What Is Snail Mucin and How Is It Collected for Skincare Products?

Have you seen skincare containing snail mucin? Maybe you’ve spotted the little jars on a shelf at Sephora or heard of it through an influencer. But what is snail mucin and how does the beauty industry collect it?

What Is Snail Mucin?

Snail mucin—snail slime, snail secretion filtrate, or helix aspersa muller glycoconjugates—refers to the trail of mucus left behind when snails glide. It contains a complex mix of proteins and organic chemicals.Thanks to their mucin, snails can glide on a razor blade without getting a scratch.

Is Snail Mucin Good For Human Skin?

CreamScan, an evidence-based skincare analyzer, recently conducted a systematic review of all available clinical studies on snail mucin. The findings? There is no evidence that snail mucin provides any meaningful skincare benefits.

How Is Snail Mucin Collected for Skincare?

To collect snail mucin for skincare products, workers steal the slime from living snails. For some types of mucin, snails must feel discomfort to produce it. So, workers jab them with sticks, spray them with chemicals, like citric acid and ozone, or use electrical stimulation.

In another method, workers break open the snails’ shells and rip out their bodies. The snails are then submerged in freezing water so workers can take their mucin.

CreamScan also examined the extraction practices widely used in the industry—all of which trigger clear stress responses in snails, including shell retraction and excessive mucus bubbling.

Snails are not skincare tools. They can feel stress, pain, and fear—just like you and me. Snails deserve a life of freedom and exploration in nature. But every year, countless snails are suffering through invasive procedures for a cosmetic trend that science simply does not support.

Skincare Products That Don’t Contain Snail Mucin

Thankfully, there are fabulous cruelty-free, vegan skincare products on the market. Here are just some products that will help hydrate your skin without hurting animals:

1. Kale Hydrating Gel Moisturizer by Byroe New York

2. Glow Drops Radiance Boosting Serum by Milani Cosmetics

3. Glow Body Lotion by Billie

4. Hydrating Dewy Gel Cream Moisturizer With Hyaluronic Acid + Ceramides by First Aid Beauty

5. Restorative Sea Culture Replenishing Serum by 100% PURE

6. C-Boost72 by Juice Beauty

7. Vegan Ceramide Barrier Face Cream by Pacifica Beauty

8. Arctic Repair Cream by Skyn Iceland

9. Hyaluronic Sea Serum by OSEA Malibu

10. Regenerate Reviving Serum by Botanical Republic

Looking for more? Check PETA’s database for companies that don’t test on animals, and look for vegan ingredients while shopping!

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