Julie Luther, founder of Soft Touch ASMR Spa in Pasadena, gives the author an ASMR massage. I've never felt weird about paying strangers to touch me. Massages, facials, martial arts — it's all just ...

Pashun George and her sister grew up scratching their mother’s back before bed. Now, they charge $130 an hour for it. In 2010, they turned the tradition into a family business, Scratcher Girls, the ...

“It’s time for your lice check,” a woman who goes by “Ms. K” whispers directly into my ear as she starts running her fingers into my scalp and through each strand of hair. I’m in a dark room, Eastern ...

I've never felt weird about paying strangers to touch me. Massages, facials, martial arts — it's all just bodywork to me. That is, until I booked my first professional back scratch with Julie Luther, ...