Obviously, not much beats the human touch of skin on skin when it comes to massage. Especially if it is your significant other who is massaging you! But let’s be honest, how often does this happen? If we are asking our partner for a massage, it is often met with groans of annoyance and on the off-chance they actually agree to give you one.
Now let’s turn our attention to professional massage therapists. They are great but require pre-planning for an appointment to enable you to fit a regular massage into your busy schedule. If you have sore muscles from exercise, you need that massage now! Not when a massage therapist’s schedule opens up! Let’s say you’ve had a stressful day at work or a painful lower back from sitting at the desk all day, you don’t have time to make an appointment and just want instant stress release or relaxation from a massage. This is where the massage chair comes in as an excellent alternative, you can enjoy it any time in your own home or office.
Some would go as far as to say that the convenience of a massage chair and the ability to be able to use it as frequently as you wish, far outweighs the human massage therapist. These options go hand in hand with one another in that the human massage is important in many situations, however, the massage chair is perfect for the regular ‘maintenance’ of your body & wellbeing and for those times when you really just need a quick fix.
Pros & Cons of a Massage Therapist
Pros:
- Expertise: A good massage therapist is trained and experienced in their field with excellent knowledge of massaging techniques and the human body.
- Human Touch: Skin to skin touch has so many benefits including the mood boost that comes with release of endorphins and the feeling of being touched in all the right spots
- Personalisation of massage: A good massage therapist can feel the pressure points and knots in your body and work on them to provide release
- Environment: A massage therapist usually has their own private rooms, creating a relaxing and calm atmosphere which can add to the experience of your massage being in a relaxing environment away from your everyday life
- Oils: The ability of a massage therapist to add oils to your massage can add to the sensory experience of an amazing massage
Cons:
- Suitability: Not all massage therapists are trained/ professional and it can lead to great disappointment if you do not get a good therapist and therefore a poor quality massage.
- Cost: The cost of a regular massage can quickly accumulate. For example, if an average 1 hour massage were to cost $85 per massage, just one massage per week would equate to $4,420 per year. If you want to continue with these massages once your body has become accustomed to them, it soon accumulates to $13,260 after just 3 short years!
- Scheduling / Time: Visiting a massage therapist requires you to set aside the time in your own schedule which is often a difficult task in our busy life these days. Then, if you are sick or something else comes up, there’s often a cancellation fee involved in cancelling or changing your appointment at the last minute.
- Travel: Unless you are fortunate enough to have a massage therapist who makes home visits, you are going to be required to travel to your appointments. Often the stress of parking and then traffic on the way home can undo all the good work of the massage therapist.
- Compatibility: if you don’t get on with your massage therapist or simply feel uncomfortable with them, it could ruin what should have been a relaxing or therapeutic experience for you.
- Privacy: Quite simply, some people don’t like the idea of getting undressed and having a complete stranger touch their body.
- Human Error: At the end of the day, massage therapists are humans too which means they can get tired, experiencing pain in their own bodies or issues in their own minds as they are working on their clients. All of these factors can impact the quality of your massage.
- Variables: Even the same massage therapist can deliver inconsistent results from time to time depending on numerous factors including fatigue or a hectic schedule of their own which could result in your massage being rushed or not to your level of expectation.
Pros & Cons of a Massage Chair
Pros:
- Expertise: As long as you are purchasing a massage chair from a reputable world-wide brand, you will usually find that they have expert professionals (including massage therapists or world-class shiatsu masters for Japanese massage chairs) who are involved in the design and choreography of the massage chair ensuring the massage is closely replicated to a human massage.
- Time efficiency: When using a full body massage chair, you are enjoying the massage on almost all areas of your body at the same time which is why you do not need as long in the chair as you do on a massage therapist’s table. Also, a massage therapist can only work on one are of your body at a time (ie. Neck first, then back, then arms, then legs, etc.) whereas a chair is working on all of those areas at once.
- Convenience: When you have a massage chair in your home or office, you do not need to make an appointment & can use it as frequently as you want. You can use it without delay whenever you feel sore, stressed, or tired, you can even use it in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep.
