Why do butoh dancers wear white paint?

[@melparadise7378]

Those water based makeup palettes that they used in like theatre and stuff are pretty affordable and easy to apply. I also like the idea of using ash. I burn a lot of incense and so have a lot of it.

[@shadowbody]

Hi Mel, the only thing with ash is one never needs to mix it with water. This has caused 1st and even 2nd degree burns before. It happened already this year and last year and back when I was in India as well with other butoh folks. Also, the type of wood may also create a reaction in some people.

[@Michael-cl9mb]

What is the paint made of? Zinc oxide?

[@shadowbody]

Not sure if the brands such as Mehron Clown White have that. I use clay because it comes off easily and is healthy for the skin. But, it doesn't give that clean look, but I don't want that clean look also, not all the time anyway.

[@Michael-cl9mb]

@@shadowbody thank you for your response

[@TheManifestationist]

Just heard about Kaolin clay from this video. After watching this, I searched for this in my country and found a shop selling a kilo of Kaolin clay. I usually use Oshiroi face paste but it is not available in my country (Thailand). The only way to get it is to ask a friend going to Japan to buy it for me. Do you always use Kaolin clay in your performance? I just saw your video (Bhakta), and your paint is very very much similar to Oshiroi powder. Is the Kaolin clay easy to be washed off? Thailand is very hot and I am sweaty. Love your videos and your website!

[@shadowbody]

Hi there, thanks for stopping by. So in the Bhakta video, that isn't Kaolin clay. That is a paint in India (probably at the time not good for my skin). Kaolin clay is incredibly easy to wash off and is very good for the skin. If you want more info on choices of white, you can check out this page of the butoh manual: butohmanual.com/costume-lack-thereof-new-92117

[@TheManifestationist]

@@shadowbody Just got Kaolin clay yesterday. It might not be "beautifully clean' as oshiroi, but it does give different aestheticss. Like it. However, I need to try it with during performing. I live in Thailand and it is very hot here. Once I performed durring summer and got very very sweaty even the oshiroi could not handle lol. I just knew that oshiroi is made from rice powder after reading your manual. Rice power is easy to find in Thailand. I'll experiment with it. Thank you very much for the info in your website. It is very helpful. Hope I have a chance to see you perform one day. Cheers!

[@shadowbody]

@@TheManifestationist Yes, Kaolin will disintegrate from sweat for sure