If pumice stones and foot files aren't doing the trick, why not enlist the help of sucking fish to get your feet soft and smooth?
Nail Care and Spa in Schnucks Swansea Plaza is offering "fish pedicures," which are spreading to the United States from Asia and the Middle East this year.
Customers dangle their feet in water tanks with hundreds of garra rufas, tiny fish that buff away dead skin while going through their natural sucking motion as bottom feeders.
"They don't nibble because they don't have any teeth," said Nail Care and Spa manager Lana Yokoyama. "They just suck."
Customers Courtney Harter and Andrea Cockrell signed up for 30-minute sessions last week.
Harter, 20, of Belleville, a Southwestern Illinois College student, had learned about fish pedicures on "The Tyra Banks Show."
"I wear tennis shoes all the time, so my feet are always sweaty and rubbing against the shoes," Harter said. "And I played sports in high school, so I have calluses."
Harter sat on a padded bench and submerged her feet in a water tank about the size of a large microwave.
The fish almost immediately began sucking on her heels, arches, even between her toes. She didn't scream or recoil. She just watched in amazement.
It was the second fish pedicure for Cockrell, 24, of New Athens, who works next door as a hair stylist. She finds it relaxing.
"It feels like a little pulsating vibration," she said. "It's like a back massage, except it's on your feet."
Yokoyama's supplier imports garra rufas, also known as "Doctor Fish," from the Middle East and breeds them. They're brownish silver and 1 to 2 inches long.
Some salons use Chinese chin chins, but they eventually become too large, and adults grow teeth.
State agencies in Washington and Texas have outlawed fish pedicures because of sanitation concerns. They're legal in Illinois for now.
"It's brand new in the United States," said Susan Hofer, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. "They've been doing it in other countries. We're reviewing whether the treatment complies with our regulations, and we hope to reach a decision shortly."
Yokoyama made a big investment to bring fish pedicures to her salon, starting with the purchase of 500 garra rufas.
She hired a plumber to install a system that keeps water at a constant 92 degrees to match their natural spring habitat. It also filters out ammonia and other chemicals, disinfects with ultraviolet rays and provides oxygen.
Individual water tanks are made of thick, shatterproof Plexiglas and drained after each use. A carpenter built the benches to be the perfect height.
"(A customer's) feet have to be dangling," Yokoyama said. "They can't touch the bottom of the tank. The fish have to maneuver around to do their job, and you don't want to squish them."
Yokoyama is booking appointments for fish pedicures, which cost $30 for 15 minutes or $50 for 30 minutes. She has an estimated 200 customers on a waiting list.
Some have been asking about the service since July, when a Virginia salon near Washington, D.C., made national news by offering it in the United States.
"I had one customer who brought in an article from a fishing magazine," Yokoyama said. "It's been in People magazine. It's been on ('The Oprah Winfrey Show'), and even on 'The View.' Everyone is interested and wanting to try this."
Contact reporter Teri Maddox at tmaddox@bnd.com or 239-2473. To see more of the Belleville News-Democrat, Ill., or to subscribe, visit http://www.belleville.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2008, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.