Advertisement

Get your back scratched and hair brushed at this cozy ASMR massage studio in L.A.

Julie Luther, an ASMR masseuse, gives the author a massage in Pasadena.
Julie Luther, founder of Soft Touch ASMR Spa in Pasadena, gives the author an ASMR massage.
  • ASMR, short for autonomous sensory meridian response, has ballooned in popularity over the past 15 years.
  • Julie Luther, who built a massive YouTube and TikTok following with ASMR videos, offers in-person soft-touch massages at her studio in Pasadena.

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, the founder of Soft Touch ASMR Spa in Pasadena.

Something about being touched softly made me nervous. In part, because that’s the kind of physical interaction you expect from your closest companions. I have childhood memories of loved ones tracing patterns on my skin and playing with my hair. Between meetings and mindless scrolling, that kind of touch feels increasingly scarce, almost indulgent, as we grow up in the modern world.

Luther understands this tension well. She’s built a business around re-creating those cozy childhood moments that many find both deeply soothing and surprisingly rare in adult life. Her treatments bring ASMR, short for autonomous sensory meridian response, into the physical world through intentionally gentle touch: back scratches with metal finger extensions, face tracing with feather-tipped wands, and subtle, soothing sounds that come from these careful movements across skin and through hair.

Masseuse Julie Luther at work in Pasadena.
Masseuse Julie Luther at work in Pasadena. She was drawn to ASMR-like rituals while working in New York’s cutthroat fashion industry.

Back in 2007, Luther was stressed out in New York’s cutthroat fashion industry, running on four hours of sleep between a full-time job and internship after graduating college — she found herself craving those same soothing rituals that her mother and grandmother used to help her fall asleep as a child: playing with her hair and scratching her back.

“Nothing has been as relaxing,” she said.

Luther returned to her fashion industry grind. But as she watched ASMR’s popularity grow, she saw potential for the kind of content she’d always wanted to see. When the pandemic hit in 2020, she finally had the time to act, launching Friends with ASMR. She grabbed some friends from her quarantine pod and started filming the gentle back-scratching and hair-brushing videos she always wanted to watch.

Eventually viewers started clamoring for in-person sessions, Luther, whose YouTube channel now has more than 72,000 subscribers, realized she’d scratched her way into an unexpected business opportunity.

Julie Luther gives writer Jackie snow a head massage.
“Research suggests that the brains of people experiencing ASMR see spikes in neural activity in the regions of the brain associated with emotion, reward, empathy and social cognition,” says Dr. Elizabeth Ko, medical director of the UCLA Health Integrative Medicine Collaborative.
Advertisement

The tingling sensation that gives ASMR its reputation — a pleasant, cascading feeling that flows from head to shoulders — only affects about 20% of people, according to Dr. Elizabeth Ko, medical director of the UCLA Health Integrative Medicine Collaborative. But that hasn’t stopped researchers from investigating what happens in the brain during these experiences.

“Research suggests that the brains of people experiencing ASMR see spikes in neural activity in the regions of the brain associated with emotion, reward, empathy and social cognition,” Ko said.

Scientific interest in the practice has grown substantially, with studies suggesting ASMR activities may offer temporary relief for depression and chronic pain in some individuals, according to Ko. When combined with gentle touch like back scratches or hair braiding, Ko said ASMR practices may provide additional benefits through the release of oxytocin, a hormone associated with relaxation and social bonding.

Though researchers are still exploring whether non-ASMR-sensitive individuals can benefit from these practices, Ko notes that “whether ASMR is a physiological oddity or may be a potential therapeutic tool remains to be seen.”

Julie Luther in her Pasadena massage studio.
Julie Luther in her Pasadena massage studio.

Luther sees this play out in her practice, where she says clients broadly fall into two camps. Most come seeking to re-create comforting childhood experiences of having their hair played with or backs scratched by family members. Some turn to her because they typically find traditional massages painful — something Luther relates to from personal experience. But she also sees clients who have never experienced nurturing touch, including some who are working to rebuild their relationship with physical contact after traumatic experiences.

“They’re trying to relearn what safe touch or nurturing touch is,” Luther said.

Luther’s practice is exclusively for women and nonbinary clients, a boundary she set after a male client ignored her consent forms and asked her to tickle his feet during a session. She has enough clients that it hasn’t hurt business.

