Ever heard of a massage dedicated exclusively to your breasts? No? Then read on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the West this practice isn\u2019t perhaps as popular or well known, but if you take a closer look at Chinese spas, you\u2019ll notice there\u2019s almost always a breast massage on the menu – if not, just ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Green Massage\u2019s Kiki Ren, the primary reason is to help \u201crelieve toxin build-up and encourage blood circulation for a healthy lymphatic system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the massage focuses mainly on the breasts, it also stimulates the lymph nodes located in our armpits. Lymph nodes are filters located throughout the body within the lymphatic system. They help lymph (a clear fluid) travel through the body to clean and drain toxins from tissues. According to breastcancer.org<\/strong>, the nodes filter out and trap unwanted substances such as bacteria, viruses and cancer cells before safely removing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ren went on to explain other benefits of this unique treatment: better skin tone, firmness, relief from painful premenstrual symptoms, removal of toxins, tone muscles and added relaxation. For women who have had (or plan to have) babies, the massage also claims to increase milk production, reduce discomfort and lessen engorgement during breast feeding by unblocking plugged milk glands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ok, these sound like perfectly legitimate, professional reasons and not a booby prize.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n According to one happy (and regular) customer: \u201cAs someone with larger breasts, I always feel so much better after. They feel like whipped air!\u201d Unfortunately, she also mentioned that the treatment can be painful at times, due both to the therapist\u2019s iron-clad fingers and a comb-like object dragged over the boobs to facilitate circulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless, in the name of research and –\u00a0ahem –\u00a0potentially perkier boobs, we sent two intrepid Shanghai Living editors to different Green Massage spas (the\u00a0K11 Artmall branch<\/strong>\u00a0on Huaihai Lu and\u00a0Shanghai World Financial Tower<\/strong>\u00a0in Lujiazui) to try it out. Both enjoyed extremely professional female masseuses who put them immediately at ease.\u00a0After a quick back and neck rub, they were asked to roll over. Therapists used a fairly forceful kneading technique on practiced pressure points, lots of rubbing and finally hot wax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result? Both agreed it wasn\u2019t half as painful as expected (no \u201ccomb\u201d was used at any point), though each felt different lasting effects. One editor (who hasn\u2019t got children) felt a floaty-light afterglow and was instantly converted, but the other (who has three children over the age of five) was far from blown away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n