When you've been around long enough, you hear of all kinds of hacks to clear up acne, from the classic toothpaste-on-a-spot routine to infrared LED masks.
But there's a product slowly but surely sneaking up on the competition: snail slime.
Acne, and the pigmentation scars left behind - known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation - is notoriously difficult to shift, with factors such as diet, fitness, and genetics all playing a role in how your skin recovers from it. For this reason, effective acne treatments are sought after like the Holy Grail.
Leave it to the incredibly high-tech and innovative Korean beauty industry to happen upon the apparent hero product: snail mucin.
The ingredient is a powerful aid for skin repair, thanks to its complex mix of what we know as the best ingredients for soothing skin.
"Snail mucin is a complex mix of peptides, glycosaminoglycans, hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, and metal ions (such as zinc, copper, iron, and manganese)," Sejal Shah, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City, told Allure.
Snail mucin - the slime secreted by snails if you needed the visual - reached a new level of fame and notoriety when PopSugar ran an article by Jessie Schiewe, who uses "a tablespoon of snail mucin" on her face and neck twice a day, every day.
Schiewe, who started getting acne in her 20s, visited "multiple dermatologists who recommended myriad ointments, like Differin and Tazorac, as well as prescription antibiotics, all of which I dutifully used, to no avail. Facials became a monthly ritual, and I tried everything from intense extractions to LED Blue light treatments and glycolic-retinol masks".
She writes that after switching to snail mucin, her acne has cleared up, and a year after the change she has the confidence to go outside barefaced.
In Korean skincare, the product is marketed as an anti-ageing treatment rather than an anti-acne one, but it allegedly does both.
If you're feeling adventurous, here are some of the best snail mucin products on the market right now.
Mizon All In One Snail Repair Cream, €49.79
Biopelle's Tensage Daily Serum, €112.45
Cosrx's Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence, €21.45
