The smell of a massage

[sparkus]

It's also perfectly acceptable for men to visit legit shops and have massages, sometimes even by male therapists. Not for me but the shops are out there.

Many shops have showers and most staff will be OK to either dial down the amount of oil used or none at all. Again, the more sensible ones use almond based etc

The closest I've come to being caught was oily fluff in belly button after ORBS. She bought it being 'sweat'.

[peter.witless]

I regularly go for proper massages at the same place I take my OH to for a treat. So whenever I go to one of the improper places I just let my OH know I'm going to be late because I'm going for a massage ... no need to worry about the smell at all. 

There has to be ONE silver lining to having a bad back! 

[tr!gger]

I had a last minute massage a while back, scented oil and no shower and I was a bit concerned about facing awkward questions when I got home. I ended up buying some deep heat muscle rub and feigning a sore shoulder - I hate the stuff but certainly masked any other aromas.

[sparkus]

Not massage but a stripper's perfume will not only cling to your clothes and skin but also stink out the room you sleep in. OH may have been away but it took hours to get shot of that.

A WG recently told me that in her view the only reason you'd use excess perfume would be to mitigate against a punter with poor hygiene.

[ratpack]

Some Thai massages use tiger balm on your shoulders as well as oil - the tiger balm smell is strong as is a dead giveaway.
Some posh aromatherapy places use scented oils mixed with a base oil. I'm always clear that I would like a neutral base oil.
A good massage therapist would use a good quality natural oil like grape-seed or a blend with almond oil, high quality olive oil etc.

For me, I always bring my own oil, my skin is dry and I tend to leave it on my skin after the massage for an hour before taking a hot shower. It's a light blend of grape-seed and a few other natural oils, comes in a small glass bottle with a red label from that well known high street chemist, you get 3 for the price of 2.

Finally, avoid any sort of mineral oil, like baby oil. I flatly refuse that stuff. Horrible for your clothes and floats on your skin, you end up smelling like ... well ... a baby!

[oap69]

Nasty stuff, baby oil. It is designed to create a barrier to protect the baby's skin from the contents of the nappy.  So it is water resistant and not easy to wash off.  In my case it cloggs the pores and I get spots on my back.

Also, it is not odour free.

I always refuse it now.

If a parlour uses baby oil you can smell it from the street and the smell stays on you a long time

[stampjones]

Some old FBSM hands, if they feel they smell too much of whatever massage oil has been applied, will contrive a minor mishap at the petrol pump on the way home. The smell of unleaded or diesel will overpower any residual odour of the oil and afford you an excuse to have a bath as you get home.

Or go for a couple of pints - just as effective and much more pleasant (tho I guess you cant use it as an excuse to shower!