This £17 snail mucin essence is TikTok’s latest obsession for glowy skin

It's easy to think of those hours mindlessly scrolling TikTok as a Big Fat Waste Of Time, however, we are convinced we are looking at this all wrong. Sure, we could be spending our 24 hours discovering a new recipe, learning something clever, or researching our next beauty purchase... but wait a minute! Isn't this what we technically already do on TikTok and more?

The amount of useful wisdom we've learned from TikTok is, dare we say it, unmatched (see: baked oats, deadlift form, the tell-tale signs when someone fancies you... yadda, yadda yadda).

The latest thing we've learned is a goodie and it's the brilliance of snail mucin, AKA snail slime. You know when a snail moves along and then out comes sticky stuff? Yep, we're telling you to rub that all across your face, hun.

Snail mucin is a huge K-Beauty skincare ingredient and despite our ignorance, is definitely nothing new. In fact, there are reports of 'crushed up snail shells' being prescribed 'for inflammation' in 400 B.C. according to a paper published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Now in 2022, COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence has had over NINE THOUSAND five-star reviews on Amazon, thanks to its ability to soothe broken skin barriers, hydrate skin and even stimulate collagen production.

TikTok has naturally gone wild for the snail slime and the hashtag has amassed a whopping 394.8M views for its magical powers* (*basically, almost.)

One TikToker @caressmd is a stan of the ingredient and shared how she uses it to fade her acne scars and give her an impressive gleam.

Even skincare royalty and YouTuberHyram Yarbro did a full video on snail mucinand said how it was a great option for anti-ageing that has been backed up by proper research.

He said, "I did a little bit of research and I found there are a few studies confirming the benefits of snail mucin, not only did they find it diminished fine lines and wrinkles within the face and restored the skin of photodamage or sun damage, which is the main cause of ageing, dark spots and all the bad shit that happens to our skin.

"There was also another study which found snail mucin helps to repair against inflammation and damage within the skin overall."

THE SKINCARE KING HAS SPOKEN.

Is using Snail Mucin as skincare ethical?

Now you may be slightly apprehensive and sat wondering WHAT ABOUT THE SNAILS?!

But CORX promise no snails were harmed in the making the product and snail mucin 'is obtained in a safe way in the favourite environment of snails and then processed as a cosmetic material."

Essentially the snails are put into a dark room on some mesh material, where they are allowed to roam freely and chill. They do snail type things (do they do admin? Make small talk with other snails?) meanwhile the mucin is collected on the mesh and then purified and then added to bottles for us to use.

How to use snail mucin?

To use, simply pat onto clean and damp skin before serums and moisturisers. It can be used AM or PM, or both.

Check out COSRX Nail Mucin Power Essence here.

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