Cupping therapy between laser treatments to speed up the process?

There is no scientific evidence that this will be beneficial.  Tattoos should be removed with q switched or pico lasers. It will take a series of treatments for removal. I recommend getting a formal evaluation with a laser tattoo removal expert. Best, Dr. Emer

Hello,There is no peer reviewed research (that we know of) that supports this theory.  Although we don't believe this is harmful, your body already is well-equipped to remove the ink particles broken up by the laser process.  There would be no way to actually quantify what the cupping/bruising process assisted in versus the body alone.  If this practice is charging for the cupping treatments, then I would ask them to provide research and before/after photos that speak to the benefits of cupping vs. non-cupping in how this affects the speed of fading tattoo ink.  In the absence of this information, and if they are charging for this extra service, we would encourage a healthy skepticism.  

There is no scientific evidence to support the practice of cupping to speed up tattoo removal. Also, cupping tends to use heat, which might make your skin extra sensitive after a removal session. If you want to try to speed up your results, I'd suggest lymphatic massage. There is no real evidence that that can help either, but it won't hurt. Consult with a board-certified dermatologist who is an expert at using the PicoWay laser to remove your tattoos.

Thanks for your question.  We've had this question in our office as well.  We never recommend cupping for anything.  It's not been medically proven to be effective for anything.  Conversely, we have had to repair pigment damage from cupping.  Best of luck.

Massaging the area works well as it improves lymphatic drainage. I know of no study supporting improved lymphatic drainage from "cupping". For my money, I would go with a massage.

Thank you for your excellent and instructive question.
There is no evidence that suction applied to the treatment area is beneficial to ink clearance, Evidence does exist, however, that regular exercise--presumably because of increased blood and lymph circulation--speeds ink clearance.
But I hear you asking, Can it be harmful? No evidence of that, either, although I can imagine several ways it *could* be harmful.
In this case, I think the advice you're getting for free is far better than any unproven treatments you'd be paying for. Spend the money you saved on a nice bicycle or gym membership, then you'd be right on track, evidence-wise!
Good luck!