Sounds Fishy To Me
There are razors, the Pedegg, callus softening balm, all of which are the traditional methods for making your feet feel super smooth for the summer season. But on a recent trip to Taiwan with my parents, I had the chance to experience the latest in pedicure treatments : carp fish.
Sounds fishy and suspect (and possibly gross)? Well, I had a similar reaction upon reading reports of the treatment being offered in the DC area, especially after reading some articles that said that the little fish feasting on your toes would be baby piranhas (can you say yikes?) But during my stay at Hotel Royal Chiao Hsi, I convinced my whole family (including my dad, whose toes you see in the above picture–can you tell by the swarm of fish overtaking his feet that he hasn’t had a pedicure in a while?) to take the plunge with me and we all tried it together.
First off, a few facts: the fish feasting on your toes are spa fish, also known as doctor fish, and are a breed of carp. The fish need to survive in a temperature of 33 to 36 degrees Celsius, so you won’t be plunging your feet into hot water during this treatment. The fish make your feet smooth by eating your body’s keratin, and the process of having the fish eat your feet doesn’t hurt as they don’t have teeth.
I found the sensation actually to feel more itchy and slightly ticklish than anything. My entire family agreed that it definitely didn’t hurt at all, and the hardest part of the treatment was keeping your feet still and not swinging them in the water to scare the fish. It was actually incredibly relaxing and also very aquarium-esque, as I watched the baby fish cluster around your toes, I felt like I was looking through fish tank glass. It was also very time efficient–with clusters of 20 to 30 fish working on your toes at one time (depending on how keratin rich your feet area), submitting them in the water for 20 minutes did the job and they get to all the crooks and crannies that one pedicurist cannot, including the often neglected areas, such as the space in between your toes.
After emerging from our treatment, my family all agreed that our toes and heels all felt softer and smoother, akin to the way your skin feels immediately after applying a layer of lotion. The fish pedicure treatment may not be for everyone (especially those with ichthyophobia), but it is a new gentle, and natural way to get rid of those flip flop calluses you’ve built up over time.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
as weird as this sounds, i’m still really curious and possibly still want to try it :)