A-Rod may not be the only supposed catalyst in the demise of Madonna and Guy Ritchie's marriage. Ritchie has allegedly cited Madonna's bizarre beauty treatments, such as her nightly ritual of lathering on a $790 jar of cream before hopping into a plastic body suit, as a factor leading to their impending divorce.While this may be a bit over the top, bizarre beauty regimens are not new. What's unique is the recent popularity of treatments that utilize animals and animal byproducts and other all-natural ingredients.These include snake massages, caviar hair treatments and leech detoxification."Consumers are always looking for that 'special' ingredient," says Bonnie Bonadeo, director of program development and education at the Professional Beauty Association, a nonprofit trade association that represents beauty manufacturers, distributors, salons and spas. "Creative and bizarre treatments create attention, and the awareness of what spas are doing around the world has spawned some atypical treatments in the United States." Forbes.com: In Pictures — Canada's Ultra-Lavish SpasForbes.com: In Depth — Europe's 10 Top Spas
Forbes.com: In Pictures— World's Ultimate Unplugged Vacations While these treatments do not make up a large segment of the overall beauty and spa market, Leslie Baumann, M.D., director of the Cosmetic Medicine and Research Institute at the University of Miami, says recent celebrity connections to these regimens have increased their interest among non-A-listers.Peculiar PamperingThe Geisha facial, which includes a scrubbing with nightingale droppings, is offered in spas across the United States, including Shizuka New York Day Spa in New York City. Nightingale droppings are said to have been used to clean the faces of geishas who wore heavy white makeup that often contained lead. The natural enzymes of the droppings break down dead skin cells, claims Lance Suzuki, specialist at Shizuka New York Day Spa.
