Fish Pedicure Treatment Lures in Spa Patrons

With approximately 15,000 spas in the United States alone, spa owners need gimmicks to stay on top of the competition. The latest, according to news reports on WCBSTV? Fish pedicures at a Northern Virginia spa. Before you pack your aquarium in the car, pay heed: fish pedicures are not the latest pet care craze but a human spa treatment offered at Yvonne Hair and Nail Salon of Alexandria. Fish pedicures involve letting toothless little fish called garra rufa, nicknamed doctor fish, eat the callous and dead skin off the spa patron's feet.

A 15 minute dip in the fish tank costs about $35 according to WCBSTV. The use of garra rufa for pedicure treatments began in Turkey.

While fish pedicures are the latest spa rage, they are not unique as an oddball spa treatment. What other unusual spa treatments are luring in customers?

Spa News reported last year an Israeli spa treating its patrons by loosing snakes on their bodies.

For spa patrons not enamored of snakes, consider the Nightengale facial, a mask of scented bird droppings said to soften, lighten and hydrate the skin.

And then there's the specialized hair treatment made of bull semen, said to nourish the locks with its rich proteins.

Cupping is an Asian-derived spa treatment that garnered attention when Gwyenth Paltrow showed up for the Academy Awards in a backless gown that displayed the spa treatment's telltale circular imprints on her back. In cupping, cups are placed on the spa patron's back, then heated with flames to create powerful suction.

The Fanny Facial offered by a New York spa treats the buttocks with the care usually accorded faces in preparation for beach season. (Some beachgoers would undoubtedly prefer the banning of thongs.)

Another Japanese spa treatment is Yumomi, in which cold air is mixed into hot water using large paddles by women singing "Kusastsu-bushi" folk music.

Other unusual spa treaments include bathing in Naftalan, a form of crude oil, popular in Azerbaijan, and standing in mint-infused snow at a spa in Las Vegas.