Snail Mucin

I can distinctly remember picking snails when I was a girl at our lakeside cabin. I would bring them into the cabin, place them on the table, and they would disappear. The only thing that they left behind was a trail of slime that they left behind as they made their escape.

This slime is snail mucin and has gained a cult-like following for usage in Korean skin care and it’s popularity is growing. Recently, I decided to try snail mucin as part of my daily routine primarily for its hydration benefit, but figured that it’s anti-aging properties could be a great add-on benefit as well.

Snail mucin is the slime that snails secrete and common garden snails are generally sourced for the mucin used in skin care products. While the mucin is secreted as a response to stress, it is easy to collect and does not harm the snails. The products that I am linking below do have safe-snail processes. (that is, honestly, a sentence that I never thought I would write.)

There have been multiple studies that have shown that snail mucin can promote faster skin regeneration, improve skin texture and correct hyperpigmentation. Because of its anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, I also knew that it would be a fairly safe product for me to try without any potential for rash or a flare of my contact excema. And, at the time of writing this, I have not, in fact, had any sensitivity to it, and I use products with it both day and night.

You will find that the serums and lotions that include snail mucin tend to be slimy in consistency, as you would imagine, however I haven’t found them to be difficult or gross to apply. They have a similar consistency to generic vitamin C or hyaluronic acid serums. The products that I use don’t have any scent, making it even better for sensitive folks like me.

Generally speaking, I use snail mucin serum after my hyaluronic serum and before my lotion in the morning and after my retinol and before my lotion at night. I also use the cream below as my morning lotion.

I have found that my skin is better hydrated and even though I have only been using it for a month, I believe that some of my fine lines have decreased in intensity. I will definitely follow up on that regard after 6 months of usage.

Because of it’s sensible price-point and my results thus far, I feel confident in suggesting that you add this as well.

CosRX is a fantastic brand, based on all of my research, and it has a great website and a robust store on Amazon.