Massaging the Head and Face
Head. Mas¬sage of the head and face is some¬times given dur¬ing a general massage, but not as a rule. In head massage the patient is usually leaning against a chair-back so as to be comfortable and relaxed. Supporting the patient’s forehead with the left hand (if right-handed), the operator places the thumb of the right hand on one side of the patient’s head at the top, the fingers on the other side, and strokes downward to the neck, over the hair. The fingers are then slightly separated and passed through the hair so as to be in as close contact with the scalp as possible. Then they are moved to and fro over the skull, drawing together and toward the thumb so as to roll the scalp between them. The fingers maintain a firm pressure but do not move over the scalp during the movement. This avoids breaking brittle hairs. To move the fingers to another region the pressure is relaxed though the contact is maintained.
After the entire head is stroked and kneaded (one hand doing the work at all times while the other is opposite, serving as a support), hacking (punctation) is done with the finger tips, or lightly with the ulnar surface of the hands. For this movement both hands work at the same time, in rapid alter¬nation. Scalp massage is soothing and many bedfast patients are benefited by it. A considerable portion of the head may be massaged with the patient reclining. In most cases, how¬ever, hacking should be avoided.
Forehead. In massage of the forehead the thumbs are placed together between the eyebrows, and firm stroking move¬ments are made in a curve upward and outward over the tem¬ples to the ears, the two thumbs working in opposite directions at the same time. The successive strokes gradually ascend on the forehead to the roots of the hair.