Uguisu no fun
Uguisu no fun (Japanese: 鶯の糞, also called the "Geisha Facial"[1]), which literally means "nightingale feces" in Japanese, refers to the excrement (fun) produced by a particular nightingale called the Japanese bush warbler (Cettia diphone) (uguisu).[1] The droppings have been used in facials since ancient Japanese times.[1] Recently, the product has appeared in the Western world.[1] The facial is said to whiten the skin and balance skin tone, as well as treat skin affected by hyperpigmentation such as in the case of acne or sun damage.[2]
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Tokyo_Geisha_with_Shamisen_c1870s%2C.jpg/200px-Tokyo_Geisha_with_Shamisen_c1870s%2C.jpg)
The use of nightingale excrement dates back to the Heian period (AD 794–1185) when it was introduced to the Japanese by the Koreans.[1][3] Koreans used the guano to remove dye from kimono fabric, allowing them to make intricate designs on the clothing.[1][3] The Japanese used the bird droppings to remove stains from silk garments such as kimonos.[4][5] Then, during the Edo period (AD 1603–1868), the Japanese expanded its use by using it as a beauty treatment.[3] Some sources, however, report that as early as the third century Japanese women used bags of rice bran and supplies of nightingale droppings to whiten their skin.[6][7] Geishas and kabuki actors used heavy white makeup that contained zinc and lead, which likely caused many issues such as skin diseases.[1][8] Uguisu no fun was used to thoroughly remove this makeup and to whiten and balance skin tone.[1][4] Also, Buddhist monks used the droppings to polish and clean their bald scalps.[1][3]
The first modern written mention of the use of uguisu no fun is in a book entitled Shunkin-sho (Portrait of Lady Shunkin), published in 1933 by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, set in Japan's Meiji period (1868–1912).
Currently, Hyakusuke is the last place in Tokyo to have the government-approved uguisu no fun.[9] This two-hundred-year-old cosmetic shop carries the powder along with other cosmetic products.[9][10]
The modern-day revival of uguisu no fun in Japan may be attributed to a respect for ancestral traditions as well as to the innovative culture of Japan.[11]
Processing
Uguisu no fun is harvested in nightingale farms in Japan.[1] Though wild nightingales eat insects and berries, the diet of the caged birds consists of organic seeds.[1][12] Some nightingales feed on caterpillars that eat from plum trees.[5] The guano is scraped from the cages, and an ultraviolet light is often used to kill the bacteria to sanitize it.[1][12] The droppings are then usually dried with a dehydrator.[1] Some are sun-dried for over two weeks while simultaneously being UV sterilized.[13] Next, it is ground into a fine white powder, and it is sold in this form.[1] The droppings are turned into powder in a special container that rotates for 18 hours with a ceramic ball.[13]
Facial
Rice bran is sometimes added to the guano for the purpose of exfoliation.[1] The powder is mixed with water yielding a paste.[1] The paste is massaged into the skin for a few minutes and then it is rinsed off.[1] The facial is usually rather odorless and sanitized.[1][5] The added rice bran can also neutralize the slight musky odor.[14]
In one New York spa that offers the Geisha Facial, the process takes about one hour and costs $180.[8]
Mechanism of facial
The way the facial works is not entirely clear.[4] The guano from the nightingale has a high concentration of urea and guanine.[1] Because birds excrete a fecal and urine waste from a single opening, called the cloaca, the fecal-urine combination gives the droppings a high concentration of urea.[1][4] Urea is sometimes found in cosmetics because it locks moisture into the skin.[1][4] The guanine may produce shimmery, iridescent effects on the skin.[1][8] It is claimed that because of the short intestine of the nightingale, the droppings have protein, a fat-degrading enzyme, and a whitening enzyme that acts on fat and scurf to whiten skin and even out blemishes.[13]
Numerous sources comment that "the amino acid guanine" gives uguisu no fun its cosmetic properties, though guanine is a nucleotide base, not an amino acid.[1][3][14]
In popular culture
Victoria Beckham, who has long suffered with acne, used uguisu no fun to improve her skin.[15] It was reported that Victoria Beckham admired the clarity of the skin of Japanese women and subsequently learned about the droppings.[12] David Beckham has been said to use the product as well.[15]
In the novel Memoirs of a Geisha, Chiyo repays Hatsumomo’s cruelty by mixing pigeon droppings with her face cream that contained unguent of nightingale droppings.[16]
In the 2012 movie Mirror mirror, which is based on the fairytale Snow White, the evil queen, played by Julia Roberts, undergoes extreme beauty treatments in order to woo a prince. The treatment begins with an application of bird droppings to her face.
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Shanna Freeman. "How Geisha Facials Work". HowStuffWorks. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ Amy Eisinger (23 July 2008). "New York's weirdest spa treatments". NYDailyNews.com. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Moore, Janet H. (December 16, 2001). "The Nightingale Facial". Asian Wall Street Journal.
- ^ a b c d e Liane Yvkoff (26 September 2008). "Try a placenta or bird poop facial". Cable News Network. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Carroll 2007, p. 249
- ^ Berg 2001, p. 174
- ^ Drill et al. 2002, p. 86
- ^ a b c Shizuka New York Day Spa. "The Geisha Facial: From an ancient Japanese tradition...Bird Poop Facials!". Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ a b Fodor 2009, p. 180
- ^ Frommer 2010, p. 241
- ^ Stephanie Rafanelli (25 June 2007). "Turning Japanese: Beauty thats taking over". London: Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Melissa Whitworth (16 October 2008). "Geisha facial, the 'latest beauty secret' of Victoria Beckham, brought to the masses". London: Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Body4Real.co.uk. "Japanese Nightingales Droppings (Uguisu No Fun)". Retrieved 14 July 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Timothy Gardner (25 April 2008). "Facial with bird excrement takes flight at New York spa". Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ a b Chris Johnson (7 October 2008). "Victoria and David Beckham's secret to perfect glowing skin: Bird poo". London: Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ Golden 1997, p. 80
References
- Carroll, Marcie; Carroll, Rick (2007). The Unofficial Guide to Maui. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing Inc. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-470-05224-2.
- Fodor’s (2009). Fodor’s Japan (19 ed.). Fodor’s Travel. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-4000-0827-8.
- Golden, Arthur (1997). Memoir’s of a Geisha. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. p. 80. ISBN 0-375-40011-7.
- Frommer’s (2010). Frommer’s Tokyo. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing Inc. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-470-53764-0.
- Berg, Rona (2007). Beauty: The New Basics. Wiley Publishing Inc. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-7611-0186-4.
- Drill, Esther; McDonald, Heather; Odes, Rebecca (2002). The Looks Book. Penguin (Non-Classics). p. 86. ISBN 978-0-14-200211-7.