Make a fortune from back scratching services

This therapy studio was founded in 2021 in Florida by Toni George, 55. George said she always loved getting her back scratched and realized she wasn't the only one. So she decided to open her own shop.

"Back scratching has been my hobby since I was a child. Later, I paid my son to scratch his back every day," Toni said. From this, she wondered if other people would be willing to pay to have their backs scratched like hers.

After many years of research, the Scratcher Girls brand was born.

Toni grows her fingernails several centimeters long, filing and polishing them into working tools. When scratching her back, Toni uses the tips of her fingernails to gently scratch her clients' backs, limbs, scalps and inside their ears to create a relaxing, pleasant feeling that helps them fall asleep.

Toni insists that this job is not erotic, just pure scratching. "I don't scratch my chest or stomach. I've had male customers ask me before but I refused," the 55-year-old woman said.

Toni charges $130 an hour. Her clients come from Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York. She plans to expand the service to Europe next year.

Toni George isn’t the only one making money from back scratching. In 2022, Julie Luther opened the “Scratch Girls-like Gentle Touch ASMR Center” in California. Last month, the center opened branches in San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Chicago. The fee for a back scratch here is $110 for 50 minutes. The current volume of customers is outpacing their ability to provide the service.

"For best service, guests must make reservations one week in advance," said Julie Luther.

In addition to using her fingernails, Julie also tickles customers' faces with feathers, sweeps necks with a soft makeup brush, and brushes and braids hair as requested.

During her two years in the profession, Julie had some unpleasant experiences. One male client frankly said that he wanted to be served "further". So after that, Julie Luther stopped accepting male clients.

"This is pure contact, completely relaxing with no other purpose. Especially it has nothing to do with sex," Julie Luther affirmed.

WhisperWave, another back scratching service, was founded in New York in early 2024. After nearly a year of operation, Rebecca Benvie also said that she has just opened another branch in Manhattan.

WhisperWave currently charges the highest of the three, at $162 an hour. Rebecca Benvie’s method involves rubbing a toy softly in a customer’s ear, drawing on their back with her fingernails, and whispering to them what she’s drawing.

"Usually I'll draw a house in the woods where people eat, laugh and share interesting stories," said Rebecca Benvie. The shop owner said that using the service always gives customers goosebumps, their minds feel like they're floating in the air, half-awake and half-asleep.

According to Craig Richard, a professor at Shenandoah University in Virginia, getting a gentle back scratch can actually trigger an autonomic sensory meridian response (ASMR), causing the brain to release endorphins, oxytocin, and dopamine, which help reduce stress and provide an almost addictive feeling of pleasure.

"But after all, not everyone can afford to spend more than $100 to have someone scratch their back," he said.