The Korean snail cream craze

If you're remotely interested in Korean skincare, you'll probably have heard of escargot or snail cream by now. The latest "miracle product" in Korean skincare, skincare products with snail slime extract have been flying off the shelves in Seoul.


(Fun fact: Snail slime has been used in European cosmetics for a couple of years now, but snail mucin products have never been as popular as they are now. According to an article on CNNGo, the snails used for the Korean products are fed ginseng! (They eat better than me :P) Hmmmm maybe that accounts for the difference?)


It all started with It's Skin's "Prestige Creme d'escargot" which was launched in 2009. After ads featuring Nichkhun were shown on TV in February, an amazing 70,000 boxes were sold in March alone. (In fact, what led me to bring in this Korea was seeing the Japanese tourist queuing ahead of me pick up 5 boxes. And this cream is not cheap!) It's currently still It's Skin's best-selling product and contains 21% snail extract. What's interesting to note is new players in the snail skincare market have taken to bragging about how much snail slime they contain (many are going for 90%) but what a Face Shop SA told me is that beyond a certain level, it just becomes superfluous, as the human skin just can't absorb it or benefit from it. (I've since tried 2 snail creams and I actually found that the one with less snail slime worked better on my skin, so maybe there's some truth to the sales talk! :) Will try to do a post on comparing the 2 snail products next week)


So what exactly does snail slime do for you? Well, according to Jeong Chang-hyung from Able C&C which owns Missha, snail extract "soothes, regenerates and heals skin" (Think about how snails can regenerate, and pretty quickly too) and has whitening, anti-wrinkle properties. To back their claims, most snail cream ads now have before and after pictures.


Looking at the It's Skin's advertisements, the photo review is pretty impressive. (Of course do take into consideration that this was probably the best result they saw!) And the press it's been getting has been living up to the hype. Fan Mina Oh, 26, who started using the product last winter, says “I had severe adult acne...I could feel my skin getting much better.” She plans to continue using snail-based creams. 

So... miracle product or over-priced gimmick? Try it for yourself and decide! :) Currently on promotion at S$99:
http://iheartkoreanbeauty.mybigcommerce.com/its-skin-creme-descargot/




Other interesting snail mucin products include:


Baviphat Snail Cure Hydro Gel Mask (S$9.60)
http://iheartkoreanbeauty.mybigcommerce.com/products/%28Baviphat%29-Miracle-Snail-Cure-Hydro-Gel-Mask.html

Tony Moly Intense Repair Live Snail Gift Set 4 Step (S$19.90)

http://iheartkoreanbeauty.mybigcommerce.com/tony-moly-intense-repair-live-snail-gift-set-4-step/

Saem Dr Beauty Cell Repair Anti- Aging Mask Sheet (E.G.F + Snail Complex + Syn-ake) (S$10.70)

The Saem has gone 1-up by combining 3 popular Korean trends in 1 product!

http://iheartkoreanbeauty.mybigcommerce.com/saem-dr-beauty-cell-repair-anti-aging-mask-sheet-e-g-f-snail-complex-syn-ake/

Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail Hydro Gel mask (S$9.70)

http://iheartkoreanbeauty.mybigcommerce.com/missha-super-aqua-cell-renew-snail-hydro-gel-mask/

And... there are even escargot BBs now!! 

Tony Moly Intense Repair Live Snail BB Cream (S$53.50)

http://iheartkoreanbeauty.mybigcommerce.com/tony-moly-intense-repair-live-snail-bb-cream/

It's Skin Prestige Creme d'escargot B.B ($47.10)

http://iheartkoreanbeauty.mybigcommerce.com/its-skin-prestige-creme-descargot-b-b/

For more products, do visit:

http://iheartkoreanbeauty.mybigcommerce.com/search.php?search_query=%22snail%22&x=0&y=0

Sources include:

http://www.cnngo.com/seoul/shop/snail-cream-821956