YUK Cosmetics: Tallow from culled Hokkaido Ezo deer “pests” turned into beauty products

Deer problem in Hokkaido

There are currently an estimated 600,000 Hokkaido sika deer, also known as Yezo or Ezo deer (cervus nippon yesoensis), now living in Hokkaido, and their numbers continue to grow year by year. Their overpopulation has had negative effects on human society as well as the environment. Not only do they eat crops and cause traffic accidents but they also damage forests by eating tree bark. To deal with this, Hokkaido has designated them as pests and has been offering rewards to hunters to assist in culling them. However, this creates a situation in which hunters cull deer for money rather than considering them a resource. As a result, only 20% of the Ezo deer population are used for meat. There are additional problems such as a lack of safe and appropriate processing methods.

Tenka Ltd.

Tenka Ltd. is a Hokkaido based company which aims to utilize the natural resource of Ezo deer in a sustainable manner, not only assisting in the culling of deer and processing of venison, but also developing additional markets by making processed venison products, developing cosmetics and supplements made from deer parts, and creating fashion and apparel products.

As their first business venture to achieve these goals, they launched a new beauty product line making use of Ezo deer tallow called YUK Cosmetics.

YUK Cosmetics

Deer tallow has long been used as a folk remedy in China and among the indigenous Ainu people of Hokkaido to accelerate the healing of cuts and burns and to protect the skin. Moreover, deer tallow contains other beneficial ingredients such as palmitic acid and stearic acid which can assist in reducing acne, moisturizing the skin, and keeping the skin clean. When applied to hair, it can repair hair damage, moisturize, and provide a beautiful luster, so it is an excellent supplement to shampoos and conditioners. It is also known to have less odor than horse tallow and other animal tallow, so it is easier to use.

YUK Cosmetics harnesses the beneficial properties of deer tallow in a new line of beauty products.

Product lineup

YUK products have all been treated to remove all of the gamy kind of smell which is characteristic of some tallow products, leaving only the pleasant fragrance of the added natural aromatic oils.