Fecal Facials: Latest Spa Craze Involves Bird Dropping Skin Treatment

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A new spa craze has some New Yorkers shelling out big bucks, but others say it's for the birds.

The treatment looks like an ordinary facial but with one important twist -- it features bird droppings as a key ingredient.

"It creates a very good product to cleanse the skin, and it's said it's because of the kinds of seeds that it feeds on," Olivea Shure told CBS 2's Wendy Gillette at Shizuka New York Day Spa on Friday.

The exfoliant is made of powdered rice bran, bird droppings, and water. The droppings come exclusively from nightingales. The mixture is part of the spa's Geisha Facial.

"It's been around for centuries," Shure said. "The Geishas of ancient Japan used it to cleanse their face of the heavy makeup they would use."

Enzymes in the droppings brighten the skin and make it glow. The mixture makes the skin tingle as it is applied, spa employees explained.

New Yorkers were skeptical.

"Eww, I don't think I want to try that. That's kind of scary," one woman said.

Spa employees weren't surprised that customers were initially turned off by the treatment, but stressed that the droppings are sterilized with UV lights.

Some 50 customers try the treatment every month, many return for a second round. The facial costs $180 and apparently smells like rice bran.

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