Let’s Talk About Snails - in K-Beauty
Snail slime, or as more often referred to in cosmetics, snail mucin or snail secretion filtrate, has been known for its benefits since ancient times when physicians already used it to cure inflammation—and it’s certainly not new to K-Beauty either. But thanks to some current trends, snail mucin is living its renaissance and receiving more attention from beauty enthusiasts than probably ever. But what is the reason behind the hype?
The Benefits of Snail Mucin in Cosmetics
Snail mucin is a highly water-based agent that is mostly harvested—and professionally purified—from common garden snails, or Cryptomphalus aspersa, to be a bit more scientific. Just imagine how this slime protects the snail’s soft body from whatever surface it has to slide along. This picture might not be the most inviting to try snail products on your face, but when you think about how strong and nutritious it has to be to keep the snails alive and safe, you have to admit that it is worth at least a try.
This antimicrobial slime is naturally packed with elements that protect the animal from damage, dryness, free radicals, and more. These include hyaluronic acid, glycolic acid, and copper peptides that probably don’t sound new to you if you're the slightest bit interested in skincare. All of these are popular and well-proven agents widely used in cosmetics to hydrate and plump up the skin.
So to summarize, the purified snail secretion filtrate is used in cosmetics, including many K-Beauty products, for its claims to repair damaged skin, skin barriers, fade scars and spots, stimulate collagen, help the skin’s regeneration, and overall have an anti-aging effect for a more glowy, youthful skin.
The TikTok Viral Essence from COSRX
For those who have been into K-Beauty for a while, neither COSRX or their Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence is something new, as it’s been—rightfully so—a holy grail for many of us in the past few years. But it reached the ears of TikTok’s peers who immediately fell in love with it as well, making it a trending product. Bringing both snail mucin and the COSRX essence to the light once again as they deserve, and even making the company create their own challenge on the platform earlier this year.
The Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence is light-weight and absorbs quickly into the skin making it perfect for a fast-paced morning routine when you need to get ready fast. You will feel the hydration and smoothness right away while the product will leave you with nourished, glowing skin all day. If you’ve never used a snail product before, its consistency will definitely feel different at first as it’s a bit tackier than your usual watery essences. But nothing too snaily, don’t worry.
Besides essences, snail products come in as many shapes and forms as you can imagine like Secret Key’s Black Snail Original Ampoule, Tony Moly’s Intense Care Snail Hydro-Gel Mask, creams, and many, many more. COSRX itself has also built a whole line of products around snail mucin, so you can either build up an almost complete routine or pick whichever item suits you best.
How Can Products Using Snail Mucin Remain Cruelty-Free?
Now of course no product that uses snail secretion filtrate will pass as vegan. But that does not mean it can’t be cruelty-free. In a simplified way, products are cruelty-free until they have not been tested on animals, or basically cause no harm to the animal during either step of production. According to COSRX’s claim, the “snails are placed over a mesh in a dark and quiet room, where they are left alone to freely roam the net and leave mucin in their trails. There is no external process applied on the mesh to force mucin production.”
Edited by Vivian N.