Fish Pedicure
what is it?

A fish pedicure may not be the right term for this action as it is not a Pedicure at all.

It is some special little fish that suck off the dead skin cells from around your feet and between your toes.

It should be called 'Defoliation by fish' followed by a Pedicure as that is really what it is.

The recent demand for a 'Fish Pedicure' has seen new foot spa salons opening their doors all around the world.

With people wanting to give it a try for cosmetic or health reasons, or even just to see what it is like.

The 'Garra Ruffa fish' more commonly known as the 'Garra fish' or 'Doctor Fish' have been around for centuries, originating in the middle east where they would be found in the pools at the outlets of a 'Hammam' or Turkish Spa.

Here they lived on the dead skin cells that were constantly washed out from the local spa.

Nowadays the little toothless fish are looked after in special aerated and U.V. filtered tanks.

When they are not defoliating feet they are fed a vegetarian diet of cucumber, or a similar vegetable.

These open topped tanks are installed in the Spa centers using the latest aeration and filtration techniques.

The water has to be kept at a certain temperature for the fish to survive and, even thrive.

The fish tanks combine as pedicure tanks and are placed in a position that allows the clients to comfortably rest while the lower part of the legs and feet are immersed in the tank along with the Garra fish.

At this point these little doctor fish get to work removing the dead skin cells from the feet.

As the fish are toothless they can only manage to suck the dead skin from the feet, leaving the good skin intact.

The touch of the these garra fish brushing against your foot and sucking away the dead skin causes a tingling sort of ticklish sensation.

Making it very difficult indeed to keep your feet still at times but people usually soon come around to the overall 'nice' and 'gentle' sensation.

There have been some questions over the hygiene of the new fish spa's.

Recently however, the better venues or spa's are inspecting clients feet prior the pedicure in order to ensure that there are no Verrucas or other contagious foot problems that could be transfered through the water or by the fish.

This is also backed up by the U.V. filtration system that would kill any bacteria present.

In the case of people with dermatological problems some foot specialists would argue the benefits of a fish pedicure.

They state that with the dead skin cells removed the healing creams or ointments are able to penetrate the skin better and therefore work better.

Personally i see it that if the environment for the fish is kept in a good healthy standard and the risk of any contamination is kept at a minimum then why not?

It can be a very enjoyable and relaxing experience indeed.

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