Step right in – the Doctor Fish will see you now

FOR many people Botox is about as bizarre as a beauty treatment can get but a new salon opening in Sheffield is giving customers the chance to have their skin nibbled by fish.

By The Newsroom

Published 10th Mar 2010, 11:08 BST

Updated 10th Mar 2010, 11:08 BST

The business, called Appy Feet, opens on Friday in the Meadowhall shopping centre, and will offer clients the services of a tiny fish called Garra Rufa, otherwise known as Doctor Fish.

According to owner Christina Wright, the treatment is extremely popular in salons in New York, France and Germany, and the Sheffield shop will be the first to use it in Britain.

Ms Wright said the fish, which originate in Turkey, "suck and nibble away dry skin from the feet, leaving healthy, rejuvenated skin". They apparently also stimulate acupuncture points.

Recently a British woman travelled to Turkey for the so-called "fish spa" treatment in an attempt to cure the skin condition psoriasis after she was unable to find a practitioner in the UK.

Ms Wright added: "For me, the Meadowhall store is just

the start, my plan is to go nationwide with the fish spa concept over the next 12 months, and we currently have 18 locations across the country earmarked."