Ingredient glossary / Humectant
Snail mucin
On the label: Snail Secretion Filtrate · Humectant
What it is
The filtered slime of garden snails, a Korean skin care staple; mostly water with glycoproteins and hyaluronic acid. Not vegan.
Humectants: Humectants draw water into the outer layer of skin from the air and the layers below; glycerin is the classic one.
In the research
13 PubMed papers mention it with skin, cosmetics or hair; the three most recent:
- Chemical Variability and Biological Potential of Cornu aspersum Mucus as a Source for the Development of New Cosmetic and Pharmaceutical Products · Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 2025
- From slime to sublime: the impact of snail mucin on scar therapy and wound healing in dermatology · Cutaneous and ocular toxicology, 2025
- Influence of the extraction method on functional properties of commercial snail secretion filtrates · Scientific reports, 2024
A paper is a paper, not a verdict: titles are listed so you can read them, and a study on cells or mice says little about a cream on a face.
Other humectants
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