Also called snail slime, snail mucin refers to the trail of mucus left behind when snails move across the ground. It contains a complex mix of proteins and organic chemicals that may have anti-aging, hydrating, and anti-inflammatory benefits when applied to your skin.
Snail mucin was first used in ancient Greece and widely popularized more recently in the South Korean beauty industry.
Here's everything you need to know about snail mucin, including its potential benefits, side effects, risks, and more.
Snail mucin is the mucus secreted by a snail or slug when it crawls. The lubricating substance allows snails to stick to the ground more easily and travel more smoothly. Along the way, it also protects their sensitive skin from damage, provides hydration, and prevents inflammation and infection.
As it turns out, snail mucin may have some of the same benefits for humans. In fact, ancient Greeks used it to treat dry skin, fight inflammation, and prevent the signs of premature skin aging. Over the years, it’s also been used in alternative medicine and products like surgical glue. Now, it’s a common ingredient in skincare products like creams, serums, and masks.
Potential Benefits of Snail Mucin
Research about the potential benefits of snail mucin is limited and ongoing. However, early studies suggest that snail mucin may help with skin hydration, wound repair, cell turnover, and the prevention of infections and skin cancer.
Hydration
Snail mucin contains the active ingredient hyaluronic acid, which has potent hydrating effects. Hyaluronic acid hydrates your skin from the inside out by encouraging water retention and preventing transepidermal water loss. This can help your skin appear plumper, firmer, and younger, especially if you tend to have dry skin.
When used in skincare products, snail mucin may also help to protect the skin barrier, which shields your skin from the drying and damaging effects of external toxins.
Anti-Aging Effects
Possibly because it contains glycolic acid–a naturally occurring alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) that is frequently used in skincare products–and copper peptides, snail mucin may have anti-aging effects. This could be because glycolic acid stimulates collagen production and cell turnover and proliferation (the production of new skin cells). Snail mucin is also known to have antioxidant effects, which can prevent cell damage from oxidative stress and free radicals.
A 2020 study found that the daily application of products containing snail mucin was effective in treating the visible signs of skin aging in a group of women ages 45 to 65. Snail mucin was found to significantly reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, in addition to improving skin elasticity, brightness, texture, hydration, barrier function, and firmness.
Antimicrobial Activity
Because snail mucin protects snails from contracting infections as they slither across the ground, it may also have antibacterial and antifungal properties when used by humans. A number of studies have found that snail mucus secretions can kill bacteria and prevent skin infections from worsening, especially when applied to wounds. In some cases, snail mucin was even more effective than common antibiotics.
Wound Healing
Snail mucin has anti-inflammatory properties, likely in part because it contains allantoin–a soothing natural chemical compound. Its ability to fight inflammation, prevent infection, and increase cell turnover allows it to speed up wound healing and support the skin’s natural process of recovery after trauma.
Studies indicate that snail mucin may be helpful in regulating the wound repair process in both humans and animals. In fact, snail mucin is sometimes used as a natural adhesive to protect and “seal” the skin for people with chronic wounds.
Prevention and Treatment of Skin Cancer
Early research suggests that snail mucin may even be used to curb melanoma, the most fatal type of skin cancer. Studies indicate that snail mucin may kill off skin cancer cells and prevent them from metastasizing (spreading). There’s some evidence that it could also prevent certain malignant tumors from growing, possibly due to its antioxidant properties.
Snail mucin often makes an appearance in multi-step K-beauty skincare routines, but you don’t have to be a skincare expert to make it work for you. You can easily incorporate snail mucin into your daily skincare regimen if you’d like to reap its purported benefits.
A typical anti-aging skincare routine involves the following products:
- Daily sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher
- Daily moisturizer
- Daily gentle cleansing
- At least one anti-aging skin product, such as a serum, per day
Many people incorporate snail mucin into their moisturizing step, as it’s safe to use on a daily basis. Others may use a brightening serum or mask with snail mucin a few times a week.
Types of Snail Mucin Products
Also called snail slime or snail extract, snail mucin may be “snail secretion filtrate” (SSF) on a skincare product label.
To get the most possible benefits out of your use, look for labels that include snail mucin early in the list of ingredients. This means that there’s a higher concentration of snail mucin in the product. For best results, you should also look for products that contain snail mucin alongside other anti-aging and antioxidant ingredients, such as retinoids and vitamin C.
Some of the skincare products that most often contain snail mucin include:
- Night creams
- Repair creams
- Face masks (both leave-on and wash-off)
- Gentle facial cleansers
- Undereye patches
- Serums
- Moisturizers
One of the reasons that snail mucin is so popular is that it doesn’t have many clinically documented side effects or risks. Most people who use snail mucin appear to tolerate it well. Still, research into skincare products that contain snail mucin is still limited, so it’s possible that some people could experience side effects.
However, you should avoid snail mucin if you are allergic to snails, shellfish, and/or mollusks. Snail and shellfish allergies are relatively common and can be dangerous. It’s important to keep this in mind before using snail mucin. Use only a small amount at first to test your reaction.
Signs of an allergic reaction could include:
- Itching
- Skin rash
- Redness and irritation
- Watery or irritated eyes
- Stuffy nose
- Hives
If you experience any of the following signs of anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction) after using snail mucin, call 9-1-1 or go to a hospital for emergency medical care immediately:
- Difficulty breathing
- Wheezing
- Swelling of the face, eyes, lips, tongue, or throat
- Heart palpitations
- Chest pain
- Lightheadedness
- Confusion
- Facial flushing
- Cough
- Stomach pain
- Nausea
- Difficulty speaking or swallowing
- Sense of impending doom
Who Should Avoid Snail Mucin?
Snail mucin has no medically documented side effects to date. However, you should not use snail mucin if you are allergic to snails or mollusks. People with very sensitive skin may want to try only a small amount of any skincare product–including those that contain snail mucin–at first to make sure they don’t have an adverse reaction.
Snail mucin may seem like an unconventional skincare ingredient, but many people swear by its anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hydrating, and wound healing properties. There’s even some early evidence to suggest that it could fight certain types of skin cancer.
If you’d like to give snail mucin a try, consider doing a “patch test” of your chosen skincare product on a small area of your skin first. As always, reach out to a dermatologist if you’d like help in building a skincare routine that fits your particular needs and concerns.
