Fish Pedicure at Mayfair

UPDATE, May 6, 2009: State orders closure of fish-nibbling salon at Mayfair
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UPDATE, May 5, 2009: Fish pedicure store at Mayfair Mall closing

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It took a while, but now you can get one of those trendy fish pedicures if you're in the Milwaukee area.

NO THANKS.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The fish at Mayfair's newest skin care salon may have to look elsewhere for their lunch if state regulators decide that the operation doesn't meet health standards.

Doctor Fish Magnifique - where you pay $35 to have fish nibble your feet - opened over the weekend on the second level of the mall, bringing to Milwaukee for the first time a craze that started in Turkey. But another salon owner has complained, and noted that state regulators have banned the practice.

It's a simple idea: tiny Asian garra rufa fish, known as doctor fish, nibble on your toes and heels, removing dead skin cells. Think of it as a pedicure without the pumice stone.

A row of customers was enjoying the process Tuesday afternoon, as passers-by watched in awe through a glass window.

I wouldn't want to have such a pedicure and I wouldn't want to gawk at others having it done.

...After hearing about the new store, a local salon owner raised questions about the legality of the operation, citing minutes of the state's Barbering and Cosmetology Board from September 2008.

The minutes say that the state has been advising licensees that fish pedicures are not legal in Wisconsin because of sanitation concerns.

Gerald Williamson of Wauwatosa, who owns the Doctor Fish Salon, said he wasn't aware of the September ruling.

Williamson maintains that regulations governing pedicures don't apply to his operation, because he provides exfoliation, not pedicures. Clients who need nail polish are sent to two nail salons in the mall.

Williamson said that before opening he spoke to state cosmetology regulators, and was told the state didn't have any regulations on fish pedicures. Neither did Milwaukee County.

The Wauwatosa Heath Department told him to change the water for each client, which he does. Williamson said his staff also sanitizes the feet of each client, before and after the fish do their work.

Well, I would HOPE that the water for each client would be changed. But you can't change whatever germs are in the mouths of the fish.

Last year, when commenting on doctor fish being used at a DC area salon, I questioned whether the procedure was safe.

Are the fish sanitary? What do regulators think about little fish teeth scraping off dead skin? Do they harbor any weird bacteria?

Will Doctor Fish Magnifique be shut down?

I would think that before allowing the procedure, the state should have some regulations in place.

This seems like a lawsuit just waiting to happen.
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UPDATE: State sends investigator to view feet-nibbling fish