Back scratches are the hot wellness trend — and business is booming in Miami
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The Scratcher Girls booth at Yellow Green Farmers Market. Photo: Martin Vassolo/Axios
These days, Miami spas go to great lengths to pamper the masses. New-age tech like LED light therapy and robot masseuses are pushing the boundaries of self-care.
- But one Miami family is banking on the simple power of a back scratch.
Why it matters: The Scratcher Girls are pioneers in professional back scratching, an emerging trend in the wellness industry popularized by viral videos of long-nailed women scratching clients into blissful trances.
Zoom in: The family-owned business, which launched around 2010, employs an all-female staff equipped with sharp, manicured nails that are cleaned and filed in between sessions.
- The full-body sessions — which range from 15 minutes to an hour — are filmed with client consent and posted on social media, which is Scratcher Girls' main driver of customers.
How it works: Soft scratching can trigger ASMR — autonomous sensory meridian response — a tingling sensation most often associated with soothing videos featuring whispered audio, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- Scratching also releases dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin, the outlet reported.
Pricing: At its Miami Gardens studio, Scratcher Girls charges $75 for a 30-minute session or $129 for an hour.
- For a cheaper, seated option, you can visit their booth at Yellow Green Farmers Market in Hollywood for a 15-minute, $15 session. (Pets and kids under 5 are free.)
Catch up quick: Co-owner Brittany Pashun George, whose mother Toni George started the company, tells Axios the business started booming in recent years thanks to an influencer's viral video, support from the ASMR community and a growing need for human touch.
- "People are touch-deprived," George says.
Back scratches are also nostalgic for those who grew up getting scratched. Some customers cry. Others fall asleep.
- As a child, George says, her mother would pay her daughters to scratch her back. One day, her mom wondered if anyone else would pay for a back scratch, too.
- "When we started, we were the only ones on Earth," George says.
- Scratcher Girls now has over half a million followers across its social media platforms — mostly through TikTok — and has been featured in publications like the Wall Street Journal and Allure.
Zoom out: Since then, more scratchers have opened up shop across the U.S., including in South Florida, but it's still a niche.
What's next: The Scratcher Girls are scratching their way across the country this summer for a treatment tour.
- The business also plans to launch a certification program called Scratcher Girls University to train aspiring scratchers interested in treating their own customers.
- The starter kit, available now, is $27. The course will cost $2,500, co-owner Keioko George tells Axios.
- "Other people are entering the industry, but it's about trust. A lot of people trust us with this service," Keioko George says.