Most unusual - ways to get a pedicure.

For the past three weeks, scores of customers descended upon a nail salon in Kent.
They came from Idaho and Ohio and Minnesota. The appointment book was booked solid two months out.
And men, yes, men, came in droves, too.
They came to Peridot Nail Salon and parted with $30, so that for 15 minutes, tiny fish could nibble the dead skin off their feet.
"Customers loved it," said the salon's owner, Tuyet Bui, who goes by Tweety.


Salon's owner, Tuyet Bui, who goes by Tweety.

Thursday, however, the Department of Licensing shut down Bui's, um, fishy operation, saying that the pedicures were illegal.
Inspectors from the agency stopped by the shop recently and observed the procedure. After conducting further research, the department decided that the pedicures were unsanitary and potentially unsafe.


The pedicures were unsanitary and potentially unsafe.

Bui was personally delivered a letter Thursday informing her of the agency's decision, which was based on a state law that all implements used in pedicures had to be "sanitized, disinfected, or disposed of after each service to protect salon customers from the possibility of disease and infections."
"You can clean files and other equipment, but there is just no way to sanitize live fish," said Christine Anthony, a spokeswoman for the agency.
Bui was disappointed by Thursday's ruling, which was effective immediately, and distributed to all of the state's licensed salons.
Hers was the first salon in the state to offer the pedicures, which are popular in Turkey and Asia, and Bui said the treatment had garnered an enthusiastic response from customers.


Tiny fish could nibble the dead skin off their feet.

Bui said she spent $3,000 to import the 300 fish from China, which are a type of carp called "chin chin." She paid an additional $10,000 for a machine that would streamline the process.
She said she would start a petition for the state to take a closer look at the treatment, and said that the pedicures are safe and sanitary.


Exotic new health and beauty treatments.

Bui said the pedicures had been a hit since she began offering them, and that customers came from across the country and even Canada. She said the procedure was especially popular with men, who "usually don't want pedicures, but were excited about this."
Contesting the state's ruling that it was impossible to guarantee sanitary conditions, Bui explained that the fish are toothless bottom feeders and cannot contract or transmit diseases or infections. She said the water used for the procedure was changed between customers, and that each customer's legs and feet were washed before and after each pedicure.

"I'm shocked and surprised," Bui said. "I would hope that the state would look into this more before they made a decision. I don't think they took a good look at this."
Bui said she had to turn away eight customers by Thursday afternoon and would soon begin calling her customers, informing them of the ruling.