We independently evaluate the products we review. When you buy via links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read more about how we vet products and deals.
15,000 Yahoo readers added this $20 snail mucin to their skin care regimens in 2024 — here's why
The powerful anti-aging elixir from CosRx softens and clarifies skin and is beloved by tens of thousands of fans.
If you've followed Yahoo Shopping at all this year, you've probably read about CosRx Snail Mucin Essence. Our readers can't seem to get enough of this K-beauty sensation — more than 15,000 scooped up a bottle just this year. For the uninitiated: CosRx entered the U.S. skin-care scene in 2017. Since then, its slick snail serum has amassed nearly 60,000 five-star reviews on Amazon where it's a No. 1 bestseller. It's consistently topped even the most elite "best of" beauty lists and repeatedly gone viral on social media, where it has more than 75 million (and counting!) TikTok views. Today, it's an in-the-know skin-care staple with staying power — makeup artists, dermatologists and even actresses like Emily Ratajkowski have been singing its dermis-healing praises for years. And you can understand why: CosRx's snail mucin is not only a potent anti-aging product, it's also hypoallergenic, scent-free and free of parabens, sulfates and phthalates.
This beloved snail mucin from CosRx is excellent for evening skin tone and making your face look softer and brighter overall. It's won multiple awards, has nearly 60,000 five-star Amazon reviews and impresses most beauty editors I know.
Snail mucin is, most simply, the substance snails secrete when they move. A mucus-like protein, it contains multiple compounds — including collagen, elastin and glycolic acid — that experts have long considered beneficial for human skin. Mucin has a slimy/viscous texture which is essential for snail functioning: the mollusks secrete it when they're stressed and it also helps them hydrate and better adhere to surfaces as they crawl along.
Does snail mucin actually work?
Enthusiasts call CosRx's gloopy face slime a "miracle elixir." And, after using it the first time (here is my full review), my own face was noticeably dewier. When I tried it again earlier this year after a medi-spa laser treatment, I found it soothed and calmed my skin as it healed, lending a healthy sheen. Other users have boasted about its ability to hydrate, repair and improve dullness in the skin — all of which helps wrinkles look less deep and crepey.
"Snail mucin can be effective for all skin types," Philadelphia-based Board Certified Dermatologist Dr. Nazanin Saedi told me when I interviewed her back in 2023. "Mucin has many protective properties and contains ingredients that help repair the skin. Small studies have shown that it helps hydrate dry skin, strengthen the skin barrier, stimulate collagen production and heal wounds."
Despite it's slightly slimy texture, CosRx's snail mucin is cooling and soothing, absorbs fast and doesn't leave behind a sticky residue.
In a clinical trial on the effects of snail mucin published in the Journal of Clinical Aesthetic Dermatology in 2020, women aged 45 to 65 reported "significant improvements in skin roughness, firmness and elasticity" after using this hero ingredient and found that snail extract "appeared to be effective in improving signs of skin aging."
Recent reviewers agree CosRx's snail mucin is a "must have" and the "holy grail for glowing, hydrated skin."
If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $25 or more.)
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
