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Japanese plant Oshiroi

JayW

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Hi
I wonder if anyone can tell me more about the plant commonly called 'O-shiroi' because it was once used to make the white cosmetic paste used by geiko ...?
 
I don't know if there is a plant named Oshiroi but I know it's the name for white makeup powder which used to contain lead or mercury back in the Edo period.
from History of makeup in Japan - Wikipedia

I remember being introduced to it while studying Japanese at uni, through a, I believe, BBC show case series where they explored various parts of Japanese history. One such episode was about geisha and how a large a number of people had lead poisoning back then due to lead based make-up. It is less than 100 years ago we stopped using lead in makeup in general. And it wasn't just a Japanese phenomenon; this sort of makeup was present in Europe, too. One example being Queen Victoria who covered her small-pox scarred face with white makeup containing lead (which slowly poisoned her).
 
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