Thai soapy massage: foam, warm water and the art of the glide

Water, foam and skin

Some massages are about warmth and stillness. The soapy massage begins with movement and water. Imagine warm water running over your shoulders, a thick, fragrant foam spreading over your back, and the slow, slippery glide of your masseuse’s body against yours. Everything slides, nothing resists.

It is one of the most sensory treatments there is, and also one of the most joyful. Where an oil massage can feel solemn, the foam under the shower often makes people smile.

A tradition of water and care

Across Asia, bathing is much more than washing. In Thailand, water is at the heart of daily life and celebrations, and a shower before any massage is a natural sign of respect. In Japan, the culture of the public bath and the hot spring has shaped a whole art of relaxation. Further west, the Turkish hammam has long included a foam massage, where the attendant covers the body in soap bubbles before massaging it.

The Thai soapy massage belongs to this family. It combines the foam and warm water of the bath with the technique of the body to body massage: the masseuse massages with her whole body, on a cushion of foam. Today it has its place in Thai salons far from Thailand, including in Paris. At our salon, the foam is enjoyed under the shower, and the massage then continues with oil on the table.

How a soapy massage unfolds at our salon

Under the shower: the foam

The session begins in the private shower. Your masseuse checks the temperature of the water, then works a rich lather between her hands. She soaps her own body first, then yours: the back, the shoulders, the arms, the legs. Covered in foam, she then glides against you under the warm water, in a slow, enveloping back-and-forth. The foam acts as a light, slippery cushion, airier than oil.

On the table: the oil body to body

After a rinse, you lie down on the massage table, on your front. A few Thai pressures loosen the neck and back, then the masseuse oils her body and yours and begins the body to body: long glides from the lower back to the shoulders, and along the legs. You then turn over, and the massage continues on the front of the body.

A last shower and rest

A final warm shower removes the oil, followed by a soft towel and a few minutes of rest. The skin feels clean and soft, and the body light.

There is nothing special to prepare: simply ask for the soapy massage when you book. Without a particular request, the shower remains a simple preparation before the massage.

Soapy, shower or oil alone?

	Soapy massage	Shower body to body	Oil body to body
In the shower	Foam and glide with your masseuse	Shared shower, she washes you	A shower on your own first
On the table	Oil body to body	Oil body to body	Oil body to body
Mood	Playful and watery, then warm	Intimate, then warm	Warm, enveloping
Price	Same price	Same price	Same price

If you are torn, think about what draws you most. Foam and water? Choose the soapy massage in Paris. Warmth and slowness from the very start? Go for the classic body to body massage. Were you looking for nuru? Read why we suggest oil body to body rather than nuru, or learn more about the gel in our guide to nuru massage.

Why guests love it

• It is invigorating. The warm water and the foam wake the body up before the oil relaxes it.
• It is deeply cleansing. You leave feeling fresher than when you arrived.
• It breaks the ice. The playful side of the foam helps people who feel a little shy relax quickly.
• It is great in winter. Nothing beats warm water and steam on a cold Paris afternoon.

Soapy massage and the shower massage: close cousins

Guests sometimes hesitate between the soapy massage and the shower body to body massage. Both begin with your masseuse joining you under the shower, and both continue with an oil body to body on the table. The difference lies in the shower itself.

In the shower massage, the shared shower is a warm, intimate prelude: your masseuse simply washes you to prepare you. In the soapy massage, the shower becomes a real part of the massage, with plenty of foam and a body-to-body glide under the warm water. If you love the idea of bubbles and steam, choose soapy. If you simply want to share the shower before the oil glide, choose the shower massage.

Tips before your soapy massage

• Ask for it when you book, so your masseuse knows she will join you under the shower with the foam.
• Tell your masseuse about any skin sensitivity or allergy to soaps.
• Remove contact lenses if water in the eyes bothers you.
• Keep jewellery to a minimum: it tends to get in the way of the glide.
• Mention if you want to keep your hair dry.
• Choose 45 minutes or more. The foam takes a few minutes of your session, and a longer booking leaves plenty of time for the body to body.

If this will be your very first massage of this kind, our guide to your first body to body massage covers everything else you might wonder about.

A playful massage in a serious framework

The atmosphere of a soapy massage is light, but the framework is the same as for all our treatments: a professional massage, performed by trained masseuses, by the book, with respect on both sides. An indecent request or inappropriate behaviour, or simply the masseuse’s own call, ends the session at once, without refund.

At the salon, the soapy massage costs the same as all our other treatments: €100 for 30 minutes, €130 for 45 minutes, €150 for one hour, shower, towels and oil included. The salon is open every day from 11am to 8pm, at 42 rue de Bruxelles in Paris 9th.