Archive · 3 Sep 2026
China’s Unusual Itch-Scratching Business Gains Traction in Shenzhen
A new business in China lets people pay to have their skin gently scratched.
Customers can choose which parts of their bodies should be scratched.
Workers use special tools shaped like fingernails.
The service is meant to help people relax, reduce stress, and feel less itchy.
A short session costs about 100 yuan, while a full-body session costs almost 300 yuan.
Most customers reportedly choose the longer full-body service.
Many customers become so relaxed that they fall asleep.
Men who work in city offices make up most of the customers.
The owner wants to open many more shops and make scratching a recognised service profession.
Zhang Xiaoqiao opened an itch-relief shop in Shenzhen in May and added a second outlet about a month or 40 days later.
Trained staff use fingernail-shaped tools to scratch customers’ backs and other itchy body parts.
Reported prices range from about 100 yuan for 30 minutes to 289–299 yuan for an 80-minute full-body session.
About 70% of customers reportedly choose the full-body package, while six or seven in 10 customers fall asleep during sessions.
The two outlets reportedly generate about 100,000 yuan in monthly gross revenue, with office-working men making up roughly 60%–70% of clients.
- Who
- Zhang Xiaoqiao, a 32-year-old entrepreneur, launched the Suma itch-scratching business with trained staff.
- What
- A paid service provides scratching for customers’ backs and other itchy body areas as a relaxation and stress-relief treatment.
- When
- The first outlet opened in May; a second outlet opened about one month later, described elsewhere as 40 days later.
- Where
- The outlets are in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, including Baoan and Futian districts.
- Why
- Zhang says the service meets demand from stressed residents of major cities and can help customers relax, relieve itching, and sleep.
Zhang’s View
Skeptical View
Can scratching become a recognised profession?
Zhang’s View
Zhang believes demand from stressed city residents and returning customers shows that professional itch-scratching can become a recognised service profession.
Skeptical View
Online commentators have questioned whether paying for professional scratching can develop into a recognised occupation, although the reports do not identify specific critics.
Value compared with massage
Zhang’s View
Some customers reportedly say the scratching service is more relaxing than a massage, and Zhang says its techniques are designed to help people unwind and sleep.
Skeptical View
The reports describe the concept as unusual and humorous to some observers, who remain curious about whether it can become a lasting business.
- Business brand
- Suma
- Founder
- Zhang Xiaoqiao, 32
- Reported pricing
- About 100 yuan for 30 minutes, about 200 yuan for 60 minutes, and 289–299 yuan for an 80-minute full-body session; another report describes the service as costing 300 yuan per hour.
- Customer preference
- Zhang says about 70% of clients choose the 80-minute full-body package.
- Reported revenue
- The two outlets reportedly generate about 100,000 yuan in monthly gross revenue and have reached break-even.
- Client profile
- Men account for roughly 60%–70% of customers, according to the reports.
- Reported relaxation effect
- Six or seven out of every 10 customers reportedly fall asleep during sessions.
- Expansion goal
- Zhang hopes to expand Suma to 100 outlets across China.
