Flesh-eating fish banned from nail salons

Imagine having your dry, flaky feet nourish hundreds of fish. A nail salon owned by Mr. Ho created this nationwide trend of having customers dunk their feet in a tub full of “chin chin” fish, imported from China, to exfoliate. Questions have recently been raised over the sanitation factor involved.
Although Mr. Ho became an instant celebrity and was featured on “Good Morning America,” at least 14 states, including Texas and Florida, have outlawed the practice. However, several cosmetology regulators have suggested that the tools need to be thrown away or sanitized after each use.

But can you really afford to throw away pricey epidermis-eating fish from another country?  In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal’s Lynda Elliot, an official with the New Hampshire Board of Barbering, Cosmetology and Esthetics said “There’s no way to sanitize them unless you bake them for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.”

Mr. Ho’s franchises across the country have been stilled with idle, expensive equipment due to the ban. But in Nevada last month, State Assemblyman Tick Segerblom introduced a bill that would allow the fish pedicures to resurface. He says “It’s the most popular bill in the building,” since everyone is fixated on depressing things — like deficits and the recession.