number either, but we guarantee that it is large. It is probably larger than you may even care to consider. This being the case; throw into the mix an ever-present host of stresses and bad emotions, and our facial muscles are a wreck. From our jaw to our scalp, most of us have no idea the beating our heads take in this day to day struggle.

We have broken this article up into two a series of massage techniques that can be used on the face and scalp. Although any one of the techniques can be a great way to pleasure your partner, we highly recommend that you experiment with those that you like so that you can learn how to move smoothly from one to another.

Before we get into it, there are some tips that we can't stress enough:

1. Wash your hands, its amazing how much dirt and germs they can pick up
2. Make sure you don’t have sharp fingernails that may reduce the pleasure
3. Make sure to be gentle on facial skin, you don’t want to stretch it
4. Make sure to use face massage oil for deeper facial massages (refer to tip number 2)
5. Too little oil is always better then too much… you can always add a little more.
6. Have open feedback with your partner so that you can learn their preferences
7. Unless it is required, do not rest your hands on your partner’s head while giving.
8. Success comes with practice, so relax and learn.

Now that we’ve covered the warnings, let’s get into it. There are many positions to get into so that you can perform head massages, but we recommend that you follow the lead on the experts on this one, we did. To perform the massages, you’ll want to be at the head of your laying partner who is either face up or down depending on what you want to do.

Petting the Kitty

With your partner laying face up, and you square to them, you want to perform a series of pets that start right between the eyebrows and with next to no pressure, pull upwards towards the scalp. Your hands should be alternating, ideally in a fashion where your partner can’t tell where one hand is beginning and another is ending. That being said, you don’t want to keep doing it exactly the same on every single stroke, feel free to mix up the tempo.

Stroking the Brows

With your thumbs starting just inside of each eyebrow right above the edge of their eye socket, with only slight pressure, pull each thumb across the brow and outward to the scalp. The stroke should end when you get to the scalp.

Ladder to Heaven

Similar to the previous technique, the only difference here is that you repeat the technique along the lines of the forehead until you get to their natural hairline before repeating.

Relaxing the Jaw

Place your hands on either side of your partner’s face, and with either your thumb or your three middle fingers, using medium light circles, move up and down between the corner of their jaw and the bottom of the ear lobe. You can mix it up by changing the size of the circles, the direction of the circles, by making the circles figure eights, and by changing the pressure.

Scissor Hands

Put your hands in a knife hand position, and spread it only between the ringer and middle fingers. Position your hands on the side of your partner’s head, and slide them up and down in line with their ears. On the down stroke, you want to make sure to leave at least 1 inch between the open webbing of your scissors and the top of their ears; you don’t want to tug at them. When you first start, keep both strokes gentle, but once you get the hang of it, try to be gentle on the down stroke and apply a little more pressure on the upstroke.

Praise the Temple

Couple your middle and index fingers on each hand, and place them on your partner’s temples. Using slow circles and medium light pressure, repeat a few times on the temple getting larger each time, then pull lightly towards the scalp, then repeat.

Rubbing the Lobes

Using your index fingers and your thumbs, gently squeeze on the edge of your partner’s ears with a circular motion. Travel up and down the ear lobe, making sure to watch out for shrapnel (earings).

Kneading the Dome

Using as many finger tips as you have and light to medium pressure, explore their scalp. You can perform small circles, large circles, or just back and forth motions, either way your partner is going to enjoy it. You will want to pay some special attention to the back of the skull, but make sure to spread the love out. As usual, diversity will help keep things from getting stale, so make sure to change it up.

Scratching Post

We’ve heard that some people do not like this one, but those who do like it tend to like it a lot, so we are mentioning it despite the fact! Using your nails, very gently, scratch your partner’s head. Starting above the neck, slowly and gently explore your partner's head.

Relaxing the Base

Using your thumb and index finger of your dominant hand, grip the back of your partner’s neck and massage it using small circles along the skull line. Experiment with different sized circles as well as a technique similar to stroking the brows in the same area. Massaging this area can be performed using both hands, but most people find it difficult to apply the right amount of pressure that way. Consequently, we recommend using one hand to get started, then adding in the second hand when you are ready to move onto something like kneading the dome.