10 Best Cupping Sets 2024 in the US

Cupping has been used as a type of enhanced massage treatment for over 3500 years, and its use spans most of the Old World. It is mentioned as a traditional Chinese medicine treatment, and yet is also mentioned in Egyptian papyri from 3500 years ago! Its proponents claim that cupping can treat ailments such as shingles and facial paralysis. Conventional medicine dismisses its successes as merely a placebo effect. (But Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is a cupping enthusiast, and touts its efficacy.) But cupping is also used in a number of situations just to provide muscle relief--or even to eliminate cellulite. 

There are many ways in which cupping is performed. The common treatment is that you place a cup on a person’s body and proceed to create a vacuum inside the cup. The vacuum pulls the skin, muscle, and connective tissue into the cup. There are treatments where the therapist moves the cup around while maintaining the vacuum inside, allowing to massage a larger area. In this way, cupping is recommended as providing the results of a deep tissue massage, in a much shorter amount of time. For those who suffer from back pain and are in need of a good massage, cupping is one way of loosening the back muscles and allowing you to relax. And, with much the same theory as that behind the “fascia blaster” massagers, cupping can help reduce cellulite and even help remove wrinkles and achieve a more youthful appearance.

But you’ll notice great differences in cupping apparatus. Some should only be used by experienced professionals, since some methods risk causing a hematoma and breaking blood vessels, or causing burns. We’ve composed this buyer’s guide to help you make the right decision when selecting a cupping set. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of cupping set,

• See useful tips about that type of cupping set,

• Read reviews of different cupping set, and what customers are saying, 

• Select the right brand of the best cupping set, and 

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

The cupping sets that we will examine all use “dry cupping”. You apply the cup to the skin, and then draw out the air by means of a special pump or syringe, or simply squeeze the air out of the cup. 

A patient undergoing dry cupping

There are other cupping procedures, which we’ll mention in passing. There is a greater degree of risk involved in these other methods (and modern medicine’s criticism of these other methods is much more serious).

• Wet cupping--Here, an incision is made in the skin before the cup is applied and the air is removed. It thus combines blood-letting together with cupping. Practitioners say that this removes “toxins” from the blood--but this has no support from modern medicine. And a break in the skin, of course, increases the chance of infection.

A person performing wet cupping--the patient’s blood collects in the cup

• Retained cupping--This is also called “fire cupping”, due to the use of fire in preparing the cups. Here, you soak a cotton ball in alcohol and place it in the cup. You then light the cotton ball and remove it after it has burned the oxygen in the cup. You then apply the hot cup to the person’s skin.

Fire cupping being performed

• Flash cupping--In this method, the cups are applied to the skin for a short amount of time and then popped off. It doesn’t cause the welts that you see with the more prolonged dry cupping. This makes it suitable for children.

• Moving cupping--This is used as a part of a massage. Here, massage oil is applied to the skin, and the air is removed from the cup while in place. The masseuse then moves the cup around, while maintaining the vacuum inside. Instead of the round welts, it makes the entire massaged area distinctly red, indicating the increased blood flow.

• Needling cupping--This combines acupuncture together with cupping. The therapist applies acupuncture needles and then fits cups over the needles.

Combination of Acupuncture with Cupping

We can distinguish between the types of cups that are used, based on their materials:

• Glass--This is a traditional material for cupping. They will typically be used for fire cupping. Care must be taken that the cups are not too hot--there have been cases where people have received burns from fire cupping. An example is the K.S. Choi Corp. Glass Fire Cupping Jars with Finger Grips. But some companies make glass cups with a rubber balloon, such as Lure Essentials.

K.S. Choi Corp. Glass Fire Cupping Jar

Lure Essentials Glass Cupping Cup for Eyes and Lips

• Hard plastic--If used for dry cupping, there will be a valve in the middle, from which you can use a pump to extract the air. An example is the 

K.S. Choi Corp. Hard Plastic Cupping Set

• Silicone: There are also silicone cups, which are especially easy to use. Since silicone is so pliable, you simply squeeze the air out with your hand, and the cup will adhere to your skin. An example is the Lure Essentials Advanced Cupping Therapy Set. The set includes four different sizes of cups.

Lure Essentials Advanced Cupping Therapy Set

• Removes cellulite: There are products such as the Lure Essentials MEGA Fascia Massage Stick which let you massage your body vigorously. This is reputed to remove cellulite, by improving muscle and skin tone. People who have used these massage techniques are also pleased with the results from cupping on areas where they had cellulite. They notice a definite improvement in muscle tone.

Lure Essentials MEGA Fascia Massage Stick

• Facial cupping: It’s recommended to use the smallest cup in the set--usually around 1.18” in diameter-- for massaging the face and eye area. It reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and tones the skin on the neck. The suction pulls the skin, increasing blood flow and stimulating the skin to produce more collagen. That gives a more youthful appearance overall.

• Range of cup sizes: You’ll see that kits have a range of cup sizes. The Muchoo cupping kit consists of 22 cups in the following distribution:

  • 4 cups-- 2.75” in diameter
  • 4 cups-- 2.36” in diameter
  • 4 cups-- 2.04” in diameter
  • 4 cups-- 1.77” in diameter
  • 4 cups-- 1.38” in diameter
  • 4 cups-- 1.18” in diameter

Muchoo Cupping Set

• Silicone cups are safer: People who have used hard plastic cups for cupping are a bit disappointed when they notice how fragile they are. Many cups end up cracking after a few uses. In fact, some companies say that their cups are meant to be “disposable”. The silicone cups are more resilient and can be used time after time.

• Take care when using cups for a sliding massage: Despite the fact that one cupping technique is to massage the body while the cups are attached, this is not recommended in all cases. In fact, the Hansol Cupping Therapy Kit advises against using the cups for a sliding massage or applying oil before cupping.

• Have particular cups for face and the rest of the body: You’ll notice that the cups come in a range of sizes. The larger cups are meant for wide areas, such as the back, buttocks, or stomach. The smaller cups are for the legs, arms, face, neck, and even the eye area. 

• Performs better than deep tissue massage: Cupping is described as doing the opposite of a traditional massage. Whereas in a regular massage, the masseuse pushes down on the muscles; with cupping, the skin and muscle are lifted up and drawn into the cup. The makers of the Spequix silicone cups recommend applying cream, oil, or lotion to your skin, and using the silicone cups as part of a massage. Simply move the cup on the skin in a zigzag or circular motion for 5-10 minutes. When you’re done, tilt the cup to the side to remove it safely and easily. 

• Athletes that use it: USA Gold Medal swimmer Michael Phelps stirred up a bit of controversy when he appeared in competitions with the characteristic welts from cupping treatment. Cupping with the large cups supposedly assists athletes in muscle recovery and relieves aches and soreness.

• Using an extension tube: Some cupping sets come with an extension tube that you attach to the pump. This way, you can do cupping to yourself! You put the cup in place, and proceed to draw the air out with the pump. The Hansol Professional Cupping Therapy Equipment Set includes such a tube.

Hansol Professional Cupping Therapy Equipment Set 

• Hansol Medical Equipment is a Korean medical supplies company, based in Seoul, South Korea. They make cupping sets from hard plastic, as well as apparatus for performing wet cupping.

• Lure Essentials makes cupping products for a wide range of beauty and health care uses. They make silicone cups, as well as glass cups with a balloon attached for convenient use. Lure Essentials fashions cupping sets for particular purposes: for athletes, for aestheticians, for joint health and more.

• Spequix is a manufacturer of health products such as massage cupping products, posture support products, and more.