I Tried a Breast-Milk Skin-Care Routine Because Halsey Said So

OK, I’ll admit it: the things I’m willing to do in the name of good skin may be getting a little out of hand. I’ve tried weird face-washing hacks and complete and total skin detoxes, and recently, when I heard that Halsey swore by breast milk for healing skin, I started contemplating rubbing literal breast milk on my face. When I told my friends about the idea, they thought I was losing my mind – but if it was good enough for Halsey, a celebrity, I figured it was good enough for me.

After much internal debate, I decided to swap out my normal skin-care routine for a week in favor of a breast-milk-heavy regimen. (Yes, I realize how wild this sounds.) The question was, where TF was I supposed to find breast milk? As a 33-year-old woman who has never given birth, I’m sure it comes as no surprise that prior to this, my interactions with colostrum have been few and far between. There was the one time I tried a friend’s on a bachelorette trip (it tasted like vanilla almond milk, for the record), but other than that, I don’t often come across it in my everyday life.

My best friend is currently breastfeeding, so while I seriously considered asking her for a sampling of the “goods” to test out the claims, I thought my best route would be to find legitimate products that contain breast milk.

After doing a little research, I came across Milk Made Skin. Full transparency: Milk Made Skin doesn’t use actual breast milk (TBH, I don’t know if selling breast milk is even legal), but instead, the brand uses its own milk peptide complex, which mimics the ingredients in breast milk. The complex, which includes water, lactose, vitamins, proteins, essential fatty acids, and antibacterial and antiviral enzymes, is supposed to give you all the benefits of using breast milk on your face, without actually having to rub breast milk on your face. A win-win, in my book.

For the experiment, I opted to use the Milk Made Skin Milk Drunk Peptide Moisturizer ($89), the Milk Made Skin Milk Boost Eye Cream ($89), and the Milk Made Skin Milk Drench Exfoliating Gel Cleanser ($20).

© POPSUGAR Photography / Renee Rodriguez Breast Milk Editor Experiment

The first thing I noticed when testing out the Milk Drench cleanser was its tiny bamboo beads. I don’t typically love using cleansers with beads because I have sensitive skin, and I was worried that using the cleanser twice a day would irritate it. However, it’s also made with rose water and willow bark extract, which I knew would be calming. In the morning and at night, after wetting my face with water, I massaged a pea-size amount into my skin, then rinsed everything with warm water. The cleanser had a nice lather, and it was great at removing dirt and makeup, but I did find that consistent use was a bit irritating for my sensitive skin.

The Milk Drunk moisturizer was probably my favorite product and one I’ll continue using, especially when trying to heal pimples or marks on my face quickly. When I first started using it, I had a tiny cut underneath my eyebrow from pinching myself with a pair of tweezers. I’ve sustained injuries like this before (I guess I suck at tweezing my eyebrows), and it usually takes weeks to heal. I noticed the mark started fading in about two days, and by the end of the week, I couldn’t even see it. In all honesty, the consistency, scent, and results of this moisturizer reminded me of a different, wildly expensive moisturizer I love, whose brand name rhymes with “shma shmer.”

As for the eye cream, I loved the consistency, the creaminess, and the texture, but I didn’t notice much of a brightening effect. I also tend to get breakouts around the corners of my eyes if products are too heavy, but I didn’t see any issues along those lines with this cream.

© POPSUGAR Photography / Renee Rodriguez Breast Milk Editor Experiment

Since switching to this routine, I’ve noticed a few new things. My skin feels more hydrated, it looks brighter in general, and my dark marks from pimples or injuries seem to be healing faster. However, these products are, in my opinion, on the pricey side, so I’ll plan on using them as spot treatments whenever I need a little extra boost in hydration or if I’m looking to get rid of marks quickly. All in all, I think I’m now a breast-milk stan.

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