Fish Pedicures

Sure, we're all fishing for pretty feet, but sticking your feet in a basin full of flesh-eating fishies in the name of "beauty" sounds more creep show than spa menu. But for $35 you can get your toes tickled by hundreds of the little suckers (called Garra rufa, or "doctor fish"), during a 15-minute "Dr. Fish pedicure," as it's known at the Yvonne Hair, Nails and Tan Salon in Alexandria, Va. The fish, which are imported from Turkey, feed on the dead skin, and with what amounts to them "kissing" your feet, you should emerge freshly scrubbed and sloughed, the fish having done the job that a razor is typically reserved for. So far, over 5,000 people have come in for the experience.

And just like the patrons of the salon who come in for their treatments, the fish require maintenance. John Ho (who runs the salon with his wife, Yvonne) told NPR, "You've got to give them warm water. If the water [drops] below 70 degrees, they'll die." Diane Sawyer has already tried it on live television, no less, during Good Morning America, as did Vanessa Williams' character, Wilhelmina Slater, on an episode of Ugly Betty.

But the obvious question is, how sustainable is this beauty treatment du jour? PETA has already issued an action alert on their website and PETA cruelty case worker, Kristin DeJournett, says that when she called the salon a few months ago to inquire about the practice, she was told "that the fish had died because a staff member left the heat on in the tank overnight, and that they already had new ones on order." Shannon Risco, a Yvonne Salon employee, tells Sprig.com that no fish have died, but that they do keep the water between 80 and 95 degrees, adding that "nothing lives forever."

But unless you're going to Virginia, don't have visions of tiny fish nibbling your toes dancing in your head just yet. "Yvonne has the patent and trademark," says Risco, "She is the only distributor in America." Nothing quite like being a big fish in a small pond ... with thousands of small fish.