10 of the Weirdest Spa Treatments That Money Can Buy

At Bali Heritage Reflexology & Spa, they use pythons (!) to give a massage, literally letting the snakes loose along brave customers' bodies. Both the movement of the snakes and the adrenaline pumping through your body is supposed to help trigger your metabolism — if you're brave enough to do it.

A traditional Japanese treatment using nightingale droppings (so, bird poop) is one of many luxe options at Shizuka New York Salon and is said to help exfoliate your skin while keeping it soft and smooth. Nicknamed the "geisha facial," using nightingale feces on the face is quite popular in Japan, and when it's finely ground and mixed with rice bran, it helps to keep your skin wrinkle-free.

Ear candling came onto the scene awhile back as an alternative medicine practice that involves inserting a hollow candle into your ear and lighting the opposite end. The flame essentially creates a vacuum that sucks out the wax (and any impurities) from your ear up into the middle of the candle. In recent years, though, it's said to have health risks, so make sure to do your research or speak to a doctor before testing this out yourself.

For the beer lovers among us, a beer bath may be your new favorite spa luxury. Many spas in Europe (specifically towards the East, in Czech Republic and Latvia) are known for beer baths. The hops from the beer are actually used to exfoliate the body, and then as you rinse off (with hot water and beer) in your tub, they help to detoxify the skin — and the hair! You can sip a cold glass of lager as well.

What just may be the strangest beauty treatment on this list, the "fire facial," better known as huǒ liáo in China, is meant to brighten up your face — after it's literally set on fire. For the treatment, a cloth that is soaked in alcohol and an elixir is placed on the face, back, legs, and any other "problem" areas and set on fire for a minute. The flames are then smothered with another towel. The treatment is supposed to help your skin get rid of wrinkles and improve everything from joint pain to indigestion — without actually burning you.

Dr. Lancer's Placenta Facial is a big hit in the world of celebrities, since the antiaging treatment is full of protein. The serum from the placenta, stem cells, and seaweed are applied to the skin in a fabric mask, and then a Placenta Facial cream is massaged all over the face to help the skin's natural collagen and elastin production — and if the stars (like J Lo and Kim Kardashian, supposedly) are into it, that stands for something.

The first iodine salt cave built in the US was built in Chicago at the Galos Caves — essentially in the middle of the states. Sitting in the caves is said to help the respiratory system, nervous system, digestive system, and more.

The snail facial made quite a buzz when it hit the scene in a salon in Japan called Clinical Salon, praising the power of snail mucus. We've heard about this power before — used in skin care brands like Tonymoly, Mizon, and Dr. Jart+, but letting the creatures crawl around on your face is an entirely new experience.

At Japan's Hakone Kowakien Yunessun Hot Springs Amusement Park Spa and Resort, there is a hot spring overflowing with sake — which actually is full of amino acids and can help parched skin. The park also has tubs filled with green tea, red wine, and coffee, but the most popular is sake — and it's said that geishas used to soak in sake before applying their makeup, proving that the moisturizing properties are true.

Created by Sonya Dakar, the snake venom facial actually doesn't use venom from a real snake — it instead uses something that mimics venom, to give skin a "Botox-like effect." Because venom causes a paralyzing effect, Dakar wanted to create this for the skin, thus relaxing the skin's muscles and gently stunning the skin to prevent further lines and wrinkles.