Warm musk fragrance applied to skin near the neck

Historically, yes, natural musk came from a gland of the male musk deer, but this has been illegal to trade internationally for decades under CITES protections, and virtually all musk used in perfumery today, including at Dahab, is synthetic or plant-derived rather than animal-sourced.

The History Worth Knowing

Deer musk was one of the most prized and expensive perfumery ingredients in history precisely because obtaining it was difficult and the demand was enormous, which sadly drove serious over-hunting of musk deer. This is exactly why the trade was restricted, and why the perfume industry moved almost entirely to synthetic musk molecules from the twentieth century onwards, which can recreate the scent without the ethical and legal problems of the original.

What You Are Actually Buying Today

Modern musk in perfumes and attars is almost always a synthetic musk compound, sometimes labelled white musk, black musk or simply musk, none of which involves an animal. This is worth mentioning any time it comes up in conversation, since the myth that modern musk perfume involves harming an animal is surprisingly persistent despite being untrue for the vast majority of products sold today. Our guide to musk in perfumery covers this history and the modern reality in full, and our complete guide to perfume has more on ingredient sourcing generally.