Dare you try something called a “Snail Cream” if only for the sake of experimentation or beauty?
I kid you not. Snail cream is a very valid range of skincare that has been gripping Korea by storm. Almost every Korean brand of skincare – Etude House, Tony Moly, Baviphat, It’s Skin etc – has a line dedicated to snails. The first time I saw it, I shuddered.
Snail mucus on your skin?! Eww!
But really, its not all that gross as it sounds. It actually looks and smells just like any other moisturizer out there. Nothing slimy or gross about it at all. And it isn’t as new an “invention” either. There have been snail creams around for a while, and when I did a quick online search, one that popped up over and over was Elicina Snail Cream from Chile. I’d never heard of it before this so I forgive you if you haven’t come across it either 😀
What these snail creams do is use extract of Snail Mucin in their products – apparently yes, that’s the mucus bit. According to the brochure of the Tony Moly Intensive Repair Live Snail Cream, the skincare benefits of snail mucin was discovered by Chilean snail farmers who discovered that from handling the snails kept for food, the mucus helps heal cuts and abrasions and kept their hands looking smooth. And research showed that snail mucin had regenerative effects on the skin. Apparently, even Japanese cosmetics companies are looking into this due to the popularity of snail creams in the region.
Tony Moly Intensive Repair Live Snail Cream and Intensive Repair Live Snail Eye Cream
The Koreans, being presently at the forefront of skincare technology, have embraced the technology of snail mucin and incorporated it into their skincare. It is touted as a cure all, from having anti-aging benefits to whitening to hydration. In fact, it seems to be an all in one sort of cream! Boxes of snail creams were being snapped up even as I stood deliberating over my purchase so yes, if you are wondering, it is very popular.
So, would you dare put this cream on your face knowing what it contains? 😀
Update: Read my Tony Moly Snail Cream review here!
Paris B
Tony Moly is not presently available in Malaysia. The Tony Moly Intensive Live Snail Cream set as shown retailed at US$29 (duty free)
Issa says
May 5, 2011 at 9:20 amyes i would! all for the sake of beauty. hihihi….however, i don’t think we have that down here…..
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:42 pmWe don’t have this one here either but if you look at the Korean brands, they might have started bringing in the snail creams 😉
Pijieva says
May 5, 2011 at 9:20 amNot too pricey….good try
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:42 pmI thought so too.
yuki says
May 5, 2011 at 9:36 amI have a few sachets of samples from one of the Korean brands and yea, me and my sister’s reactions were ,’WHAT?? Snail cream???’
Gotta try them since u said it’s so laku! hahaha.
The Japanese not only put this on their face, they even put swiftlet poo on their face!! It’s super expensive too! They’d love to visit our caves then… hahaha… have a guano bath!
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:43 pmYes they were seriously flying off the shelves. They didn’t even have time to unpack them! LOL at the swiftlet poo. I’d read about nightingale poo but swiftlet would be easy to source locally no? 😉
eliza says
May 5, 2011 at 10:01 ami shudder with geli-ness @@
is the snail ingredient first on the list or last? I am a bit skeptical when I see the supposedly best or main ingredient is last on the list.
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:43 pmI’ve no idea to be honest. I don’t even know what constitutes the snail ingredient 😛 They do say that it has 70% snail mucin extract which is one of the higher amounts in their market 😀
reene says
May 5, 2011 at 10:01 amWell, since you reassured me that it doesn’t smell like snails…… I think I’d try it.
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:43 pmhaha… no it does not smell of snails or anything icky. 😀
fairyha says
May 5, 2011 at 10:17 amKnowing the fact that it’s from snail mucus I would probably steer away from it.
But then again if it really works AND I’m really desperate AND all other products fail me, maybe I will try snails skincare. Haha.
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:44 pmMaybe if someone were to let you use it without telling you what’s in there eh? Knowing what it contains, I too was feeling eww! but I had to try in the spirit of experimentation.
melchewvin says
May 5, 2011 at 10:46 amWhy not if its works right?! but just dont make the snail as a logo then will do!!! ahahahha
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:44 pmOh but most of them do have a snail picture on the jar… just to show you its a snail cream LOL!
melchewvin says
May 5, 2011 at 10:43 pmOH NO!!!!!! WHY?! fine I’ll just not look at the snail when i take the cream or just close my eyes!!!!!
AnT says
May 5, 2011 at 11:06 amHiya Paris!
