Cupping
Glass or specialised cups are placed on the skin and the air inside is reduced, so the skin is drawn up. The cups stay for a few minutes. Circular marks afterwards are ordinary and usually fade within a few days.
- How long
- Cups are often on for 5–15 minutes. Allow extra time for the conversation before and a short rest afterwards.
- What you wear
- Only the area being treated is uncovered — typically the back or shoulders. You keep the rest of your clothes on. A gown or sheet is offered.
- Marks
- Round, reddish or dark purple circles are expected. They fade over three to seven days. If you have photographs, a beach trip or a sleeveless event soon, say so before they start.
- What it feels like
- A warm pulling sensation. It should not feel painful or hot. If a cup feels too strong, say so and it can be lightened or taken off.
What happens
The practitioner decides where the cups will sit after they have heard you and looked at the skin.
Cups are placed one at a time. Some rooms use a flame to warm the air inside a glass cup; some use a hand pump. You will be told which, in English, before it happens.
You lie still. The companion stays so you can ask for a cup to be removed without mime.
Cups come off with a small release of air. The skin is wiped. You are shown the marks if you want to see them, and told how long they tend to last.
We will not tell you what this will do for you. The practitioner speaks for themselves. We translate it, including when the answer is that they would rather not go ahead.
How a companion helps here
- The marks are the thing first-timers most often wish they had understood in advance. We make that part of the conversation, not a surprise afterwards.
- If a flame is used, you hear that it is for the air in the cup, not for your skin, before anyone lights it.
- You can stop after one cup. That is a decision, not a failure of the visit.
