Why Snail Is Used As A Popular Skincare Ingredient

The thought of snail in your skincare might seem crazy and questionable to you. Adding to that, you might be surprised on why snail is used as a skincare ingredient these days.

You might be thinking “Wait, isn’t this animal cruelty?” Well I’m here to tell you that the snails in skincare are not harmed nor killed. There is a safe process on how skincare products contain them without actually killing snails. That is what you are going to learn today so keep reading!

Why Snails?

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Skincare industry is evolving and tons of research have been trying to find new ways on how to come up with new products and ingredients.

Snails are not killed but their mucin (the external body secretion aka slime) is the ingredient found and used in skincare. Now, let me tell you why snails are the chosen one.

• Rich in humectant hyaluronic acid
• promotes collagen production
• Contains high level of antioxidant

FUN FACT: The reason why snail is known to have wonderful skin benefits first started when Chilean snail farmers noticed that their hands were always smooth and soft after handling snails all day.

Hyaluronic Acid

HA or Hyaluronic acid, has been known as one of the most famous skincare ingredient that makes your skin smooth like a baby’s skin. Thanks to snail mucin, it actually contains hyaluronic acid and that explains why it keeps the skin hydrated and smooth.

I wrote an in depth information about hyaluronic acid and everything that it does to the skin that you can read HERE.

Collagen Production

If you do not know yet, collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. It is the substance that holds our body together. Collagen is the protein that gives skin its structure, suppleness, and stretch.

In maintaining the structure of collagen, Vitamin C is another important factor. Therefore, collagen production is very important in keeping your skin look and feel healthy. Luckily, snail mucin has it too!

Antioxidant Properties

Snail mucin also has antioxidant properties that aids in skin healing and reproduction. This is also why skin mucin is mostly used in anti-aging products! Overall, it helps increase cell turnover to help keep a youthful glow. This is one of the best advantage that snail mucin has compared to other skincare ingredients.

How Mucins are collected

First of all, there are different kinds of snails with some being poisonous. However, only edibe snails are used and collected for skincare products. Also, there are different ways to collect mucin from snails. We listed a few below.

The first way is through steam bath, and this process does not harm the snails. To collect the mucins, the snails are put in a steam bath, like a spa for snails, and this will cause them to secrete mucins.

The second way is through a net or silk, and similar to the first way, the snails are also not harmed in this process. The snails travel through a filtered net or silk. Most of the time the nets are textured for the snails to secrete their mucins naturally.

In conclusion, snails should not be harmed or threatened during the process. Once they feel threatened, they could release irritating enzymes that are not suitable for cosmetic products.

Who is it for?

Now that you know the benefits of snail mucin, the greatest part is knowing which skin type it is for. The answer is ALL skin types! Snail mucin is incredibly gentle to the skin and that is why it is mostly for everyone. Also, It rarely causes irritations and allergic reactions to most.

If you’re going to ask which this skincare ingredient is best for, then that will go to dry skin! No doubt that the dry skin people will enjoy this the most because of its hydrating power.

Top Skincare Products with Snail Mucin

Here are the different top skincare products that we managed to compile for you to try containing snail mucin!

You have reached the end!

That sums up everything about snail mucin and why it is used in skincare products today! I have another question for you that you can think of after,

“What makes a skincare ineffective?”

If you are curious to find out, check out our next article: 8 Reasons Why Your Skincare Routine is Not Effective by clicking HERE.

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