Snail slime - or better known as snail mucin, snail serum or snail filtrate is one of my favorite ingredients in skincare products. It may sound a little yucky but read on to learn more!
Snail Mucin is an animal-derived growth factor. Growth factors are high molecular weight peptides that encourage wound healing and tissue repair. The growth factors in snail mucin are highly beneficial to the snail and enable it to self-heal after injuries.
A chemical analysis revealed that snail mucin contained various different substances, including allantoin, collagen, elastin, glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid, and natural antibacterials.
Based on the chemical composition of snail mucin and the existing research, snail mucin may provide a wide-range of cosmetic skin benefits, including:
- Reducing fine lines and wrinkles
- Reducing pigmentation
- Reducing post inflammatory erythema
- Increasing skin hydration and stratum corneum barrier function
- Reducing enlarged pores
Here are 5 reasons why we love Snail Mucin in Skincare Products here at Fickle Beauty.
1) Fades Hyperpigmentation and Post-Acne Redness
My biggest skin concern is Post-Inflammatory-Erythema (red marks left behind after acne) & Hyperpigmentation which is why i am always on the lookout for products containing ingredients which will help with my skin concern. If you have seen my Ingredient Spotlight posts, majority of the ingredients i feature help with that because it is my major skin concern and i only share the ingredients which i've personally had great success with.
The red/brownish markings left behind after breakouts are typically expected to go away on their own over the course of several weeks to a couple months. However, with the usage of Snail Mucin, i find that it cuts the time by HALF. Which means if it usually takes 1 month to completely fade my PIE, I find that when i use my holy grail snail mucin products, it fades in 2 weeks - sometimes even less than that.
2) Calms and Soothes Irritated Skin
Snail mucin has been used since ancient times for its skin healing benefits. A number of research studies have demonstrated that snail mucin can significantly increase the rate of wound healing. This healing effect appears to be due to the complex chemical composition of snail mucin and its ability to increase the production of new skin cells, prevent the death of existing skin cells, and enable the movement of skin cells to the wound site.
3) Increase Skin Hydration
A chemical analysis revealed that snail mucin contained various different substances, including allantoin, collagen, elastin, glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid, and natural antibacterials. Snail mucin helps increase skin hydration and stratum corneum barrier function. This is due to the ingredient hyaluronic acid, whichis a humectant that attracts water molecules to your outer skin layer, keeping your skin hydrated and plump. When you focus on repairing your skin’s moisture barrier – in turn it will help minimise breakouts.
4) Smoothens out Fine Lines and Wrinkles
Snail Mucin stimulates the skin to produce collagen, elastin and other components thought to result in clearer skin while fighting signs of aging and sun damage. With an increased collagen and elastin production in the outer layers of your skin, you can expect your skin look firmer and more youthful.
5) Helps treat Acne
I haven't seen many articles claiming that it's helpful for treating acne however i personally have acne-prone skin and have had great success with using products with Snail Mucin. Instead of using acne-fighting ingredients and causing further damage to my already compromised skin moisture barrier, i focused on hydrating products to help my skin repair faster and restore my skin's barrier function to avoid irritating it further. Because snail mucin has so many beneficial nutrients and vitamins, it improved my skin's barrier and that prevented acne while speeding up the recovery of existing ones. Hence it is an ingredient i recommend to those with acne-prone skin.
If you haven’t added snail mucin to your routine yet, then I highly recommend you give it a go!
Here’s a list of some of snail mucin products we have on Fickle Beauty in order of the amount of snail secretion filtrate they contain:
- COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence – 96.3%
- Purito Snail Repair Advanced Serum - 93%
- COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All In One Cream – 92%
- iUNIK Black Snail Restore Serum - 70%
- Benton Snail Bee Ultimate Serum - 70%
- Benton Snail Bee High Contect Steam Cream - 64%
- Benton Snail Bee Mask - 20%
Click (here) to view all products.
