Today, one of Benvie’s most popular treatments is “Just Here for the Back Rubs” which promises a full hour of gentle hairbrushing, back-tracing, and light scratching for $150.
The obvious benefit is relaxation, but Coulter believes it is deeper than that.
“The more we learn about massage we learn that therapists are interacting as much with the nervous system as we are with actual soft tissue and muscle,” she explains, “So if you can be relaxed in any way, even by light, gentle touch, that can do just as much good for your body for your pain as a deep tissue massage.”
Morayo Adisa, MD, a double board-certified dermatologist and dermatopathologist based in Chicago, also sees the value. “Back-scratching, if performed by a trained professional in a clean, regulated facility with clean tools, and with the appropriate scratch intensity, can be comforting and stress-relieving,” she says, adding that the practice can “[boost] the production of endorphins and dopamine and promote blood circulation.”
More specifically, says Tiffany Libby, MD, a double board-certified dermatologist and MOHS surgeon based in Providence, RI, back-scratching (or any type of soft, stroking motion) activates the C-fibers in our central nervous systems which then “activates the part of the brain that is associated with comfort.”
“It comes down to [the feeling of] safety,” says Katie Schloss, a licensed social worker based in Chicago. “When little kids are learning how to walk, they’ll look back at their primary caregiver to make sure that it’s safe for them to continue. Adults getting these back scratches is kind of the same thing. They no longer have their mom, sister, or friend to scratch their back so they’re seeking it elsewhere in the world.”
And for some clients, that feeling is worth the triple-digit price tag.
“It does pain me a little to pay an obscene price to have someone play with my hair,” says Laura Vandergriff, a client of Coulter and a mom to twins. “Listen, I live in a house full of boys. No one is going to play with my hair, so if I have to pay this woman to tickle me, so be it!”
Vandergriff says she doesn’t regularly treat herself to wellness services, so she figures this option is as good as anything else: “I work a desk job. I have bad posture. When I get a massage, I want them to treat a problem; it doesn’t necessarily feel relaxing. I just want to pay someone to tickle my back.”
Similarly, Angela Mastantuono, a high school English teacher in southern California, used to treat herself to a monthly massage, but ever since she discovered the Soft Touch Spa in Los Angeles, she can’t go back.
“When somebody scratches your back or plays with your hair, you never want them to stop. At the end of every session, I book my next appointment,” says Mastantuono. “Now, I go every month religiously.”
Julie Luther, the founder of Soft Touch, can relate. “As a child, one thing that could always calm me down and get me to sleep was a back-scratch from my mom,” she says. “Some people are looking to fill a void. I feel honored to help fill that space for them.”
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