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Fishy treat for fresher feet
Fishy ... manicure
IT’S a fishy way of freshening up your feet – but letting carp nibble on your tootsies is the latest spa treatment to net beauty junkies.
Fish pedicures are creating something of a splash in the Washington D.C. area, where a northern Virginia spa has been offering them for the past four months.
Salon owner John Ho said he wanted to come up with something unique while finding a replacement for pedicures that use razors to scrape off dead skin.
He said: “I know people were a little intimidated at first, but I just said ‘let’s give it a shot’.”
Customers of the treatment, which is popular in Turkey and some Asian countries quickly became hooked.
After up to half-an-hour of having your feet nibbled by a tank of hungry fish, customers then get a standard pedicure, which is made easier by the fish’s work.
Ticklish
Mr Ho, who charges $35 for a 15 minute session and $50 for half-an-hour, has more than 1,000 fish at his salon.
Around 100 fish are in each individual pedicure tank at any one time.
Customer Patsy Fisher, 42, admitted she was nervous as she prepared for her first fish pedicure.
But her fears dissolved into laughter after she put her feet in the tank and the fish swarmed to her toes.
“It’s a little ticklish, actually,” she said.
Mr Ho said the hot water in which the fish thrive doesn’t support plant or aquatic life, so they learned to feed on whatever food sources were available - including dead, flaking skin.
They leave live skin alone because, without teeth, they can’t bite it off.
Mr Ho is considering a full-body fish treatment to treat psoriasis and other ailments.