Snail mucin, what & where does it come from?
Have you ever noticed the slimy trail snails leave behind as they move?
This slimy trail is snail mucin.
This mucin has two essential functions:
Snail mucin ingredients
I have categorised snail mucin ingredients based on their function:
1. Hydrating ingredients
The main hydrating ingredients in the mucin are:
These three ingredients are humectants. Humectants are water molecules. As magnets bind themselves to iron particles, humectants bind to water molecules. Just like magnets forcefully grab the iron particles, these humectants pull the water molecules.
Humectants pull water molecules from the atmosphere to the skin’s surface, hydrating it.
Benefits of hydrated skin:
2. Proteins
Snail mucin contains collagen and elastin, proteins found in the skin. Collagen and elastin give the skin its structure and elasticity and play an essential role in skin healing. A low amount of collagen and elastin means saggy and easily inflammed skin.
3. Copper and Zinc Peptides
The peptides in the mucin help in the production of proteins, collagen and elastin. Collagen and elastin keep the skin firm. Skin becomes saggy as the amount of these two proteins reduces.
4. Calming Ingredient
Mucin has an ingredient called allantoin. Allantoin is a good anti-inflammatory ingredient. It calms the skin and reduces the redness on the skin. Reducing inflammation is one of the first steps in healing the skin.
5. Exfoliating
Mucin has glycolic acid. Glycolic acid is a good exfoliating agent. Exfoliating agents like glycolic acid gently remove the old skin cells, dirt and grime from the top layer of the skin. Unexfoliated skin has too many unhelpful cells and dirt on the top layer. These unhelpful bits come in the way of skin protection. Unexfoliated skin will be easily affected by nasty stuff from the environment – this means too many breakouts on the skin.
6. Anti-microbial
These cleanse the skin of the harmful organisms skin attracts as the snail moves.
How is snail mucin harvested?
Snail mucin used in skin care products is extracted from common garden snails. Only the mucin that snails release when they are relaxed should be used in skincare products. The mucin that snails secrete when they are uncomfortable will have harmful ingredients, so it should not be used in skincare products.
The incorrect method of extracting mucin is to poke the snails and force them to move so they secrete mucin. Doing this can hurt or even kill the snail 🙁
Also, the mucin collected this way will contain many toxins that are not good for our skin. The mucin can be filtered, but some toxins might not get filtered—not to mention the unethical nature of the extraction process.
Good manufacturers use mucin extracted from snails on farms.
These farms are snail farms – and snails grown in these farms are used in skincare.
The two methods of extraction are:
Snail mucin benefits
Snail mucin offers a range of benefits to human skin.
It, however, does not specialise in any of these benefits – it provides them all in a small magnitude.
Here is how snail mucin helps:
1. Hydrating
The mucin contains plenty of hydrating ingredients. These ingredients pull water from the atmosphere and keep the skin hydrated. Hydrated skin is soft, plump, and heals faster. Dehydrated skin is prone to redness, inflammation and breakouts.
2. Exfoliating
Mucin contains glycolic acid, a good exfoliating agent. Glycolic acid removes old cells, dirt, and grime from the skin’s surface.
If the skin is not regularly exfoliated, these old cells, dirt and grim hinder the skin’s defence mechanism. Skin becomes less effective in protecting itself, and skin not routinely exfoliated tends to be dull-looking.
3. Anti-inflammation
Allantoin present in snail mucin can reduce inflammation and redness on the skin. Inflammation on the skin leads to dark spots and uneven skin tone.
4. Well-ageing
Mucin has ingredients that can boost collagen and elastin production – both proteins keep skin firm. They also help with the healing of the skin.
How to use snail mucin?
Step 1
Cleanse your face. Pat dry. If a bit damp, it works better.
Step 2
Apply snail mucin skincare product. Rub it gently on your face.
Step 3
After a few minutes, apply some moisturiser or cream on the face.
You can use it either in the morning or at night.
If using in the morning, ensure the topmost layer of skincare product on your face is always a good sunscreen.
A good way to use products rich in humectants would be to use them straight after a shower when there is a lot of vapour in the bathroom. And soon, top it off with a thick cream.
The cream helps seal in the moisture the humectants attract. The cream seals the water the humectants attract and prevents the water molecules from evaporating into the atmosphere.
How to extract snail slime at home?
Please don’t extract snail slime at home. You will end up hurting the snail.
Let’s assume for a second that you haven’t hurt the snail and have successfully grabbed onto some of the slime that the snail has secreted. You still can’t use this slime on your body.
The mucin can have harmful ingredients. It has to go through some vigorous filtration processes – otherwise, the slime will end up causing more harm than good.
Leave the extraction process to the professionals!
