I admit it. I am concerned about my looks since I’m losing them so rapidly as I age. (sigh)
Although I’m not as vain as some others are, I will admit that I don’t like looking in the mirror and seeing lines under my eyes and that my skin is not as nice as it used to be.
Today my friend sent me a link to a story about women “flocking” to get bird poop facials… EW!
Now for everyone who got grossed out like I did, the stuff isn’t administered “fresh.” The bird droppings are “hygenically collected” and treated with UV radiation to kill the bacteria.
Uguisu no Fun is a Japanese powder made from the droppings of the Japanese Bush Warbler (Japanese: 鶯 uguisu) or nightengale and is rich in the amino acid guanine, said to brighten and cleanse skin. In the 18th century geishas and kabuki actors used the powder to clean heavy white makeup off their faces. It was also used to remove stains from kimono… awesome stuff!
I did some research and at naturaljapanesebeauty.com, a small (15gm) bottle of 30 applications is priced a very reasonable USD $10. The site says:
Uguisu is the name of the Japanese nightingale. Apart from being known for its beautiful song, its natural droppings are also used in Japan as a traditional application for silky white skin.
The powdered nightingale guano is a fine almost odourless powder that is mixed to form a paste and applied as a face pack. It is mildly lightening on the skin while smoothing the complexion and leaves the skin feeling soft and nourished.
The uguisu no fun is safely sold and hygienically collected for cosmetic skin purposes. The fun contains certain ammonic properties that appear to gently bleach the skin while smoothing and toning the complexion. For use as a natural face pack treatment for blemishes or smoothing the complexion. Non-fragranced 100%natural product
Well considering that the “Geisha Facial” at Shizuka salon is charging $180 for a facial with this stuff, $10 for a small bottle of bird guano sounds like a good deal!
Immortal Geisha chronicled her experience with the “fun” in great detail and describes a positive outcome, but left readers with the following:
Also – please keep in mind that it is a specific type of “fun” that is used for this product – so any old “fun” from the bottom of your bird cage, top of your car, or from your local pigeon colony just won’t cut it!
Now I was initially grossed out by all this poop talk, but after reading more about this “fun” stuff, I am curious. But according to “The Japanese Way of Beauty” by Michelle Dominique Leigh:
* It cleanses, lightens, nourishes, tones, smoothes, moisturizes and exfoliates.
* Not suitable for sensitive or allergy-prone skin.
* Suitable for aging, oily, blemished or rough skin or for those looking to clear their complexion
And unlucky me, I have very sensitive AND allergy-prone skin (hence my recent blotchiness). So I won’t be trying this anytime soon.
Will you?
Hoohokekyo… hoohokekyo… hoohokekyo!
Image taken from IEA
