My job requires me to be able to lift up to around 60 pounds or so often during the day. So usually when I get home after work, I am pretty sore around my shoulders. My left knee sometimes aches, too, since I dislocated it last year. Heating pads help, but they aren’t really small enough or comfortable enough for me or my boyfriend to rub on me. Thankfully, I found the Heart Warmer.

The Heart Warmer is about the size of my hand. It fits perfectly under my hand with just enough room for my fingers to hold it. It fits snugly in the box it comes in, which is about five inches square. I keep mine in the box after use, because my cat would most likely decide to play with it and rip a hole in it. It also gets some moisture on it after it hardens and cools down, which has the possibility of ruining anything it is just thrown in with.

To activate the crystals in the heart, you just snap the metal disc inside it a few times, and then knead it to keep it softened for a bit. To me, it looks like wax solidifying after a candle is blown out, though this stays warm for a much longer time than wax. It retains heat for around 30 minutes.

For the first ten minutes or so, this is pretty hot feeling. After that, it cools down some, eventually reaching room temperature. It is also somewhat pliable during the first five minutes, though it hardens pretty fast.

For me, boiling this took around five minutes. After letting the water reach a boil, I dropped in a wash cloth, and then lowered the Heart Warmer in. When I took it out, I used a pair of wooden toast tongs. Unlike metal tongs, the wooden ones wouldn’t puncture the plastic.

When the Heart Warmer reaches room temperature, it is ready to be activated and used again. Boiling it allows it to be reused as often as you like. It doesn’t work to snap the disc if the heart hasn’t cooled down, though.

I don’t recommend using this as a massager during foreplay. Being rubbed with this makes me very sleepy, so it would probably be better to use before going to sleep. I came dangerously close to falling asleep on my boyfriend when he rubbed my back with this.

I also do not recommend using this in place of a heating pad without wrapping it in a cloth. It may cause burns on your skin.

After half an hour of my boyfriend rubbing my back, neck, and shoulders with this, most of my pain went away. This also helped warm me up. It was around 5 or so degrees out that night, so my room was pretty cold. When I snapped the disc, I just let it form a flat heart, since I figured that would be easiest for rubbing my back. It could be held against an ankle or something to take form of that body part right after the disc has been snapped enough.

The Heart Warmer would definitely be a great gift for anyone. The packaging does not indicate in any way that this came from a sex toy store. It passes as a normal warmer that you could get at a drug store. The only thing I hate about the box is that it says, “Sooths Your Aches.” It should be, “Soothes.”

The heart warmer massager is still holding up well. I have used it a few more times since my original review, and haven't had any problems. Keeping it in its original box is keeping it good for my next use, since it can't get dusty under my bed or destroyed by my cats.