- Consistency: Your massage chair does not have bad days or feel fatigue so you will always get the massage strength and performance you desire!
- Privacy: No having to undress in front of strangers or be seen by others – if you want to be in your PJ’s, have no makeup on or you are having a bad hair day, your massage chair will not care!
- Location: No having to deal with traffic or parking with the massage chair in your own home or office.
- Flexibility: Whether you only have time to squeeze in a quick 10 minute session or you need to finish a massage early, you have no time restrictions when it comes to your massage chair.
- Cost & Affordability: Using the example above, considering you can be up for $13,260 after just 3 years when you add up the cost of a once per week massage with a massage therapist (at average $85 for 1 hour), a massage chair becomes a very affordable option whether purchasing outright or via interest free payment options. These interest fee options generally work out even less than 1 massage per week would cost you at a therapist but with the bonus of being able to use much more than once per week & often being utilised by additional members of the family.
For example, if both husband & wife used their massage chair just once each, every day, this would equate to 730 massages per year or 2190 massages in just 3 years which equates to only $4.56 per massage if you purchased a $10,000 massage chair. Even less per massage if your massage chair was less than $10,000 and even less per massage if you have more than 2 people using the chair and/or having more than 1 massage each per day!
Cons:
- Suitability: Just like you can struggle to find a good massage therapist, you may also struggle to find a good massage chair. This is why it is important to do research and buy only from experienced sellers who offer showrooms with a wide variety of models where you can try the chairs yourself. This is to ensure you find the right massage chair for your personal requirements.
- Possible breakdowns: Since a massage chair is a machine, there is the chance that it could break-down or encounter mechanical errors. Again, this is why it is important to purchase from established & reputable sellers and brands where they have a proven track record or reliability and after sales warranty / service.
- Price: The initial outlay on a high quality massage chair can seem prohibitive to some people, which may prevent them from purchasing. However, when using the examples above, when you really drill down to it, a massage chair is actually a more cost-effective option over a regular massage at at therapist. That’s not even taking into account all the additional costs you may be able to eliminate or reduce after purchasing a massage chair (eg. Medications, pain relievers, physiotherapists, chiropractors, etc). Furthermore, interest free finance offers from many sellers can make purchasing a massage chair extremely affordable and attractive.
- Limitations: A massage chair may not be able to reach all the areas of the body that a massage therapist can. This could include your face, front of the thighs or top of your head.
- Space: It may seem like a massage chair requires a great deal of space in your home, however, many people are able to easily have them positioned next to their bed or next to the TV in the family room.
Whilst there are all of these pros and cons to both massage therapists as well as massage chairs, the important thing to remember is that massage is a very personalised thing. This is why it is imperative that you are able to visit a showroom with a wide variety of options and with knowledgeable consultants who can use their experience and expertise to assist you in finding the perfect chair for you & your own personal situation.
Relax For Life!
At Relax For Life, you can experience a range of massage chairs from Australia’s largest collection of global brands! Our VIP Showroom demonstrations allow you to experience all of our massage chairs without interruptions from others. It is just you, the massage chairs & our experienced consultant in your very own private VIP showroom experience.
Whether you're from Sydney or the Gold Coast, you can shop our range of premium massage chairs all across Australia for all types of people and all types of budgets. The one thing we do not offer are cheap & nasty ‘no-name’ chairs at artificially inflated prices with massive mark-downs. Unfortunately, if you are in the market for something cheap & inferior, we are not right the company for you. However, if you are after a quality massage chair offering excellent value for money, we invite you to try our chairs and feel the differences for yourself.
So if you are looking to invest in your health & well-being, you need to choose a massage chair from a reputable Australian company. We invite you to make an appointment at our Sydney (Peakhurst), Melbourne (Richmond), or Gold Coast (Hope Island) luxury showrooms where we showcase over 10 different massage chairs for you to try. Relax For Life also features Australia’s ONLY Japanese made massage chairs