my flute turns me black.....

Number1FluteFanatic · Post by **Number1FluteFanatic** » Sat May 24, 2003 4:20 pm

alrite i know this sounds funny but my mouthpiece is
turning my chin black when i play. i clean my flute often and i have no idea how
to make this stop. Does anyone know a home remedey for this or anything that
might help? thanks alot, Jen [;)]

sweetensour · Post by **sweetensour** » Sat May 24, 2003 6:33 pm

this never happened to me, but my friend told me
about how she polished her flute right before a concert and it made marks on her
face. try wiping the mouthpiece really well with a clean cloth.

Madeline · Post by **Madeline** » Sat May 24, 2003 7:32 pm

Hi! That happens to me when I am wearing lotion or
make up on my chin. It also happens when I have just polished my flute too.
~Madeline

AG950Flute · Post by **AG950Flute** » Sat May 24, 2003 11:22 pm

hey, this used to happen to me and my friends a lot
back in junior high and high school. and it always seemed to happen right after
we would polish our flutes using a polishing cloth. it's pretty common and not
a big deal. however, if you're looking for a way to clean your mouthpiece
without having a black mark under your lip afterwards, you may want to try this.
a combination of water and rubbing alcohol (1:1 part ratio) and put it into a
spray bottle, you can then spray it onto a 100% cotton cloth and wipe down your
headjoint and lip plate. music stores tend to sell this as well, but it's more
expensive and they call it like an anti-bacterial spray, but it pretty much is
just water and alcohol. just a thought!

sweetensour · Post by **sweetensour** » Sun May 25, 2003 4:35 pm

on the anti-bacterial spray stuff... couldn't you
also use some sort of mouthwash? or would that leave a residue..

AG950Flute · Post by **AG950Flute** » Sun May 25, 2003 5:01 pm

i personally wouldn't use mouthwash to clean off
the lip plate or headjoint. my guess is it just wouldn't leave the same clean
feeling on your flute that it does in your mouth...i really think the best is
just 1:1 part water and rubbing alcohol.

BandSlave · Post by **BandSlave** » Tue May 27, 2003 11:26 pm

rubbing alcohol would be a preferred liquid for such
a cleansing. mouthwash would make your flute smell funny and it may leave
something or hurt the metal if used frequently. but don't use rubbing alcohol
all the time. Make sure there's no lip gloss or lotion or anything on the lip
plate before playing or on your chin. wipe it frequently and you should be
tarnish free [;)]

Number1FluteFanatic · Post by **Number1FluteFanatic** » Thu May 29, 2003 9:38 pm

thanks alot for the suggestions. I appreciate it.
Jen [:)]

BandSlave · Post by **BandSlave** » Thu May 29, 2003 11:23 pm

No problem!!! What are we here for if not to help
others and get help!?

tarzaflute · Post by **tarzaflute** » Thu Jun 05, 2003 5:40 am

Hi. This probably isnt wat is happening to u but do
u find when u where silver jewellery that u get black on your skin. It could be
the acid in your skin if u find these other symptoms. If this is the problem and
u cant find anything to fix it u might be able to gold plate it?! it probably
isnt this thats turning above your chin black but if it is u might have to get
something done to your lip plate

krisgmusic · Post by **krisgmusic** » Sun Aug 31, 2003 11:02 pm

This happened to me also. I bought a gold plated
flute and love it. The entire thing is 18k rose gold plated. But I didn't just
buy it because of "flute chin." It's the acids in your skin. Often when you
wear lotion or make up on stage your skin's pores are blocked and it creates
excess perspiration, especially when you hold a piece of metal to your skin
continuously in addition to the stuff on your skin... If you put a piece of
medical tape on your lip plate, you won't get "flute chin" and it is easily
removed if you decide you don't want or need it anymore. Many flutists use the
medical tape idea, especially in high school... (when wearing make up is
actually considered important!)

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Sat Nov 15, 2003 5:38 pm

Yes! I have seen people use this- I always wondered
why because I don't use make-up and it didn't make sense to me. Thanks for
pointing this out- it will help when I'm teaching Band in a few years.

[quote] ---------------- If you put a piece of medical tape on your lip plate,
you won't get "flute chin" and it is easily removed if you
decide you don't want or need it anymore. Many flutists use the medical tape
idea, especially in high school... (when wearing make up is actually considered
important!) ---------------- [/quote]

sakuramimato · Post by **sakuramimato** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:02 am

It's not your flute that's giving you the black
marks on your chin, but the polishing cloth that you're using that's rubbing
its polishing material off of you after it took in some of the grime from your
flute. I had that happen to me before, so I switched my polishing cloth to the
UMI brand. I suggest getting a cleaning cloth with both a polishing cloth and
buffering side (it's sewn together).

Goddess of Flute · Post by **Goddess of Flute** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 1:43 pm

This always happens when i wear makeup. When im not
wearing makeup, it doesent happen. So, mabye try wiping off the makeup on your
chin before you play.

lhampton · Post by **lhampton** » Wed Jan 21, 2004 6:45 pm

Ohhh, this used to happen to me... Yeah, I agree,
it's the polishing cloth. It's probably time that you got a new cleaning
cloth. Um... yeah, I just realized that this was posted like 6 months ago. Now,
I feel stupid.[:p] Well, ne way, it doesn't happen to me any more because now I
have a silver head joint. Leanne