Bird Poop Facial: NYC Spa Offers ‘Geisha Facial’ With Nightingale Droppings For $180

It's the newest craze in NYC. A rejuvenating treatment that uses traditional and natural Japanese ingredients to soften, brighten and nourish the facial complexion, and leave you looking years younger.

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Celebrity facialist Shizuka Bernstein has introduced to America what in her native Japan is known as "The Geisha Facial," mixing green tea, sake, rice bran, pearl protein and a secret ingredient called "uguisu no fun," or powdered nightingale droppings. Yes, applying bird poop to one's face seems to be the secret of the Geishas' iconic porcelain complexion.

According to the Shizuka New York Day Spa, which Bernstein owns, Geishas discovered the power of nightingale excrement as a way to counteract the effects of their makeup that contained lead or zinc. They realized that nightingale dropping facials were not only an effective way to remove their makeup, but they helped brighten, heal and retexturize the skin due to their natural enzymes and guanine.

Crystalized guanine, derived from fish scales, is commonly used in cosmetics to provide a shimmering effect. The bird poop is sanitized, completely safe to use and has no smell.

The treatment, that Bernstein has been offering at her spa for five years, begins with steam to open the pores and soften the skin. Cream is applied. And then comes what the facialist calls "the nightingale part."

She pours the cream-colored poop, dried and finely ground, into a bowl, mixing it with the rice bran using a small spatula. She applies the potion to the face with a brush, rubbing it in with her hands.

After about five minutes, it comes off with a foaming cleanser and Bernstein wraps the face in a warm, wet towel bathed in lavender and geranium essences. Finally, she applies a green-tea collagen mask.

A common misconception is that any old bird poop, even from pigeons, is used. Bernstein says only droppings from birds of the nightingale species are used because they live on seeds, producing the natural enzyme that is the active ingredient.

"We don't do Central Park facials," she said, "because those birds eat garbage."

The cost for the 60-minute beauty treatment is $180, and although many claim that the facial does have rejuvenating effects, some dermatologists don't think it's any different from the apricot scrub you can get at your local pharmacy.