Random Animal Beauty Treatments That Put Wild Into Your Look (11 items)

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  (#4) Eel Bath

  Originating in China, the eel bath works on the same principle as the fish pedicure: You let a tankful of animals nibble away at your flesh for maximum exfoliation. With an eel bath, you lay your whole body in a tank of eels, and they work their magic on your dry, flaky skin. The squirmy fish are relatively thin and small, about the size of a pencil.

  Still, there are dangers associated with sharing their tank. In 2011 a man in China undergoing the treatment had an eel swim up his urethra.
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  (#5) Bird Poo Facial

  Since the 17th century, Japanese facialists have used nightingale poop. In 2008 this unusual treatment made its way to the rest of the world. A spa in New York City will rub your face with nightingale feces - which comes to the salon in powder form before they mix it with rice bran - for a price tag of $180. An enzyme in the poop is supposed to smooth and soften the skin, and many people have walked away singing the treatment's praises.
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  (#8) Bee Venom Cream

  Some claim skin creams containing bee venom are as effective as Botox injections. Bee venom provides the benefits of getting stung by a bee without the actual, you know, sting. The venom is thought to induce inflammation on the skin, and where there is inflammation, collagen synthesizes; new collagen means tighter, smoother skin.

  But responses have varied, with some calling it the next best thing to Botox and others seeing no significant difference. Also, there's the not-so-little matter of potential side effects, like an allergic response that can cause anything from mild itching to full-on, potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.
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  (#11) Sheep Placenta Facial

  Kim Kardashian, Victoria Beckham, and Harry Styles are all fans of the sheep placenta facial. But don't worry: No one is slapping a freshly birthed sheep placenta onto anyone's face. The stem cells from the placenta are harvested and added to a topical solution that dermatologists later apply as a mask.

  This craze started around 2015. According to the treatment's proponents, sheep placenta stem cells are incredibly similar to human cellular makeup. So when human skin absorbs the placenta cells, the human body accepts the additional cells as its own. It reportedly facilitates healthy skin growth and skin immunity, and fights inflammation. But take this information with a grain of salt; critics say there has never been verifiable scientific evidence to back up the supposed miracles of the placenta.
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  (#7) Snail Facials

  The mucus that snails naturally leave in their wake is surprisingly rich in nutrients, antioxidants, and hyaluronic acid. In 2015 Thai spas first began providing snail facials, and the trend has only grown; in 2017 a New York City plastic surgeon started offering the (ingeniously named) EscarGlow facial.

  The approaches they use, however, couldn't be more different. In the original Thai version, they apply live snails directly to the face, leaving a film of snail slime all over you. In the plastic surgeon's version, they slather a mixture containing snail slime on the face, immediately followed by micro-needling, a process of making tiny pinpricks that push the serum deep below the skin's surface.
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  (#6) Leech Therapy

  Leeches have a long and storied history in medicine, stretching back as far as ancient times. Their natural tendency to suck blood when placed on human skin was thought to prevent blood clots and improve circulation.

  Now people are using leeches for beauty treatments, and proponents say the little suckers leave skin tighter and brighter. First, the practitioner puts a leech on your skin to draw out a sizable portion of blood. Then, they extract your blood from the leech and apply it to your face, like a facial. After 20 minutes, they remove the blood. Celebrities like Demi Moore and Miranda Kerr have both discussed their love of leech therapy.

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