Snails may be a familiar sight in your garden, or as food served in numerous French cuisine, but it seems that snails have gone a long way over the years and is now being used as part of numerous skincare products. This is because the mucin, or the slime that snails leave behind, has become the main ingredient in numerous masks, serums, as well as creams, and people love it!
Most of us have heard of snail mucin in Korean products, but it is actually the Chileans who first incorporated the mucin in their skin care after discovering its effects on the skin of snail farmers back in the 80s. But what exactly is snail mucin that makes it a great ingredient for skincare products?
What You Need to Know About Snail Mucin?
Snail mucin, or snail slime, is a type of growth factor that promotes wound healing as well as tissue repair which is why snails are able to self-heal themselves when they are injured. Based on a chemical analysis, snail slime has been found to contain collagen, glycolic acid, natural anti-bacterial, allantoin, elastin, as well as hyaluronic acid. The snail mucin that is typically used in skincare products come from the Cryptomphalus aspersa mollusk or your typical brown garden snail.
Benefits of Snail Mucin on the Skin
Is it really worth it to use snail mucin on your skin? This is a reasonable question, especially when it comes to applying products on your skin, so here are a few benefits that have been associated with it.
Improve wound healing
The healing effect associated with snail mucin is due to its chemical composition where it can speed up the creation of new skin cells, direct the new cells to the site of the wound, and prevent existing skin cells from dying.
Anti-aging
Another benefit that is associated with snail mucin is that it can actually help prevent aging because of the hyaluronic acid that it contains which has been found to improve wrinkles and fine lines, as well as hydration which can be seen within 15 minutes of application. Within 8 weeks, the effects will be more visible and longer lasting as well.
Reduce inflammation
Snail mucin has been found to be effective in reducing inflammation on the skin because of its anti-inflammatory properties. If you are experiencing redness as well as swelling on your skin, applying skin care products with snail mucin may help clear it up.
Fights acne breakouts
Another benefit to using snail mucin for your skin care is the fact that it can help alleviate acne breakouts thanks to its antimicrobial properties as well as anti-redness as well. This means that you won’t have to deal with acne too much with regular application.
Improves skin texture
Snail mucin seems to be effective in enhancing the skin texture because of the collagen and elastin that it contains.
How is Snail Mucin Extracted?
You might think that snails were harmed during the extraction of snail mucin, but it is not so. Harvesting the slime is relatively harmless since the snails are allowed to crawl around a mesh net placed in a darkened room for half an hour before being transferred back to their natural habitat. Some even capture the temperature of the snail habitat to increase production of mucin which is then bottled up and sent to skincare companies that make use of this ingredient.
Although studies regarding the effects of snail mucin is still in their infancy, with the compounds found in snail slime, it’s no wonder why many skin care experts are singing their praises for this natural ingredient.
