Snail Mucin

EWG Score: 1What is EWG?

Snail Mucin is the secretion of snails that might be more commonly referred to as snail slime.  It helps snails move across surfaces while playing a critical role in maintaining moisture within their bodies.  Beyond that, however, snail mucin has gained increasing popularity and attention in the skincare realm, claiming that this particular ingredient helps provide hydration and moisture like no other.  Indeed, research and reviews by their users have shown that this claim has truth to it, and continues to be recognized for its myriad of beneficial properties.

Snail Mucin is commonly referred to as Snail Secretion Filtrate in most products, and is known for its hydrating and fine-light fighting abilities among others.

Ingredient Safety

Because knowing what goes into your skin is important.

In the past, acquiring Snail Mucin involved harming or killing the snail itself, but recent practices have significantly evolved to protect the health and well-being of the snail while being able to safely harvest their slime without cruelty or injury.  While snail slime has been used for a few years now, only in the fairly recent past has it gained significant popularity, interest, and incorporation into what is now a vast myriad of products.  Fortunately, snail mucin has been well-accepted with research regarding its effectiveness and properties continue to this day.

EWG: 1 (Low Hazard)
The group has noted a little over 20 different products that were reported to them having snail secretion filtrate as one of their ingredients as of August 27, 2019.  Please note that many more products exist out there that also include this ingredient as a part of their formulation, but have simply not yet been reported or submitted to the EWG as of yet for review and publication.
You can view EWG’s Snail Secretion Filtrate entry here.

US FDA:  Snail mucin has not been approved by the FDA as it falls out of the realm of regulation.  Studies have been conducted regarding the efficacy of snail extracts and its efficacy at the NIH, however, with further research being conducted by countless institutions outside of the National Institutes of Health network.  One article available in the NIH has noted various preparations of the snail used from almost 200 years ago to more recent times, and their purported effects.
Read the abstract on Snail Extract and Burn Healing at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Website.
Read about Snails and Health Care in the Past at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Website.

 

Effect Types

Categorization of what the effects of Snail Mucin may be when used on the skin

Moisturizing: Snail Mucin, or rather, the components that make up the Snail Mucin, is what gives it its impressive moisturization properties.  For the snail itself, keeping hydrated is a delicate task that must be maintained at all times; as a result, it is found with other compounds such as allantoin, glycolic acid, and hyaluronic acid, and of course others, all of which that serve to hydrate skin and keep it moisturized.

Anti-Aging: Like the moisturizing properties above, its not necessarily the mucin but what makes up the mucin that bestows its fine-line and wrinkle-fighting properties.  Beyond the mentioned ingredients, a few additional ones to further note include elastin, various peptides, and anti-microbials, which play a role in fighting the causes of aging skin such as dehydration, lowered collagen production, and damage caused by exposure to the sun and environmental free radicals.

References and Further Reading:
The Efficacy of Helix Aspersa Muller Extract in the Healing of Partial Thickness Burns: A Novel Treatment for Open Burn Management Protocols,
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Helix and Drugs: Snails for Western Health Care From Antiquity to the Present,
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

SNAIL SECRETION FILTRATE || Skin Deep Cosmetics Database | EWG

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