If you have dry skin, pay attention here because snail mucin is a skincare ingredient you should incorporate into your regimen. Snail mucin (snail slime) may not seem like anything you’d want to put on your face, but this buzzy ingredient is the current skincare rage, promising to moisturise and repair skincare barriers. Read on because it’s time to join the slug club.
What is Snail Mucin?
Snail mucin refers to snail excretions, which can act as lubricant, adhesion, and protection for the snail. So, what role does it play in skincare? According to experts, beauty products labelled with snail mucin ingredients typically contain snail secretion filtrate, a processed and sanitised version of snail mucus that is better suited for cosmetics.
Snail and slug slime has been used since ancient Greece to help relieve inflammation and prevent skin ageing. Experts believe it has moisturising, antioxidant, antibacterial, wound healing, and anti-aging properties. Its popularity has grown worldwide, particularly with the rising popularity of Korean beauty products, in which snail mucus has been a popular ingredient over the past decade.
Benefits of Snail Mucin on skin
Relieves irritation
Another important component in secretion is allantoin, a healing ingredient that soothes inflammation, smoothes the skin, and stimulates cell regeneration.
Hydrates the skin
Snail mucin, like hyaluronic acid, draws water to your skin, leaving it incredibly moisturised. This will assist you in repairing the skin barrier and promote healing and tissue regeneration. Well-hydrated skin is the secret to glass skin, as K-beauty promotes!
Boosts collagen production
Because snail mucin is a stress-induced excretion, it contains components that help to heal or protect against injury. Growth factors, for example, stimulate the growth of new skin cells and collagen. And, as we all know, more collagen equals fewer wrinkles and younger skin. According to experts, it also contains glycolic acid, a known collagen booster.
Exfoliates skin
Due to the presence of Glycolic acid in mucin, it may exfoliate your skin and even act as a humectant, assisting you in achieving these results.
Provides essential vitamins and minerals
Snail mucin contains a variety of skin-beneficial nutrients, including anti-inflammatory zinc and healing manganese. It includes copper peptides, which are also known for their collagen-increasing and wrinkle-reducing properties. It also includes vitamins A and E, which are both powerful antioxidants.
Side effects of snail mucin
According to experts, there are no well-documented side effects of snail mucin, but like with any ingredient, people can be allergic to it. To avoid adverse reactions, do a patch test of any new product on the inside of your forearm before slathering it all over your face. If you’re already using prescription-strength treatments, consult your dermatologist before adding any new products to your regimen.
How to use snail mucin?
Consider this an additional hydration step for dry skin—it is not a substitute for moisturiser, but rather an addition. Experts advise applying it after your active products, like as a vitamin C serum, and before your moisturiser. Mucin is thicker and has a sticky texture, making it ideal for retaining and locking in moisture from serums and moisturisers.
Our edit of the best products with snail mucin
Shop the best products with snail mucin
Shop the best products with snail mucin
Shop the best products with snail mucin
All Images: Courtesy Shutterstock
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Answer: Experts believe it has moisturising, antioxidant, antibacterial, wound healing, and anti-aging properties.
Answer: The snails are not harmed in this process. Other farms simply place the snails in a setting where they may move over a bumpy surface, which leads them to produce slime as they do naturally. The mucin is then harvested in this manner.
Answer: In the Korean beauty industry, snail mucin is the star ingredient. Snail mucin moisturises, encourages collagen production, heals wounds, and even relieves irritation.
Answer: Definitely. Its healing and antimicrobial characteristics might be beneficial when you're wanting to speed up the acne healing process and cure inflammation.
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Anushka Narula
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