It has long been observed that the hands of workers who farm snails for culinary use tend to bein perfect condition and that any small cut or graze heals more quickly after contact with the molluscs.

It’s also known that snails have the ability to repair and regenerate their shells, even rebuilding them when they break.

So the idea arose that snails could be commercialized not only as an ingredient in gastronomy but also by using their slime, also known as mucin, in skin therapy.

Snails are some of the oldest animals to inhabit our planet, with evidence that they evolved more than 600 million years ago.

Heliciculture, the farming of land snails, is particularly well developed in Argentina because of its climate, especially in the Pampa Húmeda region where I visited some farms.

The properties of snails were already known in ancient Rome and Greece, where the figure of the snail was the symbol for pharmacies. People there also used to let snails slide down their faces as a treatment to heal and revitalize the skin.

The indigenous American Mapuche people in Chile and Argentina have also understood and used the skin-repairing properties of snail slime for centuries.

Snail mucin is collected by machinery without harming the animal. After the addition of different enriching ingredients, it is subjected to physico chemical and microbiological standardization processes. In other words, its quality is assured for its commercial use in cosmetics and medicine.

The proteins in snail slime have a composition that is very similar to those of the human dermis.

Additionally, the high percentage of all antoinin snail mucin helps to immediately regenerate and heal the skin. It also contains vitamins – including A, C, E and some of the B group –alpha-hydroxy acids such as glycolic and lactic acid, minerals and trace elements such as calcium.

Here’s how this natural repairer works. First, alpha hydroxy acids reduce the skin’s thickness and cleanse its outer layer, which allows the allantoin to better repair it. To finish rebuilding the skin, minerals and trace elements (especially calcium) are responsible for making the treated area stronger.

To conclude the regeneration and healing process, mucopolysaccharides have great moisturizing power to regulate the skin’s hydration.