Snail Skincare Review – Does It Work?

It’s a pretty well established fact now that Korea is miles ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to the beauty market. They created a huge market with their extremely effective beauty products that has Western world in a tizzy.

One example of how Korea crushed the skincare game is when it introduced BB cream to the world a few years ago. Now, customers can’t go into any makeup store in North America without seeing these creams everywhere.

It seems that Korea is at it again with its newest beauty sensation. Unfortunately, this time it doesn’t sound as appealing as BB cream. The newest skincare trend is snail skincare creams. Snails as in slime and gardens and escargot.

While it may sound a bit unsettling to begin with, snail skincare is actually very effective, leaving behind soft and beautiful skin.

The History of Snails and Skin

Surprisingly, Koreans weren’t the first to use snails on the skin. In records that date back to ancient Greece, the physician Hippocrates described using sour milk and crushed snails to reduce inflammation of the skin. While skin care products today don’t use crushed snails, this is one of the first mentions of how snails had a positive effect on the skin.

More recently, a group of Chilean farmers who handled snails that were going to be made into escargot noticed that their skin was becoming smoother. It wasn’t long before they realized that the skin the snails touched was smoother than the skin that didn’t have direct contact with the snails. This was the beginning of using snails to improve the feeling of skin.

What’s in Snail Skincare Products?

The good news about snail skincare is that it’s not the actual snail that’s in the creams, it’s the slime that the snails leave behind. Snail slime, or mucin, is a mix of several compounds, like proteoglycans, glycoprotein enzymes, and antimicrobial peptides, as well as a few trace elements, like copper, iron, and zinc.

This mucin is gathered from snails by stimulating them so that they release the thick fluid. Again, it doesn’t sound very appealing, but all those compounds and elements create amazing face products, which will be explained in more detail below.

The Science Behind Snail Skincare

It’s believed, and now widely accepted, that the mucin found in snails can protect the skin as well as deeply moisturize it. Not only does it make the skin feel better, it also helps create new and healthy skin that might have been damaged by a number of issues, like acne, aging, or injuries.

More important than the number of claims made about snail skincare is the scientific studies done on the subject. These studies have found that mucin has a very positive effect on cell cultures. These effects ranged from stimulating the growth of new collagen and elastin to increasing the amount of fibronectin proteins the skin produces.

Further studies, ones that looked specifically at mucin and the skin, found that snail mucin can actually increase how much water the skin can hold. This indicates that mucin can help the skin stay moisturized and plump, minimizing dry skin and wrinkles. The research also hints that mucin may work as a topical healing ointment.

Using Snail Skincare Products

Every product that uses snail mucin will have a different set of instructions. However, dermatologists have come up with a set of basic rules for those who are beginners in using snail creams. First, beginners should only use the cream on a very small area. This area should be checked for any irritation or rashes before the cream is put on the face.

Another suggestion is for people with overly sensitive skin to avoid these products. As mentioned above, there are several compounds and traces of metal in snail mucin. While there haven’t been wide reports of any issues, it’s always better to be safe when it comes to the skin.

Finally, most companies who produce snail skincare products recommend their customers not to be impatient. It can take about two weeks for all the benefits of the creams to be noticed. Continuous use is strongly recommended for these results to continue.

Favorite Snail Skincare Products

While there are dozens of companies jumping into the snail skincare game, there are a few favorites who have continuously produced quality products.

The first company is Mizon. A Korean company that sells its products on Amazon and on the websites of Urban Outfitters and Peach and Lilly, Mizon has been in the snail skincare business since the beginning. It offers a wide variety of products that include mucin. These products are designed for sensitive skin in mind, so they should work for most customers.

Two favorites from Mizon are its Snail Repair Blemish Balm and it All-in-One Snail Repair Cream. The Blemish Balm (BB) Cream is thick, but goes on light for those who want a more subtle or sheer coverage.

The all-in-one repair cream is actually made up of 92% snail mucin. This makes it more of a gel texture than a cream. While this may sound off-putting, customers can’t stop raving about this cream. It brightens the skin, making it look clean and fresh. On top of that, it also evens out the color and texture of the skin. This means that dark spots and scars will start to fade after prolonged use.

Tonymoly is another customer favorite when it comes to snail skincare products. Despite specializing in Korean beauty products, Tonymoly is based out of New York and only ships within the United States. The most popular snail skincare product by Tonymoly has to be its Intense Care Snail Eye Mask. This mask fits around the eyes to reduce puffiness and dark circles. Users have said that they only need to use one mask every week or so, since their eyes look so much better each use.

To find more amazing snail skincare products, make sure to check out the Mizon website and the Tonymoly website.