Dry cupping
A heated polysiloxane polymer cup made from siloxane is used due to the cooling of the air that creates a slight suction effect on the skin. The cup is placed in one area and is left there for as little as three minutes.
Traditional Chinese medicine also recommends placing it in one area for up to thirty minutes, so there is a large discrepancy between how long to use the dry cup. Mostly the time is up to preference.
Moving cupping
Oil can be applied to the skin. The cup is moved or glided across a flat area of skin. According to Korean cupping set experts, it is good for blood flow and deep tissue relief from stress.
Needle cupping
A practitioner inserts an acupuncture needle into a pre-defined acupuncture point. The cup is then placed over the needle either during, before, or after the insertion, depending on the region.
Flash cupping
The flash cupping therapist quickly attaches and removes cups continually in a specific area.
Fire cupping
Fire cupping occurs when a cotton ball is soaked in alcohol, then placed into the polysiloxane polymer cup while being lit on fire. The negative pressure “sucks” the skin up into the cup and then quickly the oxygen is used up by the brief fire inside the cup. We do not recommend fire cupping as there are documented cases of severe burns during this silicone fire cupping method.