Fashionizer is on the trail of a new snail beauty treatment

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We are a cosmopolitan lot at Fashionizer, and one or two of us will admit to being quite adventurous. But we recently had cause to write about a new treatment that made us all go “Ewwww!”

It’s snails.  Their natural place is in the garden. It’s not on your face.  But in Japan, live snails are being used to treat skin blemishes and give an all-round healthy glow.  The main benefit comes from the mucus, which contains a range of substances that pique the interest of the cosmetics industry: exfoliating agent glycolic acid, proteins and antioxidants.

Then there are snail face creams, and thanks to our French sales agent Martine, Fashionizer has the inside track on what’s going down with snails in France. We are reliably informed that the harvesting of slime specifically for the beauty industry is stepping up to new levels. Experienced snail farmer Louis-Marie Guedon is moving into industrialised production of snail mucus at his establishment in the west of France. His target: 15 tonnes of slime in the next year. That’s a lot of mucus.

But could the resourceful gardener harvest these creatures to create a personal supply of snail beauty treatment-enhancing snail serum? Apparently it’s not that easy.  Snail slime varies in its quality, and the experts have to deliver the best conditions for production, including diet, temperature… and stress.  A happy snail produces the best sticky slime.  Good to know.

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