The novel exfoliation method which uses fish to nibble the dead skin off feet has been banned in America.

The technique first started in Turkey and has become popular in Singapore. The method involves dipping peoples’ feet into a small pond containing special fish which naturally eat the dead skin on the feet. This strange form of exfoliation is also a reflexology technique.

However US cosmetic regulators are not impressed with the method claiming that it is unsanitary and unhygienic and have 14 states have banned the unusual technique. The reasoning behind the ban is that cosmetology regulations state that tools used in pedicures should be sanitized or discarded after use. The fish are too expensive to throw away after each use and as there is no way to sanitise the fish, the method is deemed unsanitary.