They say the best skincare ingredients grow in your garden. But who knew those little critters crawling around your plants also fit the bill? We don’t recommend trying to extract potions from every crawlie out there, but the effects of snail mucin have been proven. Snail mucin has been a K-beauty skincare staple for quite some time now, and has slowly crept into our favourite skincare products. But what is snail mucin? Simply put, it’s their slimy trail. Historically, Chilean snail farmers found their hands to be extremely soft and supple after handling them. Snails were also made to crawl on people for the slime’s anti-ageing benefits. While it may sound disgusting, maybe it is this ick factor that makes it stick with us, literally. What Are The Benefits Of Snail Mucin? Snail mucin is packed with some really popular skincare ingredients. The presence of hyaluronic acid in it, for one, helps to lock in moisture and facilitate barrier repair. It holds regenerative properties, having glycolic acid, that stimulates collagen production for a youthful look. Allantoin helps lock out irritants while helping shed dead skin cells. Anti-inflammatory zinc, healing manganese, antimicrobial peptides- and the list keeps going. No wonder K-beauty lovers and skinfluencers have their hands full of slime.