Essential Oils for Acupressure Massage or Deep Tissue Massage to Relieve Pain, Stress, Insomnia

By Caryn Gehlmann, Clinical Aromatherapist

When your body feels tense, your mind won’t settle, or sleep won’t come easily, natural therapies like deep tissue massage and acupressure massage offer simple, effective ways to restore calm and comfort. How do these techniques differ? And how to using essential oils for acupressure massage or deep tissue massage enhance your experience?

Deep tissue massage uses various techniques to manipulate muscles and soft tissues for relaxation and pain relief. 

Acupressure focuses on applying pressure to specific points on the body, believed to stimulate energy flow and balance.

When you combine these massage techniques with the aromatic support of essential oils, the benefits can deepen even further. Whether you’re easing sore muscles with deep tissue massage or stimulating key pressure points to relieve stress, incorporating essential oils into the mix transforms a helpful practice into a deeply soothing, multi-sensory experience.

Essential Oils for Deep Tissue Massage Therapy

Our own Lakita Dunkers was a massage therapist for about 25 years. So I love her tips on what helped her clients relax quickly. 

For most of my sessions, I typically used Massage Blend in a light dilution. The exact percentage can vary depending on the carrier oil you’re using, but if you’re looking for a starting point, I recommend trying a 5% dilution. That usually provides a subtle scent without being overpowering. 

I intentionally kept the aroma light since I used it for full-body massages or focused work on the back and neck. My clients loved the scent, and those who saw me regularly began associating the aroma with relaxation. Over time, just walking into the massage room and smelling the aroma helped them to start to unwind before the session even began, creating a smoother, more effective experience for both of us.

Also, keeping the dilution light allowed me to use other essential oil blends, such as Head Soothe, Muscle Soothe, and Joint Relief, for specific regional work as needed.  

The other benefit of the Massage Blend is that I loved the aroma and found it calming and soothing. As a massage therapist, it is important to use essential oils that also work for your body and to take precautions to prevent overexposure. 

I’d like to add to Lakita’s tips that using our pre-mixed massage lotions — Relax and Relief are loved by many of our massage therapists customers and their clients! And don’t forget you can tailor our fragrance-free Rest lotion with the essential oil(s) each client desires.

Essential Oils for Acupressure Massage

Another pain and stress relieving technique is acupressure. Acupressure uses the same meridians and acupoints as acupuncture, but it’s an easy way to give yourself some self-care at home when you can’t get to the acupuncturist. Adding essential oils to your acupressure massage routine is a great way to promote a calm and restful environment. You can diffuse essential oils during your acupressure session or dilute the essential oil in a carrier oil to massage into the area where you’re trying to ease symptoms.

Several studies have shown success using acupressure for pain, insomnia, stress, or anxiety. Here are three of them:

• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8671653/
• https://www.journal-jams.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.51507/j.jams.2021.14.3.95
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311853947_Acupressure_effect_on_sleep_quality_A_systematic_review_and_meta-analysis

For specific recommendations, consult a licensed acupuncturist to see which pressure points may work best for you. However, the following recommendations are accepted as a good starting point if you want to try acupressure with essential oils at home.

Acupressure Points to Relieve Pain, Stress, Anxiety, Sleeplessness

Acupressure massage for pain
The LI4 (Hegu) pressure point — the fleshy web connecting the thumb and forefinger — is used to relieve minor upper body pain or for headaches. (Please note, using this pressure point is NOT recommended during pregnancy.) You can also use a diluted amount of e3’s Muscle Soothe or Joint Relief on the specific area that is in pain before applying pressure to the LI4 point.

Acupressure massage for stress or anxiety
Many acupuncturists use the pressure point Extra-1 (Yin Tang) to help with stress or anxiety. Sitting comfortably, apply mild and even pressure to the point midway between your eyebrows. For additional support in relieving anxiety, rub upwards to the hairline. The Du 24 point is located just inside the hairline straight above your nose. Gently rub in small circles in that location. You can diffuse Head Soothe, Migraine Blend,  Stress Relief or Nerve Calming Blend during the acupressure, or apply a diluted amount to the DU 24 pressure point, temples, neck, or chest before applying acupressure.

Acupressure massage for insomnia
The Anmian pressure point is behind your ear near the earlobe near the small rounded bone which points downwards. Place your finger on the protruding part of the bone and then let it slip back into the depression. Place your finger or thumb on this Anmian point and apply circular pressure slightly upward around 100 times. This is an easy way to promote better sleep and well-being. Diffusing Sleeptime or Relax Blend, or spritzing these essential oil blends on your pillow, can also help set a relaxing tone to bedtime to help you sleep.

Have you asked your massage therapist to incorporate essential oils during your session? Which oils are your favorites? How about using essential oils for acupressure massage… have you tried that? We’d love to hear about your experiences, either on our Facebook page or via our Feedback page. Remember, you can receive DIY essential oil tips in your inbox once a month. Make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter and click on the DIY recipe box. (Psst… New subscribers get a 20% off coupon for their next online order.)