Snail mucin for acne-prone skin
Snail mucin side effects
Wrong methods
The two main issues with snail mucin are incorrect filtration and incorrect extraction.
If an incorrect method is used, ingredients can cause allergies and harm the skin.
So, do a patch test first, even if you have used it before but are now switching to a different brand.
Skin conditions
Avoid snail mucin products if you have skin conditions like eczema or rosacea. Snail mucin has many ingredients, and we don’t want skin conditions to worsen using a product with an unknown ingredient list.
However, some people with rosacea have reported that they have seen positive results from using snail mucin products.
If you use it, go slow, monitor the changes, and don’t assume it will work for you because it works on some.
Seafood allergy
Don’t use snail mucin skincare products if you are allergic to seafood.
Sensitive
If you have sensitive skin, be cautious of snail mucin products.
Acne
Snail mucin is helpful for acne-prone skin. Having said that, if you notice an increase in your breakouts after using snail mucin products, stop using them.
Remember!
Though mucin is effective in protecting and healing snails, it will not work the same way on human skin. Some of its healing ingredients will work on human skin, but the magnitude of the effect will be different from that on snail skin.
But considering how normal the snails are despite constantly moving on rugged surfaces, if the mucin offers even a small amount of the same benefit to human skin, it is worth considering for our skincare routine.
What is the main benefit of snail mucin?
Notice how most of the mucin’s ingredients help the skin heal. This is what the mucin is meant to do for snails – help them heal.
Allantoin calms the skin and begins the healing process. Hydrating ingredients and the copper-zinc peptides help in the healing process. Glycolic skin increases the skin’s ability to defend itself by removing obstructing cells on the skin. And finally, the anti-microbial ingredients fight off the nasty organisms which can inflame and hurt the skin.
If I have to pick one or two primary benefits of snail mucin on human skin, it would be hydration with a touch of anti-inflammation.
Is snail cream cruelty-free?
If extracted in a proper way, snail cream can be cruelty-free. Always check the company’s website for the slime extraction process.
If you have any doubts, email the company with the question.
Can I use snail mucin every day?
You can…But why would you want to?
Snail mucin offers a range of benefits, all in a small magnitude. It doesn’t specialise in any benefit.
By using it daily, you are depriving your skin of other, more specialised skincare products.
Snail mucin benefits the skin, but using it daily doesn’t help your skin.
Does snail mucin brighten your skin?
Yes, it does brighten your skin. But make sure you use it correctly.
Its hydrating ingredients can plump up the skin. It has glycolic acid, which removes unwanted old cells from the top layer of the skin. These old cells give the skin a dull appearance.
Is snail mucin vegan?
No.
Snail mucin is not vegan.
Research on snail mucin
Advancing Discovery of Snail Mucins Function and Application
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8542881/
This research paper highlights that snail mucin shows promising signs in wound healing and as an anti-microbial agent. The paper says that there could still be a lot of unknown positives from the mucin. The biggest hurdle is making sure it is extracted the proper way, and a good filtering process is used.
Use of cream containing mucus secreted by snails has an anti-aging effect on skin
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282744379_Use_of_cream_containing_mucus_secreted_by_snails_has_an_anti-aging_effect_on_skin
This paper claims that 4 weeks after applying the cream, there was an improvement in terms of wrinkles, skin elasticity, dermal density, and skin tightening.
Effect of snail mucus on angiogenesis during wound healing
https://f1000research.com/articles/10-181
This study showed that using high amounts of snail mucus on rat skin, made its wounds heal faster.
Efficacy and Safety of a New Cosmeceutical Regimen Based on the Combination of Snail Secretion Filtrate and Snail Egg Extract to Improve Signs of Skin Aging
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32308795/
This study highlights that snail treatment showed improving signs of skin aging in women 45 to 65 years old.
(the study was funded by a lab that could have some conflict of interest – the lab could benefit from a positive study)
The Protective Effect of Snail Secretion Filtrate in an Experimental Model of Excisional Wounds in Mice
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34437489/
This study highlights that snail secretion filtrate enhances the speed and efficiency of wound healing in mice.
A natural biological adhesive from snail mucus for wound repair
The study highlights that snail mucus helps in wound repair
(the study was funded by a company that could have some conflict of interest – the company could benefit from a positive study)
Snail mucin is a functional food ingredient for skin
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464622001232
This study was done on mice. It showed that oral intake of snail mucin increased hydration and helped reduce the ageing of the skin.
The Effects of Filtrate of the Secretion of the Cryptomphalus Aspersa on Photoaged Skin
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23652894/
25 women found daily application snail mucin filtrate found an improvement in their fine lines after a 8-week period.