Back Acne

Shiver me timbers.

This guy came in and he said his back has been aching because he's on the computer all the time. He found my company through the internet and he really needed a back and shoulders massage. My client information sheet asks about skin conditions. This guy wrote "None," but good lawd was he lying! When I saw his back he had acne zits, flaky skin, blackheads, whiteheads from the nape of his neck to the bottom of his back.

I'm not comfortable massaging acne skin. I feel like I'm aggravating it, but I don't recall it being a contraindication unless the client thinks it is. I think it's gross because some of the zits looked pretty ripe. There was one big one on his right scapula and I kept going around it because it looked ready to pop. I didn't think doing a lomi-lomi forearm stroke over his back would break it. But it did.

Can I just say, "Heebie-jeebies?" The pimple broke and I guess it mixed in with my oil because I didn't see pus or blood. I saw a broken-skin, flattened, red crater.

I said, "Wow, you have a serious skin condition on your back. Have you seen an esthetician or dermatologist? We have an esthetician on staff if you'd like to try our back facial." I don't know if that's unethical, but I think it's rude not to mention it and then ask if you could get your back focused on.