I tested for you: my opinion on the Fish Pedicure

It’s in Bangkok, Thailand that I first heard about fish pedicure when I saw tourists with their feet in an aquarium feasting on fish. Surprised and amused, we preferred a much more classic massage.
The fish pedicure is a 100% natural process that consists of plunging your feet into an aquarium where small fish ( Garra rufa) will devour your dead skin. The result is supposed to be more effective than a manual or cream-based treatment.
It’s far from Thailand, in Krakow (Poland) that I came across a store offering fish pedicure. Pique by curiosity, I decided to try it.
Our interviewer explains to me that it is brand new and that it is the first establishment of this type in Poland. She offers me a session of 30 minutes + 10 minutes of massage machine for free for 50 zlotys (about 12 euros).
So I start with the 10 minutes of foot massage via the machine. This massage has in my opinion more the role of disinfectant before plunging the feet into the aquarium. In any case it is quite light from a hygienic viewpoint and I prefer not to imagine the number of people who let their feet macerate in the aquarium before me.
At the end of 10 minutes, it’s time for lunch for our friends Garra rufa. I am a little elevated so that the feet do not touch the bottom of the aquarium and the fish can get comfortable for lunch.

First impression: it tickles! I expected to feel some tingling but not at all, the Garra rufa do not bite but suck with their little suction cup.
Seeing these dozens of fishes sneaking around (between the toes for some!) is quite fun and the feeling isn’t unpleasant.

The Garra rufa will delight during the 30 minutes that the session will last, one wonders where they find so much to eat!
Once the feet are out and dried, it’s over! I read later that fish pedicure institutes in France applied a moisturizing cream after the session, this was not the case in Krakow.
My opinion on this fish pedicure? Nothing really crazy. My feet were softer after the session but it’s not surprising after soaking my feet in water for 40 minutes, I’m not convinced that the feast of the Garra rufa had much to do with it.
The experience was fun, but the day I need a treatment, I’ll go for a more classic pedicure.