Cupping and Scraping: What It Is and Who Asks for It

By the Amenities Team  ·  October 13, 2026

It usually starts with a photo. A friend turns around at the gym, or a swimmer climbs out of the pool on television, and there they are: neat round marks across the shoulders. Not long after, someone at our front desk asks, a little quietly, what that is and whether we do it.

We do, and it comes two ways on our menu. Deep Tissue Massage + Cupping and Scraping 60 Min is $165, with 75 and 90 minute versions at $195 and $220. Or you can try it on one area with the Cupping and Scraping Add On, 15 minutes for $35. Here is what each technique actually is, how it feels on the table, what the marks mean, and why the guests who try it so often book it again.

What is cupping, in plain words?

Most massage presses down. Cupping does the opposite.

Your therapist places cups on the skin and creates gentle suction, which lifts the skin and the tissue underneath instead of pushing into it. Some cups rest in one place for a few minutes. Others glide slowly across oiled skin, a little like a massage stroke working in reverse.

The sensation is a pulling one, firm but not sharp. Most guests describe the first minute as strange and the next ten as oddly satisfying.

Our menu describes cupping as supporting circulation, tissue hydration and mobility. Many guests notice they turn their head more easily or reach for the top shelf with less complaint afterward. We will not promise more than that, and we would be wary of anyone who does.

And what is scraping?

Scraping uses a smooth, rounded tool drawn along the muscle with steady pressure, over a layer of oil so it glides. If you have seen gua sha stones for the face, the idea is related. On the body, the strokes are longer and the focus is on the tight, stubborn areas.

It feels like a firm, even stroke, and warmer than most people expect. The skin often turns pink as your therapist works, which is normal and fades quickly.

We offer the two together because they come at the same problem from two directions. One lifts, the other smooths. Your therapist decides how much of each to use based on what they find, which is one reason the conversation before the massage matters so much.

Who asks for it?

The guests who request cupping are rarely just curious about the photos. More often they already know deep tissue well and want a different approach for one area that never quite lets go.

A few people we see it suit again and again:

• The desk-and-drive shoulder. Hours at a laptop, then the drive across town, and a ridge of tension between the shoulder blades by Friday.
• The weekend gardener or golfer whose back and hips feel Saturday on Monday morning.
• Regular deep tissue guests who want a change of approach on the same stubborn spot.
• The curious first-timer, as long as they tell us about their health first.

Why is it built on a deep tissue massage?

Cupping and scraping are focused tools, not a whole massage on their own. That is why our main cupping service is a deep tissue session with the cupping and scraping worked in, rather than a separate treatment.

Deep tissue uses slow strokes and sustained pressure on the deeper layers of muscle. The cups and the scraping tool give your therapist two more ways to work the same area, and the rest of the hour still takes care of the rest of you.

If you only want a taste, the add-on is the easy way in. Fifteen minutes on one area is enough to know if you like it, before you commit to the full session.

What happens in the room

Every visit here starts the same way, with Aveda's comforting tea and a warm neck wrap while you settle in. Then your therapist walks you back to a quiet treatment room and asks a few questions: where you are holding tension, anything to avoid, and if there is an event coming up where marks would show. A consultation is part of the service, not a formality.

The massage begins with hands, warming the muscles so they are ready for deeper work. When your therapist reaches the area you came in for, the cups go on. You feel the lift, a slow pull, and then a soft release as each cup comes away. The scraping follows in long, even strokes.

Your therapist checks in along the way. Our massage therapists are California-certified (CAMTC), and they would always rather adjust than push through. If any of it feels like too much, say so and it changes right then.

What do the marks mean, and how long do they last?

This is the question everyone asks, usually right after seeing someone else's back.

The round marks come from the suction drawing blood toward the surface of the skin. They can range from faint pink to a deeper red or purple, and they often look darker over the areas that felt tightest. Most guests find they are not tender to the touch.

Most marks fade within a few days to about a week. Scraping tends to leave a light flush or a few faint streaks that fade sooner.

If you have a wedding, a pool day or a backless dress on the calendar, tell us when you book. Your therapist can keep the cups to areas your clothes will cover, or you can save cupping for the week after and book a regular deep tissue massage instead.

Why do so many guests book it again?

Guests who like cupping usually know after one session. They come back because one stubborn area responds in a way it never quite did to hands alone, and because the whole session is aimed at the spot they actually came in for.

Still, there is no hard sell here. If cupping is not for you, deep tissue on its own or a relaxation massage is a perfectly good answer, and your therapist will tell you so plainly. What's Best For The Guest has been our motto for more than 25 years in Fig Garden Village, and it holds on the massage table too.

What we tell our friends

Book a little ahead. Cupping and scraping is a specialty, and not every therapist on our team offers it, so the popular evening and weekend times go first.

When you book, name the one area that bothers you most. If your therapist knows from the start that it is your right shoulder blade, or the knot that sits just under your neck, they can plan the hour around it and save the cups for where they count.

Give yourself a few unhurried minutes before the appointment. Muscles that arrive straight from a tense drive take longer to let go, and the tea and warm neck wrap do their best work when you are not watching the clock.

Wear a loose, soft top home, especially if the cups worked across your shoulders. And plan an easy evening: water, a warm shower, and some gentle movement the next day are all your body needs from you.