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Sunday, July 27, 2008

I'm sure it works, but this is just gross
Posted by Jill | 7:54 AM
For all that I usually get one or two every summer, the whole idea of the salon pedicure bothers me, largely because of the imagery of these Korean women, heads bowed, tending to the feet of middle-class Americans. I usually deal with my liberal guilt by giving the woman who does the pedicure a ridiculously large tip, but that never makes me feel a whole lot better. I mean, spending your day trimmung cuticles off of FEET? Yuck. You want to talk about a soul-killing job, there it is -- right up there with toll-taker at the George Washington Bridge and the surly woman who used to operate the elevator at Hahne and Company in Newark where I first worked right out of college. Her job was to go up, stopping on every floor, and then down, stopping on every floor. All day. Five days a week. Eight hours a day.

So I guess anything that makes the jobs of these women easier is just dandy. But as someone who saw Jaws in its first weekend and didn't go to the beach for two years, and who is a virtual jellyfish buffet when I'm in Jamaica, this just seems too weird:

Fish pedicures are creating something of a splash in the D.C. area, where a northern Virginia spa has been offering them for the past four months. John Ho, who runs the Yvonne Hair and Nails salon with his wife, Yvonne Le, said 5,000 people have taken the plunge so far.

"This is a good treatment for everyone who likes to have nice feet," Ho said.

He said he wanted to come up with something unique while finding a replacement for pedicures that use razors to scrape off dead skin. The razors have fallen out of favor with state regulators because of concerns about whether they're sanitary.

Ho was skeptical at first about the fish, which are called garra rufa but typically known as doctor fish. They were first used in Turkey and have become popular in some Asian countries.

But Ho doubted they would thrive in the warm water needed for a comfortable footbath. And he didn't know if customers would like the idea.

"I know people were a little intimidated at first," Ho said. "But I just said, 'Let's give it a shot.' "

Customers were quickly hooked.

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5 Comments:
Blogger Unknown said...
Hey Jill, I got a great joke for you. Ready? Here goes.

Knock knock
Who's there?
Rielle Hunter
Rielle Hunter who?
You must get all your news from B@B

LOL! Get it?
7/27/08, 8:38 AM  
Blogger pjs said...
I have to admit, being a dumb male and all, I don't get the whole paying for a pedicure thing. There's nothing I can't do myself with a box cutter, a pair of side cutters, and a rat tail (or maybe a bastard) file.

No fish required.
7/27/08, 9:09 AM  
Blogger D. said...
pjs: Dude, feet are ugly. (All right, not babies' feet; but after infancy, those tootsies get gross.) The general requirement for making feet not-ugly include not only the tools you mention, but a power sander, motor oil, and paint. And most people who go that far want a professional to do the job because paint smears and you have to be careful with the box cutter and the sander. Blood, you know.

The fish, though, are Squick City.
7/27/08, 12:05 PM  
Blogger Melina said...
Hey Barry...from where Ive been these past few weeks...and I say this with all due respect and love...fuck off! Have you really not got anything better to do than to question why we are questioning the resurgence of a smear that went nowhere last time? Theres a war going on, fer christ's sake, and Obama sounds pretty damned good...I'll bet that even you're gonna end up voting for him!

Ohhh Jill, have I got some feet to show you! I wonder if you will get here before the geriatric podiatrist who makes housecalls! Its like a freakin' mushroom garden!

PJ. don't forget the oregano for after! The Ninja Nurse told me so and its saved me a couple of times during this horrible experience!

Ugly feet...yes! I dont like strangers touching mine...its too yucky! But I stay away from the box cutter...for other reasons I guess...

xoxo
m
7/27/08, 1:10 PM  
Blogger Melina said...
actually leeches are supposed to be good too...just go fishing and dangle them tootsies in some east coast stream and you'll get all the cleansing you need!
7/27/08, 1:12 PM  
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