Covering the Cradle

Some things about being a massage therapist are all about the details – the atmosphere, noise level, lighting, and yes the table linens.

         

Face cradle covers have always been problematic for massage therapists. The disposable covers are scratchy – and although no client has ever complained about them I have heard clients complain about other therapists who use them.

          

One fellow observed that he stopped using a therapist because of the scratchy covers. A comment I took note of.

           

Spas that have to worry about mounds of laundry at the end of the day – and costs – often use cotton hand towels. I have always found that kind of scratchy, too. I used pillowcases at first, and moved to soft paper/cotton towels for a time.

           

The fitted covers that come with sheet sets seem to be ill fitting for the larger, softer face cushions. After wrestling with the underwear-like elastic gathers on those cradle covers I finally threw in the towel.

          

Now I use a compromise on all fronts – soft, cotton flannel, flat cradle covers. These can slip around a bit but they do not have any seams to leave lines on the face and they are easier to fit over a face cushion. Less wrangling.

           

The cotton flats avoid the too-snug fit of elastic-edged covers and overcome the scratchy thing of disposables. At $5.99 apiece, the thought of stocking all flats has made me queasy, especially so because I suspect they will not be as durable as the undie-fit covers.

           

I found a site that would give me a wholesale discount and got 25 covers for about half. We will see if they measure up. So far, so good. The flats stack a lot neater and smaller. No more grappling in the linen closet for a good one.