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Traditional Chinese Breast Massage Giving Women Bigger Boobs?

China’s scrambled mix of ancient customs and modern context is no better seen than in beauty practices.

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It is a common opinion in China that massaging a woman’s breasts can make them increase in size. To these ends, breast massage is a common practice here and is a standard service in Chinese spas.

The information in this posts comes via my wife, who has access to the rather intriguing world of the modern Chinese spa. These places are super modern, fancy, high class establishments that preform a blend of ancient Chinese beauty remedies and traditional massage mixed with modern technologies and cosmetics. They offer everything from fat massages to make people skinnier to laser wrinkle treatment, traditional cupping to eye liner, fish that bite the crud off your feet to manicures.

Last night, my wife returned from the spa and told me about the boob massage. I had no idea that such a thing existed. These massages are not only done to increase the volume of the boobs but to tighten and firm them up as well, and are especially recommended for women who had just finished beast feeding.

Apparently, my wife’s friend had just stopped breastfeeding four months ago, and went in for a tune up. My wife got to watch the boob massage in action.

“Kneading, rolling, pinching the nipple,” was how my wife described the process.

The masseuse didn’t seem to mind the fact that she was leaking. “Everybody was all like, whoa, there’s so much milk.”

Though breast massage is a service at a spa, most women, apparently, just do it at home.

The predominant take of allopathic medicine is that breast massages may show temporary results, but this is only due to an increased blood flow to the simulated area and doesn’t have any permanent impact. Though women here in China claim that it works — and they’ve been doing it for a handful of millennia. As I have no means of testing these claims, I can’t necessarily refute them, but breasts being enlarged through massage sounds a little like another common Chinese claim: that playing basketball can make people grow taller.

Besides making the boobs firmer and larger, Chinese breast massage is also claimed to reduce cancer.

“Breast massage gets the milk out,” a masseuse told my wife as she tried to talk her into ordering one. “You need to get the milk out or it can cause cancer.”

Modern China is a mix of traditional practices and ancient folk beliefs scrambled in with modern technology and practice, resulting in a fascinating and often surreal mix that runs flush together without contradiction.

Filed under: China, Culture and Society, Health

About the Author:

I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3699 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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VBJ is currently in: New York City

4 comments… add one

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  • Motorcycle Bob March 2, 2014, 5:02 pm

    Have you considered this as a sideline job?

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    • VagabondJourney March 2, 2014, 6:20 pm

      Now that wouldn’t be a bad sideline gig haha. I actually almost put up a video of some creepy guy in a doctor’s jacket demonstrating this massage, but then thought better of it.

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    • Spaceship Dmitri April 20, 2014, 12:29 am

      Ah, funny guy!

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  • Spaceship Dmitri April 20, 2014, 12:30 am

    Playing basketball can make you taller, hehe))

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