When I moved to Korea I learned more about them. As it turns out, the use of snails in skincare and medicine dates way back to Hippocrates. This famous doctor in ancient Greece would prescribe them as a topical treatment for inflammation. However, snails regained popularity in the early 1980s when farmers in Chile who were producing escargot for France noticed how soft their hands were and how quickly cuts and scrapes would heal. Korean doctors and researchers took this information and started using snail mucin for skin care in Korea. Many accessible studies that are independent of sponsorship and are from very reputable sources, like the Mayo Clinic or the Journal of Integrative Dermatology, tout the benefits of snail mucin in the areas of, wrinkles, anti-aging, hydration, water loss, and post-procedure healing.

In preparing this article, I met with a snail farmer here in Korea. He uses his snails for many different things, one of them is providing snail mucin to the big universities for medical research. He said snail mucin is approved by Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for use on burns. He recounted a story where he was burnt and applied snail mucin to the burn and he didn’t scar. In the research that I have done, the regenerative properties of skin with the use of snail mucin are significant. It sounds like there is potential to cure or curb skin cancer, keep cancer from metastasizing, regenerate skin cells to heal wounds quickly, kill bacteria to prevent skin wounds from worsening, fade acne scars, improve arthritis, liver disease, kidney inflammation, and much more. There have been studies done where skin has been biopsied after the use of snail mucin and clinically significant improvement has been observed. Now I am not making any of these claims, nor am I endorsing anyone else’s claims, I’m merely commenting that there could be some potential here. I will be curious to see what we’re doing with snail mucin ten years from now. It also opened my mind to trying and exploring these products.

Now please do not let your children collect snails from the garden, they can carry parasites and you certainly don’t want that on your skin. The snails used in skincare are grown in safe environments and the mucin collected is sterilized before use in cosmetics. Another important factor is that Korea does not allow animal testing for cosmetics and has very stringent laws against animal cruelty. So, my understanding is that the mucin used in Korean cosmetics is collected without harming the animals.

So, if this has now opened your mind towards trying snail cream, the next question would be what to try and where to buy it? My first purchase of snail cream was in 2018 from the shop owned by Mr. Yong Kwan Kim in Seoul. He now operates the Kiosk inside the Humphreys Post Exchange. Mr. Kim is very knowledgeable about skincare and cognizant of what Americans want. You can buy from him at very affordable prices, or you can get the brands he sells from places like Amazon or Ulta amongst others. So, if you find something that you really like, don’t be scared to try it even if you’re only here for a short time as you can purchase it again stateside. 

One of his most popular snail brands is the black snail line made by Eshumi. This line may help with four major things; first it helps you to retain moisture because snail mucin contains hyaluronic acid that helps soft tissue growth and stimulates your body to make more collagen and elastin. Secondly, it has anti-aging properties because it contains glycolic acid that may diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Thirdly, snail mucin contains allantoin that helps with skin healing and regeneration. Finally, snail mucin contains beta-glucans proteolytic enzymes that calm and soothe irritated skin.  

Eshumi has a full line of skincare products all containing about 50% snail mucin so it’s great to use for moisture all year long. The recommendation is to go from the thinnest product to the thickest. So, you can choose a different day and night routine or mix and match to meet your own skin’s needs.  It’s recommended to cleanse and then use the hydrator. After that in the evening, one might use the ampoule and then the cream; while during the day under makeup, you might opt for an essence and then a moisturizer. Snail mucin is for all skin types and all ages. This particular line also has other ingredients added like jujube extract and niacinamide, a vitamin B3 derivative so, it helps brighten skin and prevent wrinkles. 

I hope that you will give snail mucin a try. I recommend that you start with the black snail sheet mask by Jigott. I think it has the most wonderful fragrance and you can purchase it for as low as fifty cents. But, if you have other skin concerns like blemishes or deep wrinkles Mr. Kim has many other Korean skincare items like collagen, 24KT gold, and vitamin C that you may like. He’s happy to give you a personal consultation on what might work best for you. I find the products in his shop reasonably priced and he quite often runs special offers like buy two get one free on his snail products. 

As I started researching K-beauty products to write this article I found enough information to write a book but, since that’s not the purpose of this article, I won’t bore you with too many facts. If you want more information on any of the products above or the results of the CosRX essence after two weeks of use, follow me on Instagram or YouTube @AlisonRockUSA and I will post more details and honest reviews. Good luck with your beauty routine and I hope you will give snail mucin a try. 

About the Author

Born in California Alison Rock is a trained culinarian, actor, painter, K-influencer, and most importantly a wife and mom to two teenage boys. She enjoys travel and has resided in Korea for ten years.