Luther works from a serene room she rents from an acupuncturist in downtown Pasadena, with views of the nearby mountains. Luther offers three tiers of service, each named for different amounts of familial comfort: The Best Friend ($75 for 20 minutes), The Sister ($150 for 50 minutes), and The Grandma ($210 for 80 minutes of “Grandma level spoiling”).

I opted for The Best Friend, partly out of journalistic efficiency but mostly from a touch of nerves. All packages include the same elements: back scratching, tracing patterns on arms and face, hair brushing and finger combing, just in different durations. The shorter session felt like a safe way to dip my toe in these nurturing waters.

I stripped down to my underwear and got on a massage table and under the blanket, face down. Luther came in and spoke in a whisper to help set my intention for the session, which was just to relax.

A woman scratching another woman's back with long nails.
Luther offers three tiers of service, each named for different amounts of familial comfort: The Best Friend ($75 for 20 minutes), The Sister ($150 for 50 minutes), and The Grandma ($210 for 80 minutes of “Grandma level spoiling”).
Advertisement
A table of tools that ASMR masseuse and content creator Julie Luther uses during her sessions.
A table of tools that ASMR masseuse and content creator Julie Luther uses during her sessions.

While her YouTube channel features this kind of ASMR whispering throughout most videos, her in-person sessions are different. After the initial whispered guidance, she usually stays silent to let clients focus on their physical sensations. She started with my back using just her regular nails, which was still enough for my muscles to leap under her touch, slightly tickled, almost surprised at the sensation.

Next, Luther’s most popular tools came out: metal rings with pointy tips that extend her fingers into claws. Though my back initially kept tensing at the sharper touch, it soon relaxed into the sensation, as if my body were recalling those childhood back scratches. Next came hair brushing, the spikes of the brush echoing the earlier scratching.

I found myself wondering why I no longer maintain a ritual around brushing my hair. When I do it, it feels like a chore that I rush through, but when Luther did it, it felt like an easy moment of self-care. Finally, she had me flip over for face tracing, which she performed with feathers attached to delicate wands.

Unlike other bodywork treatments I get, there was no so-called “work” involved. No pore extractions or deep tissue pressure that left me breathing through pain. This was just nice, in the purest sense of the word. Pure pleasure, like eating ice cream or sinking into a warm bath. It scratched an itch I didn’t even know I had (pun intended).

When Luther whispered that we were done, I realized my choice of a 20 minute session was a mistake. I was zenned out on that childhood feeling of being cared for, not yet ready to surface and drive myself home.

Julie Luther uses a variety of props to perform her light-touch massages.
Julie Luther uses a variety of props to perform her light-touch massages. Her most popular are metal rings with pointy tips that extend her fingers into claws.
Advertisement

Speaking to Luther afterward, she laughed knowingly when I admitted my initial hesitancy. The 20-minute session, it turns out, was designed precisely for nervous first-timers like me. More often than not, clients come back for longer the next time or even end up asking to extend their time right from the table.

“A lot of times they’re like, ‘Do you have room to extend the session?’ ” Luther said. “Sometimes I do.”

Next time, I’ll book the Grandma and get 80 minutes worth of niceness. For all the physical improvements that come with a good facial or a massage, sometimes touch for the sake of touch is enough. Our bodies don’t always need work to feel better, they just want to be reminded what it feels like to be cared for.

Advertisement
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
soxtry.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
maw-pr.com
zaaksen.com
ypxsptbfd7.com
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
onlinenewsofindia.com
worldgraphic-team.com
bnsrz.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
webmanicura.com
osostore.com
softsmob.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
odskc.com
inzziln.info
leaiiln.info
cq-oa.com
dqtianshun.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
bartoysdirect.com
taquerialoscompadresdc.com
aaoodln.info
amcckln.info
drvrnln.info
dwabmln.info
fcsjoln.info
hlonxln.info
kcmeiln.info
kplrrln.info
fatcatoons.com
91guoys.com
signupforfreehosting.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
topsedu.xyz
xmxm7.com
x332.xyz
sportstrainingblog.com
autopartspares.com
readguy.net
soniasegreto.com
bobbygdavis.com
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
qazwsxedcokmijn.com
parabis.net
terriesandelin.com
luxuryhomme.com
studyexpanse.com
ronoom.com
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
snn01.com
hope-kelley.com
bancodeprofissionais.com
zjccp99.com
liturgycreator.com
weedsmj.com
majorelenco.com
colcollect.com
androidnews-jp.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
nova-click.com
abeautifulcrazylife.com
diggmobile.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
sizam-design.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
bamthemes.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com
avgo.top