Don’t you love it when something you’ve been doing for years becomes the ‘in thing’?!
Cupping, the action of using specialist cups to suction on the skin, has been around for a very long time. Initially used on the body to clear aches and pains, over the last decade it’s become quite the trend to use cupping methods on the face.
So why would you do this and what is the benefit? Well the action of suction is sooooo…. good for circulation and muscle elasticity! When there is improved circulation there is improved hydration and improved nutrition and for the skin on your face this all means healthier and younger looking skin.
When done correctly it’s great for double chins, sagging jowls and drooping eyelids. It helps with acne scarring and reduces wrinkles.
This sounds great…but before you rush out to amazon please let us share with you what many clinical hours have taught us!
- The type of cups you use are VERY important. The face has delicate fine skin and it is important that suction is not to strong otherwise bruising and worse – sagging can occur. The cups need a wide base to gentle glide over your skin, not feel like you are tugging on a distracted dog.
- Knowing muscle structure and the motion to use is also important. I’d love to say that doing it at home on your own will yield the same results as seeing a specialist -but that’s really not true. When you use your own arm to do the cupping you are automatically changing the location of the muscles on the face. As most faces are not symmetrical it’s impossible to get it totally right. In truth it’s best done laying down, with someone working over you correctly contouring the right muscles that can be treated with the cups rather than standing in front of the mirror and approaching it like it’s a multi-lane highway where you just zoom over the skin and hope you’ve captured the main muscles!
- Using the right oils and serums are important too. The cupping action bringing blood to the skin (that lovely flushed look) means that the blood will take away with it whatever you put on the skin. Many oils are not really suitable for facial skin and if you have acne, many oils are pro-inflammatory and worse a rancid oil will leave your skin worse off than you started.
- If I haven’t convinced you already, I hope you realise I’m really tempting you to go with a trained and knowledgeable facial cupping practitioner. There are few nicer feelings than having one’s face professionally cupped. Because of the sensation over specific muscle groups many people actually fall asleep while it’s being done. If it’s combined with facial acupuncture – ahh – well it’s even better. But that’s another blog.
In the meantime, step away from the amazon check out and instead have a look at booking with one of the team at ben&biao. Only those with specialist training will be able to do this, We combine cupping with facial acupuncture in our anti -aging and cosmetic treatments.
See our Cosmetic Acupuncture page for more information.
For details or book a cosmetic facial treatment click here