In 1980, in South America, it was noticed that people working in snail farming for the French market had very soft hands and wounds on them healed quickly without leaving scars. This led to the study of snail slime to understand the mechanism that allowed for the rapid healing of wounds. After 15 years, snail secretion was used for the first time to create a cream, and today snail slime is widely used in the cosmetics industry.
What is snail slime?
The snail mucopolysaccharide, commonly called "slime," is a secretion produced by specific glands located at the level of the snail's foot.
This allows the animal to crawl on any type of surface without causing damage.
What are
the active contents
in the drool
of snail?
ALLANTOIN: substance that stimulates tissue regeneration, promotes epidermal turnover, and favors the proliferation of keratinocytes (replacing dead cells with new cells).
ELASTIN: protein that makes the skin elastic.
COLLAGEN: essential constituent of the skin, acting as a moisturizer and softener. Thanks to its elasticizing properties, it makes the skin firm and soft.
GLYCOLIC ACID: allows to exfoliate the superficial layers of the skin and stimulate collagen formation.
VITAMINS - ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS AND OTHER PROTEINS: promote peripheral vascularization and "oxygenate the skin", ensuring skin hydration. Vitamins also have antioxidant and healing properties.
What properties
has the drool
of snail?
Nutritive action: 80% of the skin is made up of elastin and collagen fibers, substances that should be integrated through the use of cosmetic products containing them. Therefore, the mucus secreted by the snail, used as an active ingredient in a cream, helps make tissues more elastic and toned, with a beneficial effect on wrinkles, making them less visible.
Regenerating action: this property is due to the effects of allantoin, which stimulates the production of elastin and collagen fibers. Allantoin allows, in fact, to treat with excellent results the signs resulting from scars, skin spots, and burns, as well as to slow down the skin aging process.
Exfoliating action: thanks to the presence of glycolic acid, a cream containing snail slime allows for a gentle peeling of the skin's superficial layer, proving useful in reducing skin spots.
Purifying action: helps prevent impurities. For this reason, a cosmetic product based on snail secretion can be useful in combating acne marks.
Hydrating action: thanks to the proteins present, snail slime helps oxygenate tissues and hydrate the skin.
Antioxidant action: allows to reduce inflammations and counteracts the action of free radicals.
