Fishy pedicures banned by state

Seattle, October 4: Imagine the luxury of having your feet cleaned and exfoliated by no one else, but tiny fish. And just when the luxury begins to become a habit, the government shooks its head in disapproval banning the procedure, much to the disappointment of many.

Introduced quite recently in Washington State, the concept of getting fish pedicures had already become a rage with people willing to pay even up to $30 or $50 at times (depending upon the time spent with the fish) for the enjoyment of being tickled by the toothless fish.

The fish used by the spa are tiny toothless fresh water fish, called doctor fish, which are also comfortable leading a pond life. The procedure involves allowing the fish to nibble off the dead skin initially, followed by the standard procedure of pedicure, made easy on the softened skin.

The customers dug the idea as it was unique and quite pampering. But the state health department has views which differ from the others. According to the state officials, the procedure which involves tiny carp fish as exfoliating agents, biting off dead skin from the feet of customers, was not that safe and healthy a thing to indulge oneself in.

The 15 minute treatment to beautiful feet was thus declared “unsanitary” and “potentially unsafe” by the Department of Licensing, rendering it illegal this Thursday.

The main concern of the health agency lies in the fact that since pedicures are procedures involving exfoliation of skin where-in tiny unnoticeable cuts or bruises or abrasions on the skin are bound to happen, the whole implements involved in the service need to be well sanitized; which is not possible in case of live fish. As a result chances of any kind of infection increase manifold.

While, the Peridot was only one salon in the whole of Washington, which was offering this unique pedicure service, the procedure is quite famous in countries like turkey and all of Asia. Salon owners argue that the procedure is quite safe and hygienic as the fish are completely harmless and do not cause any infections.

The salon owners who have offered the service to over 5000 satisfied customers since March this year are ready to invest more money to prove via research that the fish are absolutely harmless and the fears of the health department are baseless.

While the spa owners hope the state to reconsider its decision, the agency seems firm on its stand. The service was initially offered in a large pool to a group of eight to ten people together. This was then asked to be made available in individual smaller pools or containers again with the idea of keeping the chances of infections to the minimum.

The owners who had developed another pedicure treatment with the Garra Rufa fish are quite angry at the ban being implemented. They profess that the new system was even better as it allows the fish to alleviate free radicals in the skin as a result of the Dithranol enzyme they possess. This makes the procedure quite helpful in treating psoriasis successfully.

Pedicures which are mainly used to enhance the appearance of feet have their earliest known history running back to Egypt where the Pharaohs and their officials were known to enjoy the pampering. Seems a long way from there doesn’t it?