Customers to a Haverhill salon can pay to stick their feet into a tank of fish as part of a new treatment being offered.
The new Garra Rufa fish pedicures are being offered at Haverhill’s Serenity Foot Care, based in Just Cutz in Queen Street.
The treatment involves a tank of small fish nibbling away at the customer’s feet. The fish take away any dry skin and the therapy is effective for skin disorders such as eczema, hard skin and acne.
The fish treatment originally comes from Turkey, where it has been used for centuries. It does not hurt when the fish suck away at the feet, because they do not have any teeth.
Foot health practitioner Carole Burgess said: “So far we’re the only people in Haverhill offering this and want to raise awareness so people don’t have to travel to Cambridge or Bury St Edmunds.
“It is a popular treatment but it’s also quite new, and we hope that people will feel the benefits of it.”
After the feet have been in the tank, they are dried and cream is massaged into them.
Treatment costs £15 for 15 minutes or £27 for 30 minutes, with packages including massages and varnishing available.
Tank water is cycled and filtered after each customer for hygiene reasons, and the area is disinfected following each treatment.
The fish are known as ‘doctor’ or ‘nibble fish’ and are about the same size as minnows. The treatment is not cruel for the fish, which can live for up to ten years.