It’s nearly summer time and with the warmer weather, sandals, flip-flops and other dainty shoes are starting to come out of hibernation. However are your feet not looking quite at their best yet? Enter the Piranha Pedicure.

The name is a slight misnomer as Garra Rufa Fish are actually used in this novel foot treatment. The Garra rufa fish is a tiny, toothless carp native to countries such as Syria, Iraq and Turkey where they thrive in hot springs. The fish have been used for centuries to heal wounds and treat skin condition such as eczema and psoriasis but have most recently found fame in the beauty industry.

The treatment works by placing your feet in a tank filled with these tiny fish. They love to eat dead skin and will nibble away at any on your feet, thus leaving your feet looking beautiful after the treatment. The garra rufa is a scavenger that eats dead and decaying detritus so they are just doing what comes naturally.

Filter systems are used and the water is treated with a strong UV light to kill any bacteria and to keep the treatment safe and hygienic.

For feet with just a little dead skin on them, one treatment is probably all that is required however for more intensive cases, several treatments will probably be needed. Treatment is not expensive therefore this beauty concept will not break the bank.

This unusual pedicure is not painful although many people have said that it is an unusual sensation.

However there are many who are not so keen on the treatment. It is really important to check that the beauty clinic is using the correct fish in their ranks. Some unscrupulous people are using the cheaper fish, chin chin. These are a type of tilapia and are not related to the garra rufa. Although young chin chin will do exactly the same job as the garra rufa, the adult chin chins develop teeth that can draw blood when they bite.

Some people are also concerned about the spread of infection via the tanks particularly if people have sores, blisters or verrucas on their feet prior to treatment. Others are concerned about how clean the tanks really can be when fish are living in them.

In fact the health and safety concerns are so great that many states in the US have already banned this foot treatment.

Despite these concerns, this appears to be one of the latest beauty fads – and it is bound to be popular as the cost is low compared to many other cosmetic beauty treatments, with the UK having just opened it’s first clinic.