At Cat’s Scratch Nails Salon in Aurora, the newest pedicure treatment no longer requires a technician to pull out a scrub brush or razor to remove dead skin and calluses from the feet.

Instead, that job is left up to the fish.

Fish pedicure is the latest beauty fad slowly making its way into salons in the U.S. The treatment, which costs about $60, involves submerging your feet into a fish tank filled with 100 or so toothless, tiny carp which nibble away dead skin cells, resulting in smoother and softer skin. And while the fish are busy biting away, the client is treated to a gentle foot massage.

Previously popular in Turkey and Asia, these scaly critters — known as Garra Rufa fish or Doctor fish — have been reported to be beneficial in the treatment of skin diseases like psoriasis and eczema for more than 150 years.

That in itself — along with a bit of prodding from a handful of her regular customers — was enough to convince Cat’s Scratch Nails owner Mya Doan to test the waters on the cutting-edge treatment in her salon.

“There is much controversy in the cosmetic industry over the use of razors in the removal of calluses, so this offers a very safe and natural approach to the treatment and exfoliation of the skin,” Doan said.
State keeping watch

The main difference between the use of the fish pedicure in the U.S. and in Asia, Doan said, is its main purpose. In the U.S., the treatment has not been approved for use on skin diseases. Instead, it is only offered to clients with healthy skin and common ailments like dry, flaky skin.

After each fish pedicure, the tank is drained, cleaned and sterilized, Doan said. It is then refilled with fresh filtered water which is also sterilized.

A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said the department “will investigate any spa that offers fish pedicures.

“The department plans to conduct outreach to ensure that spa owners and the general public are aware of the risks of fish pedicures, and encourages patrons to be vigilant and report any spas that offer this service,” said IDFPR spokesman Louis Pukelis.

It took quite a bit of planning to get the fish here from Singapore, and also a bit of a learning curve in finding the right tanks to house them, the proper filtration system and to learn the best sanitization procedures, Doan said.

Popular in down economy
When the fish first made their debut last fall, Doan was skeptical as to whether there would be enough demand for the service. However, once word started to spread, the phones haven’t stopped ringing.

Doan believes she is the first salon in Illinois to offer the service.

“The fish came at time when the economy was really starting to get worse, and there was a noticeable decrease in my business,” Doan said. “Naturally, people have been cutting back on spa pampering treatments, but the fish pedicures have really brought new life to my business.”

She said the spa has had clients come from Indiana and Wisconsin to try out the fish procedure.

During the holiday season, gift certificates specifically for the fish pedicure were a hot seller at the salon.

The experience starts out with 30 minutes with the fish and is then finished off with a traditional pedicure performed by a technician. Visitors should plan on about an hour and 15 minutes from start to finish.

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Day Spa, Dr Fish, Nail Spa, Pedicure Safety Sanitation, Spa Safety, Spa Safety Sanitation Dr Fish, Fish Pedicure Ban, Gara Rufa, Illinois Spa

Florida stops fish pedicures

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL – A popular way to get a pedicure is now banned in the state of Florida. Ladies have been lining up for fish pedicures, but now the Board of Cosmetology has put a stop to it.

It’s Gina Dello’s day off, and there is only one reason she came to AJ’s Salon and Spa – to get a fish pedicure. “It just sounded like something unusual and weird, and it’s my day off, and I thought I would try it…but no more.”

The tanks at the spa used to be full of fish. Customers would put their feet in the water, and tiny carp would eat away the dead skin on their feet. Customers say their feet were very smooth afterward.

But last month, the Florida Board of Cosmetology banned the pedicures. “The main issue is the requirement to clean the utensils between customers, and that’s not something they felt could be done when using a live animal.” Plus there’s a state rule that prohibits animals or pets in cosmetology salons.

At AJ’s, the owner said he did 200 fish pedicures a week. People paid $35 to have fish eat off their feet. “It helped my business, especially in recession time, it really helped. But law is law. We cannot break law, so we shut it down,” says Johnny Tran of AJ’s Salon and Spa.

Tran’s Sarasota County salon was actually the first in the state to offer the fish pedicures, but the owner says these tiny carp have been around for centuries. They were used in ancient Asia to help cure Psoriasis.

Now the fish will be sent back to the supplier, and the custom-made tanks are empty. And the owner of AJ’s says he’ll just have to look for another way to catch the attention of customers.

State regulators say salons have to stop doing the pedicures immediately. Inspectors will be looking for violators. They say they don’t think there were health risks with the fish pedicures, but banned them just to be safe.

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Note:  Last year Spavelous warned spa owners not to invest in expensive equipment prior to checking with the state on their regulations.  Read Garra Ruffa Article

Day Spa, Dr Fish, Garra Rufa, Spa Legal Issues Dr Fish Banned, Garra Ruffa

Before you have a Dr Fish or Garra Rufa pedicure, be sure you read a Spavelous Exclusive article.  If you are a spa director you should read this before spending 10,000 – 40,000 in non-refundable dollars.  Six states have banned Dr fish, and more will probably follow.  What you should know before you go.

