Fish pedicures become a trendy spa treatment

Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 (EST)

A treatment offered by a northern Virginia spa that lets flesh-eating carp eat away the dead skin on your feet has customers hooked.



A northern Virginia spa has been offering a treatment that lets flesh-eating carp eat away
the dead skin on your feet. Photo Credit: CBS

July 22, 2008 (Sawf News) - A treatment offered by a northern Virginia spa that lets flesh-eating carp eat away the dead skin on your feet has customers hooked.

"This is a good treatment for everyone who likes to have nice feet," says John Ho, who runs the Yvonne Hair and Nails salon with his wife.

The pedicure using the garra rufa, or doctor fish, first became popular in Turkey and then moved on to Asia.

Ho claims he chanced upon the treatment while looking for an alternative to the use of razors to scrape off the dead skin, a practice now frowned upon by state regulators because of sanitary concerns.

To begin with he was skeptical the fish would thrive in the warm water needed for a comfortable footbath, but he chose to try it out and let his customers decide for themselves.

It did not take long for the customers to get hooked.

The treatment costs $45 for 15 minutes of sticking your feet in the fish tank.