Snail slime and its properties for the skin

Snail slime is an active ingredient particularly appreciated for its firming and smoothing effects on the skin. For this reason, it can be found in various beauty products, such as serums, creams, or face lotions.

Improves hydration, stimulates collagen production, and promotes cell regeneration: snail mucin seems to be a precious ingredient, widely used in Korean skincare or k-beauty, which is so viral and famous worldwide for its benefits.

"Snail slime, moreover, is a byproduct of the animal and can be extracted without causing any harm to the snails. Let's discover together this extraordinary anti-aging ingredient!"

What is snail slime

The mucus from the gastropod mollusk is identifiable in what is left on the ground when the snail moves, and it is necessary for the animal to avoid cuts or scratches and protects it from bacteria or UV rays during its journey.

This substance is produced naturally and contains a powerful combination of elastin, proteins, antimicrobials, hyaluronic acid, and glycolic acid. It is a lubricating substance that allows the snail to glide without suffering damage and prevents inflammation and infections.

In cosmetic products, snail mucin may be referred to as snail secretion filtrate or snail secretion filtrate SSF. Although everyone now knows it by the name snail mucin, this compound is actually extracted from snails, which do not have the famous shell on their back, and it appears in liquid, slightly amber and clear form.

It is therefore believed that snail slime may have the same effects on human skin as it does on the animal: the ancient Greeks, in fact, used it for the treatment of dry skin, to combat skin inflammations and to prevent premature aging of the skin. Over time, snail slime has found many applications in the medical field, for example as surgical glue but also as an anti-tumor agent.

Today, snail slime is the key ingredient in many creams, serums, and face masks. It is believed to fade dark spots and thin scars, plump the skin and fill wrinkles, but also to fight acne, all thanks to its ability to oxygenate the tissues.

Research on the benefits of snail mucin for the skin is still ongoing, therefore limited, yet there are already many applications in cosmetics and its claimed effects, including:

• Improvement of skin hydration, thanks to the natural content of hyaluronic acid that prevents transdermal water loss;
• Anti-aging action because it contains glycolic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid that stimulates the production of collagen and elastin, and copper peptides;
• Wound repair thanks to the anti-inflammatory properties of allantoin, a soothing natural compound;
• Antitumor activity as it acts against skin cancer or melanoma;
• Prevention of skin infections and antimicrobial and antifungal properties.

Main properties of snail slime

Snail slime adapts perfectly to all skin types. In particular, it is a moisturizing and anti-aging active ingredient, ideal for countering all skin imperfections related to the natural loss of tone and elasticity.

Contains allantoin, elastin, collagen, glycolic acid, vitamins, and essential amino acids, and has moisturizing, exfoliating, and regenerating properties for the skin.

Glycolic acid stimulates the formation of natural collagen thanks to the cellular turnover of its exfoliating action.

The vitamins A, E, and C contained in snail slime promote skin oxygenation, have an antioxidant action against free radicals, and are healing, contributing to cellular repair.

Allantoin stimulates cell turnover and awakens younger cells by penetrating deep into the epidermis, while vitamin A, produced by carotenoids, is perfect for limiting the damage from photo-damage and oxidative stress, keeping the skin healthy.

How to use snail slime

Products that contain snail slime are often night creams and face masks, especially in cases where one wants to enhance the repairing and regenerating action that occurs during the night.

Serums and moisturizing creams that contain snail slime are ideal for brightening the skin and keeping it hydrated, thus contributing to the strengthening of the skin barrier and limiting damage.

The anti-aging effects often attributed to snail slime are a result of its multiple properties that contribute to generally improving skin health and providing the right oxygenation.

Snail slime is indeed able to soothe inflammation, repair tissues, and allows the skin to regenerate through intensive cellular turnover.

Studies show that the daily application of products containing snail mucin helps to treat the main signs of aging even at an advanced age, as well as improve the elasticity, brightness, and firmness of the skin.

The concentration of snail slime in products must be very high, over 60%, to be effective, and often the best cosmetics list it among the top positions in the INCI. Snail slime-based cosmetics are perfect after-sun products and excellent bases for makeup.

Thanks to its antibacterial properties, snail slime proves to be an excellent aid for the treatment of acne. The extract is particularly suitable for more mature skin, but it is also suitable for dry, combination, or acne-prone skin. Furthermore, snail slime can be used for the treatment of stretch marks and to revitalize dull or dry hair.

Selected snail slime: from extraction to application

We at LeLang have always been committed to offering our customers quality cosmeceutical products that are tested, certified, made in Italy, but also ethically valid.

The snail slime extract we selected is produced from Tuscan Italian farms and has a certified organic origin. The quality of the product is guaranteed by several factors, including the soil, the amount of nutrients contained in it, as well as the extraction method of the snail slime itself.

The secretion of snails is extracted without affecting the animal's life cycle which lives outdoors in a 5000 sqm farm and feeds on a wide range of selected and non-GMO plants.

The secretion of snail slime occurs under certain conditions and the cruelty free farms like the one we selected use a completely painless extraction method.

A stress-free extraction method is ideal not only to safeguard the health of the animal but also to ensure an excellent product. The extraction mainly occurs using manual methods, as it is enough to gently touch the animal to make it produce slime for at least 2 minutes, supported by enzymatic-sequential biotechnological processes that allow the disintegration of substrates through targeted molecular cuts.

This extraction process of snail slime not only preserves the properties of the final product but also enhances the antioxidant activity and improves the effectiveness of the actives at a topical level.

The product line Elyx Performance by LeLang is designed as a global and multifunctional active treatment. It is a valid support for the oxygenation of tissues that allows for a repair and regeneration of the skin's natural collagen.

Thanks to the contribution of elastin and the slightly exfoliating activity of glycolic acid, it is also possible to effectively prevent premature skin aging and brighten the complexion.