Woman Loses Her Toenails After One of Those Trendy “Fish Pedicures”

Personal question: are you the type of person to take beauty risks?

For instance, do you embrace unconventional trends like purple lipstick, mile-long fingernails, and daring hairstyles that would make your grandmother blush? Or are you the type of person that likes to stick with the simple, “au natural” look?

Of course, it’s wonderful to be in either camp, if it makes you feel confident, but the particularly daring few from the first one should be aware that there are dangers that come with taking beauty risks.

In fact, in the past, we’ve given you the scoop on how one woman almost lost her life by using a beauty product in a precarious way – spoiler alert: don’t apply makeup to broken skin EVER! – and today we’re going to tell you how these beauty hazards can even be found in unconventional pedicures.

According to a report published by Gizmodo, one woman has lost her toenails after receiving a popular fish pedicure treatment. That’s right— we said “fish pedicure”.

In case you’re not hip to the latest and strangest beauty trends, fish pedicures are nail treatments in which the client soaks their feet in a tub filled with tiny fish called Garra rufa, otherwise known as “doctor fish.” The tiny swimmers got their nickname eons back when medical professionals, mainly in the Far East, would use them to treat stubborn skin conditions, like psoriasis.

Somewhere along the way, though, the beauty industry picked up on the trend and nails salons the world over began offering special treatments in which the client could dip their toesies in fish-filled water so that the hungry little buggers could nibble away at the dead skin.

Hope you’re not eating your breakfast!

While the treatment has been billed as generally safe, it has been called into question over the years, particularly when the experts from the U.K.’s Health Protection Agency publicly announced that the fish might spread disease from client to client. The same went for certain states within the U.S. that banned salons from using the same fish on multiple customers.

But, as we’ve already mentioned, it looks like these pedicures have taken an even more sinister turn in the form of missing toenails. Again, hope you’re not eating your breakfast!

Here’s what Gizmodo had to say about the disturbing news:

Unfortunately for the unnamed woman in her 20s, her experience was anything but rejuvenating. Following her pedicure, most of her toenails on both feet stopped growing and began to fall off, a condition known as onychomadesis. Six months into her nail troubles, she visited a dermatologist, who ruled out any known causes of onychomadesis, such as major illness or a side effect of certain medications. The most likely culprit, then, was the fish pedicure.

Pretty scary stuff! We don’t know about you, but we certainly would never want to dip our feet in a vat of hungry fish regardless of the benefits. But now that we know that the practice could lead to a lack of toenails, we’ll definitely pass.

To hear a dermatologist’s thoughts on the revelation AND to see what one of these fish pedicures looks like in action for yourself, be sure to watch the video below.

We can’t wait to hear your take on fish pedicures! Have you ever received one before? If so, what was it like? Now that you know about the risks, will you stop getting them?