Our linens usually last 2 years with daily washings. The 100% cotton flannel products will slowly dissolve with each washing as they're designed too. When linens are of the unnatural variety such as poly blends, they commonly trap the oils used in treatment and increase in weight over time. The sheets may last but cost more to wash if you use a laundry service. It is also common to have sheets become rancid from trapped natural oils such as Grapeseed oil which do not always wash out easily. Flannel sheets give your clients a warm, cozy feeling that keeps them coming back. One mistake people commonly make is using the highest heat to dry flannel. If you want to keep them fluffy and intact longer, set the heat lower for a slightly longer drying time and make smaller loads.

Everything I tell you is based on washing with city water and washing linens for 18 years. I have tried almost everything to clean mascara, oil, skin and you name it from linens. For years I found that liquid tide was the best but it is costly, heavy to carry and generated large waste from the used containers. We now use Norwex Ultra Power plus and a cap full of bleach in every load. We use it in our high efficiency washing machines, also make smaller loads, give the laundry room to move around. I would never use dryer balls as they have a tendency of destroying your linens by ripping them apart.
Norwex Ultra Power Plus is amazing. Super cost effective, light weight, minimal packaging and usually delivered to your door. If your interested in becoming a distributor and saving an additional 40% off the purchase price, please contact me, thats how much I believe in this product.
 

 We at Gecko use only the finest ingredients in our products and we constantly upgrade our formulations in search for product perfection. We believe "you are what you use" as every products you put on your skin will absorb into your skin and possibly go as far as making it into your circulatory system. This is why we design our products to be incredibly safe and hypo-allergenic. Our ingredient standards are years ahead of Canadian product standards as we use Japanese and German environment   

 Yes  you can and will will happily refund the purchase price of the product in full. Shipping may not be covered. Please give us feedback as why the product failed to work for you. We need this information to design better products.

This debate has been around since we started making products in 1997. We research all ingredients used in our products and one particular document called "the mineral oil myth" by Barry Skiba, gave perhaps the clearest, most practical answer to this question. We use only highest quality mineral oil in our products.
 THE MINERAL OIL MYTH
By Barry Skiba
 
The following article appeared in issue #44, July/August 1993 of Massage Magazine and has been reprinted by permission of it’s author, Barry Skiba and Massage Magazine, Box 1500, Davis, California 95617; Phone # (916) 7570-6033.
 
It has taken me three years to finally sit down and write this article to purge my system of the frustration I experienced in massage school when I argued with my instructor about the virtues of mineral oil.  I refused to give the school’s “correct” answer about mineral oil on a test, and deliberately lost five points on an exam.
 
For some reason unknown to me, massage school instructors really give mineral oil an undeserved bad rap - warning students that it can ruin or damage the kidneys and liver and rob the body of vital nutrients.  Possibly this is a misunderstanding of the use of mineral oil as a cathartic, which we shall explore later.  I suspect it is a myth passed on from instructor to student that gets even more distorted as the student passes his information along.
 
Mineral oil is a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons from petroleum available in light or heavy liquid petroleum.  Light mineral oil is used chiefly as a vehicle for drugs, and is also used as a cathartic, and to cleanse, lubricate and massage the skin.
 
A cathartic is an agent that among other applications caused the bowels to evacuate.  It is true that prolonged use of mineral oil internally as a cathartic should be avoided because it prevents absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins.  Lipid pneumonia caused by aspiration of the oil has been shown to occur in those who habitually take it, especially the ‘elderly’ but this has nothing to do with massaging with mineral oil.
 
We were all raised on Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Oil.  Turn the bottle over and read the ingredients - mineral oil and fragrance.  Presumably we are all still alive and well.
 
There has been some concern about the degradation of Vitamin A, D and E in the skin by various density mineral oils.  These vitamins are oil soluble and as such there is always a possibility of extracting some from the skin providing exposure time was sufficiently long and penetration occurred to the sub-dermal and cellular level.  A study conducted by Swiss-American Products Inc., manufacturers of Eutra massage Cream and Lotions, performed by AMA Laboratories and conducted by Gabriel J. Letizia, Ph.D. revealed the following:  If mineral oil was applied three times a week, with the product usage at about 50 to 100 grams covering an area of about 400 sq. cm. (about the size of a human back), and then washed off sometime within 12 hours following the application, this would translate to between .125 and .25 grams per square centimetre of product in contact with the skin for a period not greater than 36 total hours per week.  Most massages occur once every two weeks, not three times a week.
 
