Nuru, Tantric or Erotic: Which London Massage Is Which

Three words appear on massage listings across London and get used as though they mean the same thing. They do not. Booking the wrong one is a wasted hour, and the difference is easy enough to explain.

Nuru is defined by the technique

A nuru massage is body to body, on a waterproof mat, using a thick gel made from nori seaweed. She uses her forearms, chest and thighs rather than her hands, and both of you are covered in gel throughout.

It came out of Kawasaki in Japan and the name is the Japanese word for slippery, which is about as literal as naming gets. Of the three it is the most physical and the most specific: if it is not on a mat with nuru gel, it is not a nuru massage.

Browse the nuru massage listings.

Tantric is defined by the approach

Tantric massage is slow, breath-led and drawn loosely from tantra. Hands and oil rather than full body contact, and the focus is on building and sustaining rather than arriving anywhere.

It suits longer bookings for the obvious reason: rushing it defeats the entire point. If you want something energetic, this is the wrong one, and no amount of asking will change what it is.

Browse the tantric massage listings.

Erotic massage is the umbrella

Erotic massage is the broad category the other two sit inside. It tells you the massage is sensual and nothing more precise than that, which is why it is the most commonly listed and the least informative.

If a listing says erotic massage and you want something specific, name the specific thing on the call.

Body to body sits between them

Body to body is what it sounds like: full body contact, but usually with oil on a table rather than gel on a mat. Think of it as nuru without the specific technique and the setup that technique requires.

It is far more widely offered than nuru for exactly that reason. Nuru needs a mat, a room set up for it and a quantity of expensive gel; body to body needs oil.

Which to ask for

• Want the most physical and least conventional: nuru.
• Want slow, unhurried and drawn out: tantric.
• Want full body contact without the setup: body to body.
• Not sure: say what you are after in plain words and let her tell you which it is.

One practical note. Nuru is often incall only, because it needs the mat and the room. Ask before you assume it can happen in your hotel.

None of the four names above tells you how a massage ends. That is a separate question and it has its own answer.