Something Fishy on My Feet

July 28, 2008 by Alex Nicholson  Send to a Friend

Last week the media went crazy reporting on fish pedicures, even Diane Sawyer got in on the action. I decided if it’s good enough for Diane Sawyer, it’s good enough for me. And thankfully, the only place you can get a fish pedicure in the U.S. is in Alexandria so I didn’t have to go far.

I take that back. Yvonne’s Hair and Nails is far, really far. Stuck in a strip mall off Richmond Highway, Yvonne’s is surrounded by Mexican restaurants and a huge amount of sushi places that find themselves attached to motels or all-you-can-eat seafood buffets. I was joined by a good friend and when we walked in the staff was extremely friendly. They explained it was Happy Hour and pointed to a stack of Dominos boxes filled with pizza, breadsticks and wings.

As pedicure experts we brought our own flip-flops but were told we had to wear the ones offered by the salon. Then a young woman got on her knees and started hand washing our feet while we chomped on garlic bread. Once our feet were clean we were taken to the back of the salon. Here we found four clear tubs filled with fish. These fish are called garra ruffa, or Dr. Fish. Originally from Turkey, they feed on dead skin and have been used to treat skin conditions like psoriasis for centuries. They are now found in spas across Asia. These fish have no teeth, so it’s not an issue of biting the skin off your feet, more like suction and scraping.

Getting in place for your pedicure is a process in itself. You are asked to directly step in the tank while wiggling your foot. The wiggling keeps the fish from getting under your foot and stepped on, but it makes it hard to stand up in a little box of water. Then you sit on the bench and immediately are rearranged with pillows and rolled up towels under your knees so your feet sit higher and dangle. While this is going on, you realize that the fish are starting to work and it’s freaking you out.

The fish go immediately to where you have the most dead skin. Surprisingly for me, that’s the bottom of the arch of my foot. For my friend, it was between her toes. It’s a strange sensation at first. Like a hairbrush on the bottom of the foot. Very ticklish, and as if you are getting pinched. Right when you think you might jump out of your tub, you look down and are fascinated by what is happened. 100 little fish just attached to your soles, toes, ankles and legs. We put our fingers into the water (sorry about the garlic bread grease!) and the fish just jumped right over and started sucking on my cuticles. It feels a bit like sandpaper or a cat’s tongue. When I pulled my hands out my nail beds looked great.

The only downside to all this is that your feet are stuck with 100 fish, and fish poop. They poop on your feet while they are eating your dead skin. It’s gaggy to think about, so you can’t. Just enjoy the pedicure and feel like an old pro when a new batch of people climb into the tanks next to you and start squealing.

After 15 minutes you get taken out of your tank and get to finish your pedicure the old-fashioned way with another soak, some pumice stone, a little clipping, some filing and a topper of nail polish. When you’re done your feet look smooth and pretty. Is it the fish? Maybe. Is it the traditional pedicure? Likely. Was it worth the trip? I’d say.

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