Cupping and Fire Play
by Leather Barbie 

The most important thing to keep in mind with fire play is safety. Practice safe handling of fire and start small. Be careful. Keep a fireproof blanket on hand. Make sure your bottom is not chilled and does not have a condition that gives him or her poor circulation to the skin. Keep in mind that you as the top are taking responsibility for your bottom when doing fire play. If your bottom is injured during play, it is your responsibility to take care of them. Play responsibly. 


Cupping 

For those of you who saw the movie Dangerous Laisons, cupping is what the nuns did to Michelle Pfeiffer at the end of the movie. It's a take off on a Medieval method of blood letting—only without the blood. I take a small leather patch and place it on the area of the body I want to cup. The buttocks, breasts and back work especially well. I then take a small 100% cotton ball and dip it into some rubbing alcohol, squeezing out the excess. I place the cotton ball on the leather patch and light it. While the alcohol in the cotton ball is burning, I bring a sturdy glass jar or cup, open end down, straight down over the flame so that the flame goes up into the glass as I press the rim of the glass into the skin. As the flame is snuffed out by the lack of oxygen, the air inside cools and creates a vacuum. The suction from this vacuum pulls the skin into glass and is actually strong enough to hold the glass into place even when the subject stands. The larger the glass, the stronger the vacuum. You should be aware that, while cupping is not extremely painful for your partner, it often causes bruising. I think the bruises are quite pretty as they form in the exact shape of the cup mouth. I have cups that are round, square, and rectangular and am on the lookout for other interesting designs like a star shape. 

Rubbing Alcohol 

This is the standard rubbing alcohol found in drug stores that is 70% isopropyl alcohol. This is the riskiest form of fire play and requires the most caution. Two important safety points when doing fire play with rubbing alcohol: alcohol flows down, fire burns up. I will repeat these points later. Start small. Take a 100% cotton swab, dip it in the rubbing alcohol and light it. Carefully and lightly brush it across the skin on the underside of your wrist. This is what the flame will feel like on your partner's skin. Now let your bottom repeat this same procedure on themselves. If it feels okay to them, you may continue. If it's too hot, stop—this type of fire play is not for them. 

If you're ready to go on, proceed by painting alcohol on an area of the skin on the subject's forearm with the q-tip. Watch for drips! Place your hand over the uppermost part of the forearm where the alcohol starts. With the q-tip, light the alcohol. Let it flash up only once, and then use your hand to snuff out the fire by wiping your hand down over the flame. Practice this technique of lighting small patches on different areas of the body before moving on to doing larger regions. Keep a hand towel near by to wipe the excess alcohol from the skin before reapplying. This helps you control the amount of alcohol on the skin each time you light it. I keep my free hand between the flame and my bottom's head at all times when lighting. It makes it easier to snuff out the flame if necessary, and I'd rather burn my hand then my bottom's head. Please note that repeatedly lighting the same spot will make the skin more sensitive to the burning. Avoid doing this. 

If you want to reduce the time it takes for the alcohol to completely burn, you can dilute it with water. Adding water will reduce the alcohol content, and less alcohol means there's less fuel to burn. The flame will go out much more quickly. It's important to stay away from the face and head. And watch out for the hair—it will burn! You can also apply the alcohol with small sponge brushes found in hardware stores. Again, watch for drips. The alcohol will continue to flow down the skin if too much is applied. These sponge brushes can hold a lot of alcohol. Be especially aware if you are working on a area of the body with crevices such as the breasts, buttocks or folds in skin. You don't want alcohol getting into these areas and burning. It can cause injury. Keep in mind that body hair will burn, too. I don't recommend using this type of fire play on the genitals. Besides having lots of folds and crevices, the skin of the genitals will readily absorb the alcohol and may burn more intensely than intended. 

Also included in this type of fire play is the use of alcohol torches. I make my own from wooden dowels with small amounts of 100% cotton tied on with 100% cotton thread. Stay away from "cosmetic puffs." They are made from artificial fibers that will melt and can cause burns. Dip the cotton of the torch in the alcohol and then light it. You may then lightly and quickly brush the body with the tip of the flame of the torch. Again, stay away from the face and head and watch for burning body hair. 

 

Flash Cotton 


The third type of fire play—which I prefer to the alcohol—is flash cotton. You can buy it in any magic store. It looks like cotton, but it's actually made of nitrocellulose, which is the same material used in flash paper. The cotton will be damp with water when you open the package and will need to be left out a couple of days to dry. After it has dried, you can take the cotton and pull the fibers into wispy threads or twist it into a fine cord. Pull it as thinly as possible. If it's too thick, it will be too hot when it burns. Lay a wisp of the cotton on top of your forearm and light it with a lighter. It will literary go up in a flash. Again, try this with a small wisp on the forearm of your bottom. If he or she is okay with the intensity, you may continue. If not, stop here. You can lay out the thin cotton strands in intricate designs across your subject's reclining body. Stay away for their face and don't wrap the cotton under any part of the body. Remember: The flame will burn upwards, burning the flesh above if you wrap it. Be ready to snuff out burning body hair with your hand. Again, one of your hands should be poised between the cotton and the bottom's head in case of an emergency. Use the flash cotton sparingly. It doesn't take much to get the desired effect, and too much may burn your partner. 

I'll repeat myself, PLEASE USE CAUTION WHEN PLAYING WITH FIRE. If you choose to do so, you are taking on the responsibilities for the potential risks that could occur. Have fun, but keep safety in mind at all times.