Doctor Fish Pedicure Experience

Have you wanted to enjoy baby smooth soles, free of dry skin and rough cuticles?   Did the thought of tiny fish tickling your feet filling you with laughter make you want to take off your shoes and dive right in?  The answer to this for many was an astounding yes as the first Dr. Fish pedicure spa opened in Virginia.  Quickly, over five thousand happy feet had spa owners throughout the United States were looking to acquire the Garra Rufa fish and introduce this new exfoliation and skin healing treatment.  The fish used by the spa are tiny toothless fresh water fish which have been used and studied for many years for the treatment of psoriasis. The procedure involves allowing the fish to nibble off the dead skin initially, followed by the standard procedure of pedicure.

 State Regulation for Doctor Fish 

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This article is brought to you by Spavelous.com.

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Making a splash
‘Doctor fish’ manicures, pedicures proving popular choice at local spa

Garra rufa, or “doctor fish,” eat away clients’ dry, flaky dead skin during manicures and pedicures at Maison De Leumas spa on the North Side. The procedure is offered at only one other spa in the country.

Cheryl Garver advises her clients to just close their eyes and plunge in.
Literally.  Otherwise, the sight of the 50 or so little fish swarming around their hands and feet, ready to munch off their dead skin, might be too much for them to handle.

“I have to admit, it really did creep me out the first time I tried it,” Garver said as she prepared the fish for an upcoming spa treatment. “But now, it’s really cool, relaxing and kind of addicting.”

“Doctor fish” represent the newest addition at Maison De Leumas European Day Spa and Cosmetic Surgery Center. The North Side center says it is the first in Ohio — and the second in the country — to offer the treatments featuring Garra rufa, the fish that eat away dry, flaky dead skin.

The fish also clear pores and promote blood circulation, resulting in healthier, softer skin, Garver said.

Garver, who works as a registered nurse at the center, said that in the six weeks the center has offered the procedure, it has become the most requested treatment.

Garra rufa typically are about an inch long and originate from hot springs in Turkey.

The silver fish somewhat resemble minnows and have no teeth; they just suck away the dead tissue.
The sensation is akin to a light fluttering and slight pinching feeling.
“There’s no pain at all. It’s more like a soothing massage,” Garver said.

Opened last year by Dr. Milroy J. Samuel, a board-certified cosmetic surgeon and obstetrician and gynecologist, the center offers facials, manicures and pedicures, hot-stone massages and a variety of surgical procedures, from a Brazilian butt lift to vaginal rejuvenation.

The center added the doctor-fish treatment as a way to set the spa apart in an increasingly competitive spa market, Garver said. Franklin County has 949 beauty and nail salons, according to the Ohio State Board of Cosmetology.

Only one other spa in the U.S. offers the procedure, and it has been good for business, that Virginia site reports. Since first offering the fish service in March, John Ho, owner of Yvonne Hair and Nails in Alexandria, said he has had 8,000 new customers.

He said he got the idea to add the fish after the state health board banned the use of razors for pedicures and manicures.
“We were losing a lot of our customers, so we started looking for something new,” he said.

When Ho heard about the doctor fish, he traveled to Japan to try the treatment himself.

Convinced the fish would be the draw he needed to reinvigorate his spa business, he invested more than $35,000 to add the fish manicures and pedicures to his salon.

“It was a high-risk, expensive move but worth every penny,” Ho said. “The customer response has been tremendous. They love it.”

Garver said that despite the $100-per-fish cost to bring in the doctor fish — the center ordered 100 of them — the investment has paid off in the number of new clients.

“We’ve seen an increase in business, with many clients looking to get additional services in addition to the pedicures and manicures,” she said. “It’s been a real draw.”

Clients are charged $45 for a 30-minute session, which includes a pre-scrubbing of the hands or feet, the fish nibbling and a traditional pedicure or manicure.

Already, other area salons and day spas have considered initiating similar moves, said Kevin Miller, executive director of the state board of cosmetology, which oversees such businesses.

Miller said the board has received inquiries from other salon operators wanting to know whether the board had approved the doctor-fish treatments and what they would have to do to add the service to their businesses.

“We were getting a lot of phone calls from people asking if it’s something they can do, is it legal,” he said.
But because the procedure is so new, the board hasn’t made a final determination, Miller said.

He said the board made an unannounced visit to Maison De Leumas to see the fish and determined that the spa “very effectually” keeps the fish-treatment area clean and germ-free.
“We’re in the information-collection stage,” he said, adding that there’s no reason an out-of-the-ordinary treatment can’t be pursued.

Miller said the board probably will decide on the procedure at a meeting this month.

In the meantime, he said, he doubts that many more salons will add the service because of the expense of getting started and maintaining the fish.
“This takes quite a financial investment, so I think you won’t see it become very widespread.”

 

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