Deer milk: the skincare ingredient to know about

From vampire facials to snail slime - the world of skincare grows increasingly strange. It is getting harder and harder to separate the utterly bizarre from the absolutely insane and in the middle, somehow attempt to discern what ingredients are *actually* worth the hype. One such ingredient that does fall into this category is deer milk.

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Using milk in skincare is nothing new, from cows to sheep to goats - rich in B vitamins and antioxidants, as well as AHAs such as lactic acid, the benefits for your skin are tried and true. However, what has until now potentially been one of skincare’s best kept secrets is that “[deer milk] is amazing in the way it compares to other milks,” explains Robert Jarmyn, Marketing Manager for kotia. “In terms of protein and vitamins...even when you compare it to things like rosehip...the various factors and what it contains is absolutely incredible.” These qualities are what local New Zealand brand has worked to harness in the development of new skincare range kōtia.

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We have had the dreamiest few days in Queenstown, learning all about the world’s first skincare range to be formulated with 100% pure NZ deer milk. @kotia.anz launches into @pricelineau in Aus in April! 💕🦌 #kōtiaskin

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Deer milk specifically is high in naturally occurring vitamin A, folic acid, vitamin E and vitamin D3 which are ideal for anti-ageing and improving the skin’s regeneration process,  It “is also high in anti-inflammatories and antioxidants,” advises the brand’s National Training Manager, Kerrie Moore. “In today’s society...women [are] always looking for products that can actually protect and fight against free radicals and environmental pollution. In Sydney and Melbourne, our lifestyles are so busy and we sit in front of screens all day – in and out of fluorescent lighting, so those anti-inflammatory qualities [that calm and protect the skin] actually come from the deer milk,” she says.

kōtia founder, Graeme Shaw explains “that’s where we started - the world’s richest source of milk and then added other ingredients and actives (such as AHAs/BHAs and kakadu plum), because we know that milk can’t do everything... it can’t solve every problem, so we started with 100% nourishing and hydrating New Zealand deer milk and then we added other ingredients to complete the picture.”

An important factor to acknowledge in the upwards trending natural beauty category is the way the brand sources it’s deer milk. Deer cannot produce milk when they’re stressed, and as a result kōtia endeavours to keep mothers and fawns together to provide as stress-free an environment as possible.

kōtia launches in Priceline Australia from April.

Had you heard of deer milk in skincare before now? Would you consider using it?