You spent Saturday at the beach, the sunscreen came out too late, and now your shoulders are the colour of a ripe tomato. A massage sounds like exactly the right thing. It is not. The straight answer to massage with sunburn is this: do not book a massage on skin that is burnt, and wait until it has settled.
That is not us being cautious for the sake of it. Massage is built from pressure, friction and, in most treatments, oil. All three are the opposite of what burnt skin wants. Below we explain why, how to tell whether you are ready, what to do if only a small patch is burnt, and how to rebook without any awkwardness.
Why massage and sunburn do not mix
Sunburn is an injury to the skin. It is hot, tight and sore to touch, and it can stay that way for days. Even a light hand on a burnt shoulder can hurt, and a firm one will hurt a lot. That is the first problem: you would spend the session wincing rather than relaxing, which defeats the point.
The second is that rubbing burnt skin can make things worse. Friction irritates it, and a session that leaves the area redder and rawer than when you arrived is not a favour to anybody. The third is oil. Most of our massages use oil, and Healthify, the New Zealand health information site, notes that sunburnt skin does better without oil-based creams. Heavy oil on hot skin is a poor match.
The fourth is heat. Hot stones, the Thai herbal compress and the infrared sauna all add warmth, and skin that is already hot does not need more of it. If you are burnt, those are firmly off the menu until you have healed.
How to tell if you are ready
There is no fixed number of days, because sunburn varies a lot. A mild pink that fades by the next afternoon is a different matter from a deep red that blisters and peels. Healthify says redness can keep developing for 24 to 72 hours, and that healing can take days or weeks depending on how bad the burn is. So the day after is often the worst of it, not the best.
A fair rule of thumb is to wait until the skin no longer feels hot or tender when you touch it, and any peeling has finished. If you can press a hand on the area without flinching, you are probably ready. If you are not sure, you are not ready yet, and waiting a few more days costs you nothing.
Not a medical service: We are a massage spa, not a clinic, and cannot assess a burn. If your skin is blistering, the burn covers a large area, or you feel unwell with it, such as dizzy, feverish or sick, see your GP or phone a doctor or nurse for advice.
If only a small patch is burnt
Sometimes the damage is limited: the tops of your feet from sandals, a strip across the back of your neck, a patch between the shoulder blades where the sunscreen missed. That is a different situation from a whole burnt back.
Phone or message the branch before you book, and tell them exactly where. A therapist can plan a treatment that keeps well away from the area, and we would much rather hear it in advance than discover it halfway through. It also helps to tell the therapist again at the start of the session. Be specific: "the back of my neck and the tops of my shoulders" is far more useful than "a bit burnt".
Some treatments cope with this better than others. A reflexology foot massage, which works on the legs and feet, is an easy fit if your burn is on your back and shoulders. If it is on your legs, a back and shoulder session may suit instead. A full-body treatment is the one to leave until later.
Sometimes there is no good way to work around the burn, because the burnt area is exactly where the treatment needs to go. In that case the right answer from us will be "let's rebook", and we would rather say that than send you home sore. It is not a refusal. It is the therapist looking after your skin.
Oil, heat and when to come back
Our warm coconut oil massage is a favourite after a summer of sun, because it leaves skin soft. That is a lovely thing, once your skin has recovered. On skin that is still burnt, warm oil of any kind is not what you want, so put it on the list for when you are healed.
The same is true of the other oiled treatments. Aromatherapy, Swedish and the candle therapy at the Viaduct are all fine again once the burn has gone. Traditional Thai massage uses no oil, but it does use a lot of pressure through the body, so it has the same problem on a burnt back or legs.
"If someone phones and says they are a bit sore from the sun, we ask where. A small patch we can plan around. A whole burnt back, we would rather rebook than make worse."
Siri therapist team
What to do instead while you wait
Look after the burn first. Healthify's advice is plain and sensible: drink plenty of fluids, cool the skin with cool water or cold compresses, avoid soap and pat dry, and do not pop blisters or peel skin. It also advises keeping the area out of the sun until it has healed.
- Stay out of the sun while the skin is healing, and cover the area when you go outside.
- Drink plenty of water. Sunburn is thirsty work, and it is the easiest part to get right.
- Let peeling skin come off on its own, rather than picking at it.
- Move your booking. If you already have a massage booked, ring the branch about changing it. Do not turn up and hope.
Our guide to looking after yourself after a massage is useful once you are back on the table, and our first guide to massage for men covers what a first-timer can expect if sun and surf were the reason you finally decided to book.
Rebooking without any awkwardness
Please do not feel embarrassed about asking to move a booking because of sunburn. It happens often in summer, and it is a sensible thing to do. Phone the branch, tell them what happened and ask what they can offer. We have not set out a rule here beyond that, because the right answer depends on your booking, so please ask.
- Viaduct, Auckland CBD: 027-722-6564
- St Heliers, Tamaki Drive: 027 654 6642
Both spas are open seven days, 10.00am to 8.00pm. When you are ready, see the Viaduct or St Heliers price lists, or use the contact pages below. For the next sunny weekend, a hat and a reapplied sunscreen will do more for your skin than any spa can.
Next time
Once your skin has healed, a massage is a good way to ease the shoulder and back tension that comes from a long day outdoors. Many guests find a regular booking works better than rescuing a sore body after a big weekend. Book for a few days after you have been in the sun, not the morning after. And if you are a regular, tell your therapist about any areas of skin that are still tender at the start of every visit, so they can adjust. That one sentence at the consultation saves a lot of discomfort.
Common questions
Not on skin that is burnt. Pressure, friction and oil all irritate sunburnt skin and can make it worse. Wait until it no longer feels hot or tender and any peeling has finished. If only a small patch is burnt, phone the branch before booking and say where.
There is no fixed number of days, because burns vary. Redness can keep developing for up to 72 hours and healing can take days or weeks. A good sign is skin that is no longer hot or sore to touch. If you are unsure, wait, and see your GP if it blisters or you feel unwell.
Phone your branch as early as you can, tell them where you are burnt and ask about changing the booking. Viaduct is 027-722-6564 and St Heliers is 027 654 6642.
No. Massage does not treat sunburn, and pressure on burnt skin can make it worse. Cool the skin, drink water, keep out of the sun and see your GP if you are worried.
