What to Do Before a Massage: Food, Sun, Shaving and Getting There in Saigon’s Heat

What to do before a massage comes down to four things: eat lightly with at least an hour’s gap, check your skin for sunburn, a fresh wax or a new tattoo, tell the therapist anything that changes the treatment, and arrive about ten minutes early so the street heat has worn off. Most of it matters more in Saigon than in a cooler city. This guide covers the day before to the moment you walk in; its sister guide covers what to do after a massage, from showering to the next day.

What to Do Before a Massage: Food, Coffee and Alcohol

Food. Arrive neither hungry nor full. The Hot Stone Therapy Massage page asks you to “avoid a heavy meal in the hour beforehand,” and the Deep Tissue Massage page says the same. Our comparison of a foot massage and a full-body session after a walking day gives the reason: “Pressure work on a full stomach is uncomfortable.” The pregnancy massage page suggests “something light beforehand rather than arriving hungry,” which suits anyone.

Coffee. One is fine. The NHS guide to water, drinks and hydration counts tea and coffee toward your daily fluids and advises caffeine “in moderation.” Vietnamese iced coffee, which our walkable one-day District 1 itinerary calls “considerably stronger than it looks,” is worth keeping to one glass if you hope to doze off. Use the bathroom just before the session starts.

Alcohol. Only the Intensive Cleanse & Thermal Blanket page sets a rule: “avoid alcohol beforehand,” and skip the treatment “if you are unwell or dehydrated.” For any massage, you need to notice when pressure or heat is too much and say so, so arrive clear-headed and save the beer for dinner.

Water. Drink as usual, plus a little more after a hot walk; the NHS advises extra fluids “if you’ve been sweating from physical activity.” Cleveland Clinic’s article on why your body can feel sore after a massage suggests water before and after a session to reduce soreness. Drink to thirst, not by the liter.

Check Your Skin Before an Oil or Scrub Treatment

• Sunburn. Burned skin is skipped, not the whole visit. Our guide to getting a massage with a sunburn explains which treatments work around a burn and why heat, scrubs and scraping wait. Point out easy-to-miss patches such as the back of the neck.
• A new tattoo. Ink that is still raw, scabbed or peeling needs the therapist to work around it, so mention it when you book. Our guide to massage after a tattoo covers how long to wait.
• Fresh shaving or waxing. Neither our massages nor the Full Body Scrub has a shaving or waxing rule; the one treatment that does is the back facial, Ultimate Back Rejuvenation, with no shaving or waxing on the back within 24 hours either side. Still, our explainer on what the oil in an aromatherapy massage actually does lists a fresh wax among things “worth raising at reception.” Nobody expects you to shave.
• Broken skin, rashes and moles. The Traditional Ginger Scraping page rules the technique out over “broken skin, sunburn, rashes or moles,” and its marks take roughly three to seven days to fade, so mention any event coming up.

What to Tell the Therapist Before the Session Starts

Every massage on our menu begins with a short conversation, but the booking message is better, because some answers change which treatment you should book. Our guide to booking a massage in District 1 without speaking Vietnamese lists “pregnancy, injuries or skin conditions” among the things to include.

• Pregnancy. Heat treatments are not used during pregnancy at Chạm Spa, and the side-lying Pregnancy Massage is offered “from the second trimester onward.” Tell us how many weeks you are.
• Blood pressure and heart conditions. The thermal blanket page rules out “heart conditions, uncontrolled blood pressure or a history of fainting,” and the hot stone page asks about “circulatory or heart concerns.”
• Recent injury. The deep tissue page asks to hear first about “a recent injury, swelling, blood-clotting concerns, osteoporosis,” because “deep pressure may need to be reduced or avoided over particular areas.”
• Medication. Blood thinners change deep pressure work and rule out ginger scraping, “since the technique brings blood to the surface.” Before a facial, mention isotretinoin or prescription retinoids above all else.
• Your period. One sentence is enough; our guide to getting a massage on your period covers position, pressure and heat.
• Allergies. The relaxation massage page asks about “allergies to nut or plant oils,” and the warm candle page about fragrance allergies.

Not sure a massage suits your condition at all? The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says in its overview of massage therapy: “If you’re unsure whether massage therapy would be appropriate for you, discuss your concerns with your health care provider.”

Before a Facial or Head Spa: Makeup, Lenses and Your Hair

Hair. Do not wash it first. The Basic Herbal Head Spa page says “washing beforehand is pointless, and styling product makes no difference,” and the Zen tier asks you to “arrive with hair unwashed and untied.” All four tiers leave your hair damp, so leave a gap before any meeting, or ask for extra drying. Booking an oil massage with freshly washed hair? Say so, and ask for no oil near the hairline if a helmet goes back on; the aromatherapy explainer calls that “easy to forget to mention.”

Makeup. The Intensive Herbal Head Spa & Facial Care page says to “come without makeup if you can, or allow that it will be removed as part of the treatment.”

Contact lenses. None of our facial or head spa pages mentions them. Bring your case and glasses, and ask at the start whether to take them out before steam or washing near your face.

Timing. Peels and microneedling bring flaking; the Herbal Skin Renew Peel page says not to book “within a week of an important event.” Our guide to what not to do after a facial in Saigon covers the days that follow.

Getting There: Grab, the Alley and Saigon’s Heat

Our address, 82/20A Mạc Đĩnh Chi, means house 20A inside alley 82, so look for the alley entrance rather than a shopfront. Give the Grab driver the number and the street, ask to be dropped at the mouth of the alley, and walk the last stretch. Lê Văn Tám Park, about six minutes away on foot, is the nearest landmark.

Arrive about ten minutes early. Our guide to spa opening hours and the latest start times says to “add ten minutes to your own arrival for consultation and changing,” and the hot stone page asks you to arrive “a few minutes early so you are not still catching your breath.” In Saigon, that also means not still sweating from the ride. Twenty minutes is too many: our guide to Vietnamese spa etiquette warns it “usually means standing in a narrow reception area.” Late in the day, a 90-minute session must start by 19:30 and a 60-minute one by 20:00.

Leave your passport and valuables at the hotel; our guide to whether massage in Vietnam is safe says plainly, “You do not need it for a massage.” Two questions get one line each, because our guide to what happens during a massage, from undressing to draping answers them: showering at home first is “courteous but not required,” and the right clothes are “whatever is comfortable and easy to remove.”

What to Do Beforehand, Treatment by Treatment

The 24 Hours Before, Step by Step

1. A day ahead: book or confirm, with pregnancy, injuries, skin conditions and prescriptions in the message.
2. The evening before: check for sunburn, cuts or a new tattoo; skip the drinks if the thermal blanket is booked.
3. The morning: feverish or unwell? Move a heat treatment rather than push through.
4. About two hours before: a light meal, so at least an hour passes before you lie down, and one coffee at most.
5. Before you leave: passport stays at the hotel; wear something easy to take off; give the driver the full address.
6. Ten minutes before: arrive, cool down, drink some water, use the bathroom.
7. At the start: tell the therapist about pressure, areas to skip, any burn or new ink, and anything missing from your message.

What to Do Before a Massage, in Short

Eat lightly and early, keep the coffee to one, and look at your skin the night before. Put anything medical in the booking message, leave the passport at the hotel, and give yourself ten cool minutes at the door. Afterwards, our guide to aftercare for the first 24 hours picks up where this one stops.

Frequently Asked Questions About Preparing for a Massage

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