Backscratchers Celebrates 30 Years in the Beauty Industry
The year was 1984 when Backscratchers Salon Systems first developed, produced, and sold the Glass Glaze Fiberglass & Silk Wrap System.
by Staff
April 2, 2014
Jack and Michael Megna today.
2 min to read
The original product line on display.
The year was 1984 when Backscratchers Salon Systems first developed, produced, and sold the Glass Glaze Fiberglass & Silk Wrap System.
With nail technicians’ health in mind, then beauty school owner Jack Megna and his son Michael founded the company to help nail techs’ health and well-being. “At that time, students and instructors were dealing with messy toxic chemicals. The more we learned about the health risks and the hassles of the nail procedures we were teaching, the clearer it became we had to find a better way,” says Michael Megna, CEO and founder. Megna was experienced in working with fiberglass and recognized the strength and durability of the lightweight material and how it could be effectively manipulated to create a nail coating.
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Jack and Michael Megna in 1984.
Glass Glaze was not a product the industry was expecting. “Back in the day, when you heard fiberglass, you thought about cars and boats, not nails,” says Jack Megna. After the nail techs saw how beautifully the product worked, and heard how safe it was on nails and hands, they were immediately hooked. Glass Glaze then and now has won numerous awards. Today, Backscratchers manufactures more than 90% of the nail industry’s fiberglass worldwide.
In 1989, Backscratchers launched a complete line of nail care products with the goal to provide nail technicians all of the supplies they would need for service — from salon placemats and cuticle oil to complete pedicure kits and acrylic dip systems. Backscratchers pioneered the replaceable abrasive fo
Jack and Michael Megna today.
r both nail and foot files.
Customer service is still the number-one goal for Backscratchers 30 years later. “Providing high-quality products that make it safer and easier for nail technicians to do their job is the main priority,” says Megna. “We are always here for our customers.”
The original glass glaze box.
Backscratchers will be celebrating its 30 year anniversary throughout the year with discounted pricing and other festivities.
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