4 Bizarre Beauty Treatments Many Are Swearing By

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How far are you willing to go for beauty and how much are you willing to spend? It is not just about the money anymore because with each new treatment, surgery or product manufacturers must feel so pressured into finding bigger and better beauty finds. Is this why we are seeing more of the bizarre, weird or just plain dangerous beautification specialties? Probably so, as what used to work may not work anymore or the need to be doing the most popular is always imperative to the rich, the vain or just the curious.
I am not here to judge…just to inform and share some of the most recent bizarre beauty rituals that many are swearing work wonders.
Snail Facials You read correctly and yes what you are thinking is actually true. Snails are a part of a facial and they are very much alive. Snail facials started in a Tokyo spa last year and the news has spread like wildfire about this new and unusual beauty treatment. A therapist places the snails on the client’s faces (usually three of them) and let them roam around their forehead, face, cheeks and chin.

The snails leave behind a trail of mucus slime that is supposed to contain "proteins, antioxidants and hyaluronic acid, which help skin retain moisture, reduce inflammation and remove dead skin," (The Telegraph). It is packed with glycolic acid and elastin and the secretions protect the snails from cuts, bacteria and UV rays.

Apparently this all started back in 2006 when Chilean farmers noticed visibly smoother skin after handling snails that were breeding for the French food market. For about $245 a visitor to the Tokyo spa can get this odd treatment and although it appears to be spreading overseas it has not yet caught on here in the states. What has caught on is beauty products that incorporate the use of snail slime in their ingredients.

HolikaHolika: Prime Miracle Snail BB Cream and LioeleIntensive Time Reversing Snail Cream are just two of the many products you can find that claim to regenerate your skin cells and refine skin texture. Are you willing to go that route and which one would you take? The slime facial or the slime facial cream? I think I will pass and just pull out some salt if I see one coming my way!
Bull Semen Hair Mask If you are on a quest for softer and shinier hair than you may need to check out bull semen. This is occurring right here in the US and in Santa Monica, CA a salon, TheBroot, specializes in an all-natural hair mask that has the option of a shot of bull semen if interested in going “animal style”. Apparently, bull semen strengthens the hair shaft and promotes hair growth. The salon boils down the bull testes to a broth and then adds an ounce of it to your hair treatment for only $7.

What the hell…I would do it. Not a weekly or monthly thing but I would give it a shot and who knows…maybe it actually works.
Fish Pedicures Are you ready for the latest in pedicure pampering? Well, get ready to dunk your toes in a tank of water and let the tiny carp or garra rufa fish nibble away at your calluses and dead skin. The fish are moved from a communal tank to a personal footbath for each customer. There are about 100 fish that go into your personal footbath. No worries of getting really bitten because they have no teeth and are just nibbling and sucking at your dead skin and cannot even remove live skin.

Here in the states this procedure will set you back anywhere from $45 to $100 depending on the length of the treatment and other services you choose. It can last from15 to 30 minutes and most enjoy the experience. Despite all the buzz around this treatment there are some worries surrounding allow fish to nibble on your feet. “U.S. and British health officials continue to warn that anyone with open sores or skin cuts, an underlying medical condition such as diabetes or an immune system compromised by AIDS, cancer or advanced age should steer clear of a fish pedicure.” (ABC News).

The reason being, these pedicures may carry bacteria responsible for a variety of dangerous skin and soft tissue infections.
Yikes, that’s all I need to know because it seems kind of weird in the first place. I will be passing on this trendy pedicure and stick to my regular spa pedicure.
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Vampire Facial Kim Kardashian does it so it must work right? Not sure about all that but the Vampire facial or Platelet rich Plasma (PRP) involves extracting a couple of spoonful of your own blood from your arm and spinning it in a centrifuge to separate the plasma from the red and white blood cells. The plasma (the part of the blood with growth factors) is then injected into your face. Now, before you get all sickened out by this understand this is nothing new.

Photo courtesy of Indian Makeup & Beauty Blog
This treatment has been in existence for about 20 years to accelerate the healing of wound and burnt skin and even help athletes to recover from injury. It got its new name from Dr. Charles Runels from Alabama who trademarked the name in 2010 during the craze for Vampire movies and TV shows and then it became attractive to “A”-Listers.

The recommended dosage is three sessions, four weeks apart and then only once a year after that for maintenance. Not cheap either, you can be set back around $2,200 for four sessions so make sure you are ready to pay and pay hefty. Am I willing to do that? Um…no. Sounds creepy and too rich for my blood, I mean pocket.
OK, moment of truth...have you tried any or are you interested? Do share!

Keeping it creepy for you Naturals,
Sabrina
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