"Your Massage Therapist doesn't care if you haven't shaved your legs or cut your toenails."
Our bodies are amazing things, and we are under such pressure as a society to look a certain way - to believe that only certain things are acceptable. But guess what? Even though the human body is an amazing, beautiful thing - there is a lot about it that is not so pretty, and that is completely normal. Everybody is in the same boat - hair grows in places, nails get long, wrinkles, scars, etc - it is all part of the body. Your Massage Therapist does not judge or worry about "society's fashion plate" - they are only concerned with the stuff you can't see - muscles, fascia, stress, tension, knots. They understand that outward appearances are one thing and yes, in many places people are expected to look a certain way, but for what we do, we deal with the body itself - and everything it naturally is.
One of the most common things Massage Therapists hear on a routine basis is "Oh, I am so sorry - I forgot to shave my legs this morning". My response ranges from "No worries, not a big deal", to (If I'm feeling snarky), "Cool, me too!" I had one woman a few weeks ago tell me "Oh, you can skip my feet if you want - I haven't had a pedicure in months." Really? You'd rather I skip working on a body part completely just because your toenail polish was chipped? While to the individual person, they may feel that their self-vision is not perfect if their physical qualities aren't perfect, your therapist has no issues with your external appearance, and do not think less of anyone who isn't physically perfect. In fact, we wouldn't be in business if people were physically perfect!
Our job is to make you feel better - physically, and emotionally. We see the whole range of bodies and body types - from perfectly toned athletes, to couch potatoes. From supermodels to those who spend their days digging in dirt. No matter what the external appearance is, every body is the same - muscles, bones, skin, and all that comes with it, good and bad. Now, this doesn't mean that we want someone who's feet are smelly and covered with mud to plop themselves down on the table with no attempt to clean up - we do greatly appreciate it when someone cleans themselves up and takes care of themselves. However, we look beyond the cosmetic things to help the body as a whole, no mater what it looks like on the outside.