The Truth About Snail Mucin In K-Beauty Products

It’s one of K-Beauty’s favourite ingredients. 

With its ability to repair skin damage, actively hydrate, fight wrinkles and reduce acne marks, it is little wonder. 

Here's the truth about snail mucin in K-Beauty products and everything you need to know before you buy it. 

Why Snail Mucin Is So Good For Skin

Snail mucin naturally contains a whole heap of skin-friendly goodies, including proteins, elastin, glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid and copper peptides. It also has cleansing properties that help avoid bacteria.

However, perhaps surprisingly (given how famous Koreans have made it!) the use of snails in cosmetics and medicine is not new or unique to K-Beauty products. The ancient Greeks knew of snail mucin’s potential to heal skin, and also used it internally.

Despite its many benefits to the skin, people rightly often wonder how snail mucin is collected, and in particular, whether it is harmful to the snails.

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How Snail Mucin Is Harvested?

Traditional methods of harvesting snail mucin were cruel – the snails were essentially dunked in pots of water with salt, vinegar or other chemicals to force them to excrete mucin. Thankfully, the methods for harvesting snail mucin have changed considerably.

These days, there are a variety of “cruelty-free” methods of snail production and slime extraction.

In fact, research shows that the quality of the mucin itself depends on breeders keeping good environmental conditions for their snails. As a result, breeders themselves regulate what the snails eat, how they are kept and how the slime is extracted.

This also helps in certifying snail mucin products as cruelty-free.

In Italy, for example, snail mucin is extracted by immersing the snails in a special steam bath that acts like a spa for snails. The snails are not harmed in this process. In other farms, the snails are simply placed in an environment where they can move over a bumpy surface, because this causes them to make slime like they do naturally. The mucin is then harvested this way.

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What Results Can You Expect Using Snail Mucin?

You can expect the look and texture of ageing, damaged, acne-prone and/or scarred skin to be improved. This is because snail mucin supports natural cell regeneration and replenishes moisture to increase skin’s firmness and suppleness.

Style Story’s Favourite Snail Products

Here at STYLE STORY, we love snail mucin! In fact, it’s in many of our favourite Korean Beauty products, including:

APLB Healing Moisture Snail Cream – When skin is damaged and sensitive, it is more easily prone to breakouts and looks dull and lacklustre. That’s when you should reach for this gentle calming, skin repairing moisturiser. It addresses a wide range of skin concerns – from pores and dull skin to acne and fine-lines.

Benton Snail Bee Set- the perfect pair to tackle blemishes, acne scarring and pigmentation. They work together to target the key signs of skin damage.

COSRX Advanced Snail Mucin 96 Essence – made with 96% all-natural snail secretion filtrate, this is a powerful treatment that transforms the complexion. 

iUNIK Black Snail Restore Serum is enriched with 70% Black Snail Extract and 5 Black Super Food to nourish skin. With patented HG ingredients, it facilitates the recovery of tired skin while Centella Asiatica contents help alleviate traces of freckles for vibrant, flawless skin.

COSRX Advanced Snail Mucin Power Gel Cleanser is perfect for those with sensitive skin, irritation or redness. Supercharged with 10,000ppm of snail secretion filtrate, this cleanser delivers a powerful regenerative and hydrating effect. 

Benton Snail Bee Ultimate Hydrogel Eye Patches are highly concentrated hydrogel eye masks that are packed with nourishing ingredients!

Best of all, they are great for the environment! After using them, simply dissolve them in hot water and poof! They disappear into thin...water :p

Want to know about other trending Korean skin care ingredients and which ones are perfect for your skin type? Tune into the podcast here:

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