Flesh-Nibbling Fish Latest Pedicure Fad

Carp smooth feet by eating dead skin
By Elizabeth Wolff,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 22, 2008 11:37 AM CDT
Flesh-Nibbling Fish Latest Pedicure Fad
Tracy Roberts has her toes nibbled on by a type of carp called garra rufa, or doctor fish, during a fish pedicure treatment at Yvonne Hair and Nails salon in Alexandria, Va. last week.   (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Fish pedicures where dozens of tiny carp smooth out your tootsies by eating away the dead skin is the latest in spa pampering. Since March, a DC area salon has offered the pools of garra rufa, aka doctor fish—popular in Turkey and Asia—as an alternative to scraping razors. So far 5,000 people have taken the plunge, the AP reports.

Salon owner John Ho hopes to turn the $35-$50 pedicures into a Doctor Fish Massage franchise with full-body fish treatments. Fear not, the fish won’t devour—they leave live skin alone because, without teeth, they can't bite it off. (More spa stories.)

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