Piranha Pedicure's all round!

I was slightly shocked to read that the new craze in beauty therapy is the 'Piranha Pedicure'.

Sounds like it will hurt and clip your nails a little too close to the bone doesn't it.

For those of you not quite brave enough to dip your feet below the water line, you will be pleased to hear that there are no real Piranha's involved. Instead the fish used are Garra Rufa, a type of mini-carp no more than two inches long. I can hear a collective sigh of relief from everyone in a ten mile radius.

To get technical about it, the carp feed on dead skin (appetising right?) which sees them eat the scales off larger fish in the wild and skin of women's feet all over London.

Prices vary ranging up to £45 per dip to let the little suckers remove around 2 layers of skin so it isn't cheap. So is it worth it I hear you ask?

The owners of the the Aqua Sheko fish Spa in Kensington would say so. The spa has steadily been increasing its client base and with good reason. The fish offer a non-chemical procedure that comes directly from nature itself and with a definite shift towards natural remedies who can blame the scores of women (and some men I am sure) flocking to the closest fish tank, river bank or sink to dip their toes in the water?

Camden is abundant with fish in tanks so my suggestion would be to head there to witness it before trying. We all like to watch someone else get their feet chewed up before dipping our own feet in I'm sure! As a slight word of warning, check the Spa's credentials before putting your feet into any tank. It has been known through Asia, where the treatment began, for different fish to be used and these fish are not as pleasant. They can leave bruises or tiny cuts on the sole of the feet which, I'm sure you know, doesn't look so good with the new sandals you just bought from Marc Jacobs.

Moving forward, now may be the time to try the fish therapy because who knows what the next wave of therapy will bring. Our fishy little helpers could soon be swimming back to wild only to be replaced by crabs that cut your toe nails or monkey's that paint your finger nails.