Oh yes. I have tried Elicina back in 2009. First jar already caused zits on my face 🙁 So I stopped using already since then. Can’t bin it as it’s quite pricey though. Hence I used it on dry knees and hands 😉
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:45 pmGoodness! Is it very rich? A friend tried this Tony Moly cream and told me its quite oily so now I”m a bit sceptical if I should give it a go. Maybe for night use 🙂
AnT says
May 6, 2011 at 11:39 amIt’s not very rich though. It looks creamy but when you apply it thinly, it’s like any other lotion for combination skin. I tried using it once a day which is at night but still causing me pimples like no tomorrow 🙁 Perhaps different brand delivers different results 😉
ParisB says
May 6, 2011 at 5:04 pmI hope so! I would hate for this to break me out 🙁
nia says
May 5, 2011 at 11:10 ami think you can already find the snail cream at Etude House in malaysia.
please do share your review of ur snail moisturiser experience 🙂
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:45 pmAh thanks for letting us know! And I will definitely share my thoughts once I’ve had a go.
beetrice says
May 5, 2011 at 11:21 amthere have been plenty of weird things put into cosmetics in the name of beauty (ie. fish scales, placenta…) so I guess it was just a matter of time before they came out with snail cream!
I’d say a tentative yes to trying the cream, but will definitely have to enforce a mental block NOT to think of snails when applying it! *vainly tries to rub away geli-fied standing hairs on forearm*
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:46 pmLOL!! I can depot some into a little jar, not tell you its from snails and then you can try it without fear 😉
Alexis says
May 5, 2011 at 11:44 amI prefer plant based products than skincare that contain animal substance, so definitely a big NO NO to snail, or caterpillar / butterfly 🙂
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:47 pmI guess I have no preferences on this 😉
Nikki says
May 5, 2011 at 12:22 pmI wouldn’t mind! PB, as long as it’s not Cockroach essence or what nots! Anything related to Cockroach or look-alike! I’ll run the opposite way *major shudders*
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 12:47 pmOh eww! Not cockroach for me either! Or any bugs. Eww!!!
Cas says
May 5, 2011 at 12:50 pmNUH UH, even if it can cure my acne prone skin I think I’ll just pass!
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 2:22 pmhaha actually now that you mention it, in the stores, they show this snail cream helping those with acne skin – before and after photos. Not sure how believable they are though 🙂
j3nny9irL says
May 5, 2011 at 1:09 pmPoor snailsssss…. 😛 I might… or might not? Don’t know yet… 😛 Maybe not 😛
ParisB says
May 5, 2011 at 2:24 pmThat was the exact dilemma I faced. Should I? Should I not? In the end I opted for trying it. Just once 😛
Jean says
May 5, 2011 at 4:09 pmIf you dun tell me it’s made from snail, I am ok with it..
but thinking of snail crawling on my face….. ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww… PASS!
ParisB says
May 6, 2011 at 4:38 pmHAHA! Actually having a snail crawl on your face might just serve the same purpose 😛
gio says
May 5, 2011 at 5:19 pmI don’t think I would. Even if it is not as gross as it seems, there are plenty of other beneficial ingredients available so I don’t really feel the need to use this.
ParisB says
May 6, 2011 at 4:39 pmThat’s a point right there! 🙂 Not even in the spirit of experimentation?
shuaddict says
May 5, 2011 at 8:32 pmI’m not usually squeamish but I wouldn’t do it. There are other alternatives out there for a moisturizer, ones not needing .. snails .. of any kind 🙂
ParisB says
May 6, 2011 at 4:43 pmhehe… but sometimes, unless its mentioned, we don’t know what goes into most creams either 😉 Still I do agree. I’m not sure I’d stick with this regime but it was worth a try 😉
diane says
May 5, 2011 at 9:14 pmpeople have probably put worse things on their face for the sake of Beauty! 🙂
Price wise looks reasonable, but hmmm…psychologically, I kinda shudder at the thought of what is in it 🙂 I’ll have to forgo! 🙂
ParisB says
May 6, 2011 at 4:44 pmLOL! Yes people have indeed used worse things for beauty 😀 Nightingale droppings come to mind and I think that, I’d forgo 😛
Ros says
May 5, 2011 at 11:10 pmHi Paris!
Finally, a post on snail cream. Hehe.
I’ve tried it’s skin snail cream, and I must say that it is a wonderful cream. 🙂
It is much much much better than the overhyped La Mer.
It works well for my oily dry combi sensitive skin and helps fade some scars. Definitely worth a try! 🙂
ParisB says
May 6, 2011 at 4:53 pmIt was my first time coming across snail cream 😀 Glad to know that you’ve tried it and that it works for you! Which brand did you use?
Ros says
May 6, 2011 at 9:31 pmIt’s Skin. 😉 Got it from gmarket korea at 20% – 40% off retail price! 🙂
ParisB says
May 8, 2011 at 11:53 ami saw that one too! Was contemplating between that or Tony Moly 😀
Junni says
May 6, 2011 at 1:14 pmHey Paris, I am using one! I got it from Dermalogica facial salon, the aesthetician claims it is a cream for scar reduction. I think it is called elicina and I remember she told me it is a kind of snail cream. I don’t think much but just slap it on my face! 🙂 I’ll give you a review if you interested 🙂
ParisB says
May 6, 2011 at 5:09 pmOh I didn’t know they sold Elicina at Dermalogica salons 😀 I’ll drop you a line 😉