Amanda Darbenzio of Manhattan gets a Geisha Facial at Shizuka New York Day Spa. Its secret weapon: bird dung
Fertilizer for the Face? By ALIX STRAUSS
A RECENT Monday morning found me at Shizuka New York Day Spa in Midtown, getting the Geisha Facial, whose main ingredient is bird poop. The treatment, I was told by Asako Nunose, the aesthetician, originated centuries ago when Japanese entertainers damaged their skin from the high lead level in their white makeup. As a remedy, they used a mask containing nightingale droppings that had enzymes said to break down dead skin cells. For this modernized hourlong version, which costs $180, the excrement is sanitized under ultraviolet light, then mixed with rice bran, an exfoliant and brightener. Because the poop contains guanine, a nucleobase, it supposedly shines the skin as well.
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