Even in studies of saturation of the skin for extremely long periods of such as 72 hours, the result was such minor, lower-limit detection of some oil-soluble vitamins that there was no concern over the condition
 
To further put the matter into proper context, if the same set of occlusive conditions conducted in the study were to replace mineral oil with water or alcohol, the results would be the same in removing electrolytes and cutaneous fat respectively from the skin.  Does that mean that every time we shower, we run the risk of losing valuable nutrients normally found in the skin?  In a manner of speaking Dr. Letizia found this to be true.  But we must consider the reality of the situation, which is that no matter how much we apply a non-drug substance to the skin under topical conditions, we do very little to affect the composition and morphology of the skin itself.
 
In a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Vaseline was found to be one of the most effective emollients when compared to products costing five times as much.
 
Much more harm can be done by applying rancid or bacterially contaminated vegetable oils to the skin.
 
While I do not suggest that the oils come that way from the manufacturer, it is important to work from smaller containers so as not to contaminate the gallon sizes which will not be used as quickly.  I enjoy using some of the lovely oils made from grape seed, avocado and sunflower oil and carry most national brands in my retail store and clinic.  I do not wish to dissuade anyone from using these fine products.
 
However, unlike organic oils, bacteria does not grow in mineral oil.  Mineral oil washes out easier because it does not form rancidity bonds with natural fabrics.  For the most part it is sensitivity free.  However, many clients are allergic to certain plants and essential oils.  The cost of mineral oil is far less than exotic oils.  Studies show the cost of mineral oil for a massage to be about 17 cents while plant oils are about 50 cents.
 
Use both organic oils and mineral oils in your practice, depending upon both your clients’ and your needs.  Some of the common massage creams using mineral oil are Eutra Swiss Skin Creme, Queen Helene Massage Cream by Para Laboratories, as well as Johnson & Johnson Baby Oil.
 
Which oil you use is your own decision.  However, give your Mama a break.  She never poisoned you by using baby oil.  You won’t be doing any disservice to your clients either.
 
Barry M Skiba, B.S., R.M.T., studied biology and chemistry and graduated from Merrimack College as well as studied clinical psychology at the University of Georgia.  He is a former health educator for the Dallas County Health Department and is a certified home health aide with the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas.  He is a registered massage therapist and is owner of Oak Lawn Myotherapy Clinic, a massage therapy clinic and massage product supply company.
 References
 Encyclopaedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health, Benjamin F. Miller, M.D. and Claire Brackman Keane, R.N., B.S., M.Ed., Philadelphia, PA.
 Letter, March 8, 1990, AMA Laboratories, New York City, NY 10956.

 All our products are hypo-allergenic but it is still possible to have an allergic reaction from them. We do not use any common ingredients in our products that can produce allergies, eg/ nut oils, citrus oils. If you see a redness form on the tissue you have been working, simply use warm water on a cloth to rinse the area. Our Holly Oil is perhaps the most unbiased product we make as we have never had anyone report a reaction to it. 

 We have gone through great lengths to address this problem which occurs sparingly. Even though there may be slight separation in the lotion, a quick couple shakes will put it back into a homogenous state and the performance of the product will not be affected. If possible, store the lotion in a cooler area, this will help immensely. As of batch # 436, we have purchased new equipment will help correct the problem (yayyyyyyy). We created a button which will allow you to see the date the product was made on and also upgrades we have made to each product. We truly value your input so please let us know how we can improve our products.   

In the past, we've had this incident come up a few times. All the pets were fine afterwards but the owners had taken them to their Veterinarian. In one case, the dog needed an enema. All ingredients are are very gentle and benign. In our Holly oil and gel, there are NO products from the Holly plant used (holly plant commonly seen at Christmas). Please call Shannon Carlin at 204-229-5809 for any further information.

 I have been selling Stronglite Equipment since I first started Gecko Massage Supply Co. Stronglite was started by a structural engineer who specialized in equipment. His wife was a Massage Therapist and she asked him to build her a good table and it went from there. Stronglite is a leader in massage equipment development and has the repetition of products that outlive the body workers career. Buying a cheap product, usually from Costco or Walmart changed the market for body work equipment in North America and many of the large brand names were forced over seas to build their product just to compete. Stronglite makes their equipment over seas but to an exacting standard. Because they do this, the prices of their equipment are almost the same as buying the lower quality equipment at the box stores. With Stronglite, you get an excellent warranty, piece of mind and incredibly low prices.