Ask questions via twitter! Message any question to @answers on twitter. We'll publish the question and send you a reply each time there's a new answer.
Next Question

Answered Question

 
M$1 February 06, 2009 09:06 PM

Where can I buy some bird poop?

I heard that bird poop is good for skin facials and masks, is this true, and has anyone tried it? What kind of birds does this poop come from? How is bird poop mask better than or different from a clay or mud mask?
Interesting Question?  Yes (0)   No (0)   
RSS
 
 

Best Answer  Chosen by Asker

 
February 06, 2009 09:43 PM
Apparently Posh Beckham doesn't mind spending $200 a pop for nightingale poop facials. Why do you want to be so cheap?
But if you do, it depends upon what the active ingredient really is. If it is the concentrated urea then any bird ought to do. However, pretending to be a statue and waiting for a pigeon to give you a free facial might be dangerous. The stuff should be processed somehow to disinfect it. The Japanese zap it with ultraviolet light. Urea itself does tend to be a disinfectant but a few diseases can be carried in bird guano anyway.
On the other hand, if the active ingredient is guanine, then it may make a difference which type of bird. But I don't know if research has been done on that. However, guanine was first discovered from the droppings of seabirds off the coast of South America. If you want any of that you'll have to bid against the banana growers and others who use it for fertilizer.
Another option is, perhaps, bat guano. This is currently being sold as a combination plant fertilizer and mosquito repellent.
If you have or build an aviary, you can raise the Japanese Nightingales yourself, they are considered an easy aviary bird to keep. Then all you need is an ultraviolet lamp and you can go into business yourself!

Mud and clay, by the way, would not have either ingredient.

Source(s):
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2008/10/08/2008-10-08_are_bird...
http://www.aawoods.com/pages/pigeon-guano.htm
http://www.canada.com/cityguides/montreal/story.html?id=801683
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanine
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/world/americas/30peru.html
http://www.guano-gro.com/
http://chidoriyaworld.stores.yahoo.net/nigdrop.html
http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatavianblog/2009/01/09/introducing-the-peki...

http://www.honoluluzoo.org/red-billed_leiothrix.htm

Asker's Rating:
• A few good answers, this one provided lots of sources.


Helpful Answer?  (1)   (0)    Tip albanian for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 

Other Answers (4)

Sort By
 
February 06, 2009 09:14 PM
er...I dunno about this one man...but here's the info...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/homestyle/09/26/bird.poop.facials/index.html
" At the Diamond Spa in Wailea, on the Hawaiian island of Maui, they offer a different kind of facial. Lead aesthetician Lula Pacheco swears by the combination of cleansers -- including a quarter teaspoon of dehydrated nightingale droppings -- that begin each facial she administers for $144 to $225 a pop.

Historically, nightingale bird droppings were used to remove stains from delicate silk garments in Japan, as well as by geishas to whiten and even skin marred by frequent and heavy use of makeup, Pacheco says.

"At first they're hesitant, but the product is very micronized," says Pacheco of her clients. "When it's done they just love how their skin feels and looks."

But does it actually work? That's up for debate. Bird experts at both the National Aviary in Pittsburgh and the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology were at a loss to explain the benefits of nightingale droppings as a skin treatment. Brian Keller, a dermatopharmacologist and executive vice president of San Francisco-based Bio Zone Laboratories, which manufactures custom private-label dermatological products, offered one possible reason.

"The reason this product may work is the high concentration of urea in the fecal-urine combination in bird feces. Urine has a lot of urea in it and it has long been used as a skin-softening agent," he says. "It's obviously shrouded in a lot of mystery.""

Just on an added note, urine is actually used in some traditional forms of tanning. The soft leather that you see, usually called buckskin, was traditionally made with a combination of brains, urine, and ash...the article referenced above mention skin softening agent, that part would make sense...

Helpful Answer?  (1)   (0)    Tip nativenerd for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
 
February 06, 2009 09:15 PM
Can't you get some bird poop facial or bird poop face mask at a lower price? That just seems like a lot. Is this better than clay mask or mud mask?

Report
 
 
xds xds
 
February 06, 2009 09:17 PM
I don't know easy boy, given the current economic climate, the going rate for poop has increased exponentially .

Report
 
 
 
February 06, 2009 10:17 PM
;-)
If you want really cheap bird poop at wholesale prices, search for GUANO. But make sure you get seabird guano and not bat guano as I'm not so sure about the beautifying effects of bat dung.

Guano is bird poop (or bat poop) and has a long history being used as a fertilizer.

http://p.beni.tv/guano1.jpg

http://p.beni.tv/guano2.jpg

what is 'guano'?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A765678
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guano

Report
 
 
 
February 06, 2009 10:29 PM
You know...an easier(and cheaper!) way, might just be to buy a nightingale and keep the...er...poop...

Report
 
 
 
February 06, 2009 09:16 PM
Here's the link to buy the nightingale poop. Kinda strange but hey whatever works.
http://chidoriyaworld.stores.yahoo.net/nigdrop.html

Helpful Answer?  (1)   (0)    Tip imsoronry for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
 
February 06, 2009 09:27 PM
The Geisha Facial, available at Shizuka New York for $180, about $100 more than the shop's other facials, contains nightingale excrement.

The Japanese powder, also known as uguisu no fun, 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.

The Japanese manufacturers of the powder treat it with ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. Bernstein mixes the substance at her spa with finely-ground rice bran to neutralize its slightly musky odor.

She claims the mask helps women achieve a porcelain white quality to their skin.

"I was a little tentative at first," said Andrea Nieto, who recently received the treatment. "But there was no smell. It was creamy and rich."

Source(s):
http://www.shizukany.com/geisha-facial.htm


Helpful Answer?  (3)   (0)    Tip dattappan for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
 
February 06, 2009 10:30 PM
That appears to be a London pigeon, since he has a map of the Underground. Does he make house calls?

Report
 
 
 
February 09, 2009 10:06 PM
Interesting videos... Not sure I would ever do this.

Report
 
 
 
February 06, 2009 09:30 PM
gross!!!!

Helpful Answer?  (0)   (1)    Tip cee-jay for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
 
February 06, 2009 10:04 PM
How could a bird that pretty poop anything gross?

Report
 
 

Answer this Question

How tips and payments work

This question has already been resolved. You may add an answer to it but you will not be eligible to win best answer or any associated tips.

Ask a Question


140 characters left
Top of Page
Buy Mahalo Dollars with Credit Card or PayPal

Top Members

This Week All Time
  • buddawiggi
    buddawiggi
    2nd Degree Black Belt
    26710 Points
    M$774.34 Earned
  • kty2777
    kty2777
    Purple Belt with a Brown Tip
    5216 Points
    M$196.67 Earned
  • opher
    opher
    Purple Belt
    3852 Points
    M$152.92 Earned
   See All
 

Most Popular Tags

mahalo(1567)
iphone(460)
music(458)
google(346)
food(312)
online(288)
beer(277)
money(259)
movies(250)
apple(249)
aotd(235)
health(217)
video(201)
free(200)
dog(200)
   See All
 

Categories

Welcome New Members


 
 
Mahalo Dollars are the currency of Mahalo Answers.

Each Mahalo Dollar costs $1.

Once you earn more than 40 Mahalo Dollars, you can request to be paid via PayPal. Each Mahalo Dollar is currently worth $0.75 when paid out via PayPal. Learn More

 
 

Please log in to use this function.