Kiss my feet

Hilary McArthur
Wednesday, July 23, 2008

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROD LAMKEY JR./THE WASHINGTON TIMES Tiny fish
swim around Natalie Wilburn's feet, massaging and gently nibbling away dry ...

"It's like putting your feet in champagne," said Glynn Anderholm, a first-time user of the Dr. Fish Spa treatment, as I hesitantly approached spa pools filled with hundreds of innocent little fish.

Finally finding the courage to plunge my feet into the warm, bubbling water of my own personal pool, I waited, anxiously, for the feasting.

Fish swarmed my feet - I couldn't even see my toes - but why had I been so afraid?

For the next 20 minutes, it felt as if gentle rain droplets were massaging my feet.

John Ho and Yvonne Le, owners of Yvonne's Hair & Nails day spa south of Alexandria since 1997, recently introduced the idea of using toothless fish as agents to beautify the skin by nibbling away dead skin cells.

"There is nothing that can get the skin as soft and smooth as these gentle fish," Mr. Ho says. "Nothing that can compare to the results after the treatment."

Naima Ouzidane (above, left) and her daughter-in-law Jessica Ouzidane step into a pool of toothless garra rufa fish from Turkey for the first time at Yvonne's Hair & Nails day spa south of Alexandria.

Turkish villagers first discovered the benefits of these friendly fish in the 1800s while dipping themselves into hot springs. The garra rufa fish have been famous in Turkey ever since for effectively treating psoriasis, eczema and even burns.

However, at Yvonne's, the little nibblers are used to exfoliate and massage one's feet - a relaxing treatment that is fast becoming a favorite at the spa.

"Here, we reinvented the idea into a spa pedicure so that after one uses it, they have extremely smooth skin," Mr. Ho says. "We are the only fish spa in the United States that provides this service. Nobody can copy this treatment without my approval, because I have a service mark called Dr. Fish Massage Inc."

Mr. Ho specially orders the fish through his broker in China. They are then shipped from Turkey. Once the fish arrive, they can live up to five years in the man-made hot springs Mr. Ho concocts especially for them.

"The water chemistry has to be right," he explains. "They originally live in hot springs, which is spring water. Therefore, I have to add a lot of chemicals to get rid of all the hard metals."

Mr. Ho insists that each pool is thoroughly cleaned after each use. The little creatures are taken out with a hand-held net. Next, the water is drained, and finally, the porcelain tub is disinfected with sanitizing chemicals.

"We have never had as many customers as we have now," Mr. Ho says. "Also, we have more men than we have ever had before - including military men as well." (Laugh at the image if you want, but can you think of any feet that deserve it more?)

Oh, and did I mention that there is complimentary food every Friday from 5 to 8 p.m.? It was fresh strawberries with homemade spring rolls the day I visited.

"Last week, it was beef with a homemade teriyaki sauce," Mr. Ho says with delight.

Flesh-eating fish give pedicures

By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
Last Updated: 11:46AM BST 22 Jul 2008

The toothless fish nibble away at dead skin while leaving healthy flesh untouched Photo: AP

Owners of Yvonne Hair and Nails in Alexandria, a suburb of Washington DC, estimate 5,000 customers have so far tried the unorthodox treatment, in which customers immerse their feet in warm water filled with tiny, voracious carp.

The toothless fish, termed garra rufa but known as “doctor fish”, nibble away at dead skin while leaving healthy flesh untouched, providing what advocates say is a natural alternative to potentially unsanitary razors, clippers or pumice stones.

John Ho, who owns the salon with wife Yvonne, said he was initially sceptical about offering the technique, which is popular in spas in Turkey, where the fish come from, as well as parts of Japan, China, Singapore and Malaysia.

”I know people were a little intimidated at first,” he told the Associated Press. “But I just said, 'Let's give it a shot.' “

But customers flocked to try the treatment and as word spread the salon's Dr Fish Massage was featured on local radio and Tyra Banks' television talk show.

Tracy Roberts, 33, described it as “the best pedicure I ever had” and said it marked “the first time somebody got rid of my calluses completely.”

After the fish have spent up to 30 minutes chewing away hard skin - there are about 100 to every tank - customers receive a standard pedicure.

A similar treatment was featured in an episode of Ugly Betty last year when Wilhelmina Slater, played by Vanessa Williams, had a pedicure that included soaking her feet in water full of fish.

Mr Ho, who spent 40,000 dollars setting up the pedicures, is hoping to extend the service to eventually offer full-body treatments that could treat skin conditions such as psoriasis.

For some ticklish customers, however, the sensation can almost prove too much.

”It didn't go as smoothly as planned,” writes Yvonne customer Maeghan Leigh, describing on her blog how she clutched pillows to stifle her “hysterical laughing”.

”Seriously, those little guys on your toes is the most outrageous ridiculous feeling in the world, meaning lots of “eeeeeeeeeeeeeee” squeals,” she writes. “In the end though, I would definitely go back for more because my tootsies are smoother than a baby's bottom.”