Snail Creams - Do They Work?

Recently, snail creams have become a popular trend in Korean beauty products. They contain snail slime, which we all know as the gooey trail left behind by a snail as it moves along. (Eww!) Manufacturers claim that snail slime-containing products are able to improve acne, spots, blemishes, wrinkles, stretch marks and fine lines.

A garden snail

My dearie got me some samples of snail slime-containing products too! So, being curious as well as skeptical, I tried to search for any clinical or scientific trials which have been carried out to demonstrate the benefit of snail creams.

 

My own sample pack of snail secretion extract products

The first article that I came across was a very old article from 1982, by Iguchi et al..[1] Snail slime extract was collected from African giant snails (captured in Okinawa) and tested for antibacterial activity.  Indeed, the mucins (carbohydrate-conjugated proteins) present in the extract was found to possess antibacterial activity against a few different types of bacteria (both gram-positive and gram-negative).

The second article that I found was a report of a small clinical trial by Fabi et al..[2] In its introduction, the rationale behind the use of snail slime was explained. When snails are exposed to UV light or x-rays, they retract their tentacles and secrete a large amount of mucus as a defense mechanism. This mucus helps to repair the snail’s damaged skin in less than 48 hours. Maybe it can repair human skin too!

This trial was a 2-center, double-blind, randomized, 14-week study, with a sample size of 25 female patients with moderate to severe wrinkles around the eyes and mouth. The treatment used was an 8% emulsion and a 40% liquid serum containing snail secretion filtrate from Cryptomphalus aspersa (also known as Helix aspersa, or the common garden snail). The snail slime-containing emulsion & serum were applied to one side of the face, while a placebo emulsion & serum was applied to the other side. The result? The snail slime-treated side showed a trend towards greater improvement of wrinkling around the eyes compared to the placebo-treated side of the face. However, the difference was not statistically significant (probably owing to small sample size). Was the difference noticeable? At week 8 of using the products, patients reported an improvement in fine lines on the snail slime-treated side but did not report a difference in the overall quality of their skin.[2]

In the same article, a previous pilot trial by Tribó-Boixareu et al. was also mentioned. The pilot trial was a small nonrandomized, open-label study with 15 participants. The study had yielded promising results with improvement in sallowness, fine lines, deep wrinkles, elasticity, dryness and roughness of the skin.

 

Nope. Unfortunately, the effects of snail cream are not THIS pronounced.

But how does snail slime work? Brieva et al. set out to study the scientific basis for the regenerative properties of snail slime. They discovered that snail secretion:[3]

1.       Possesses antioxidant properties.  Snail secretion has multiple modes of action as an antioxidant: It possesses certain enzymatic (superoxide dismutase [SOD] & glutathione S-transferase [GST]) activities, which enables it to inactivate free radicals and reactive oxygen species which are already present. It is also able to scavenge free radicals, halting the chain reaction which produces more free radicals.

2.       Enhances the growth of fibroblasts (a type of cell that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen, important for wound healing).

3.       Stimulates fibronectin secretion and assembly (also important in wound healing).

4.       Reduces the production of matrix metalloproteinase enzymes (Increased metalloproteinase expression has been associated with impaired wound healing and regeneration).

Fibroblasts

Am I convinced?

Based on the trial by Fabi et al., there seems to be some evidence to suggest that snail slime products may help to decrease the presence of wrinkles. Although the effect is not that pronounced, I think that many women (being the vain creatures that we are) would be willing to try these products out for even a modest benefit.

As for the skin healing and regenerative properties of snail slime, I think it’s really great that its benefits has been shown in vitro (i.e. in cells growing in petri dishes). But the big question is: Do these observations translate to real-life clinical benefits? How would the HUGE proteins in snail slime penetrate the skin barrier to exert their effect? Theoretically, it might work if applied on broken or inflamed skin. Some dermatologists may use laser to create tiny holes in the skin before applying snail cream, and this may work too. But on healthy, intact skin? I have my doubts.  

So, I will be conducting my own open-label trial, sample size = 1. I shall try out my snail slime products for a month (or until the product is finished), and if there is any improvement to my skin, I’ll make sure to update on this blog. ^_^
*Update: Click here for the results of my little trial of snail slime products!

References:

1. Iguchi et al., Comp Biochem Physiol A Comp Physiol. 1982;72(3):571-4.
2. Fabi et al., J Drugs Dermatol. 2013 Apr;12(4):453-7.
3. Brieva et al., Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2008;21(1):15-22