The use of snail slime collected by sustainable methods in cosmetic creams

Abstract

There are many snail slime (secretion) creams in the cosmetic industry. Many of them are formulated with herbal or synthetic allantoin when the cream ingredients are read. However, natural snail secretion also contains many bioactive components (glycoproteins, fatty acids, polyphenols, vitamins, etc.) other than allantoin. For this reason, cosmetic effectiveness decreases in products that do not contain natural snail secretion. It is not easy to reach the natural snail slime cream due to the limited collection of secretions from the appropriate snail species and limited sustainable methods. While the secretions are collected from snails by traditional methods (exposure to stresses such as salt and electricity application), animals are usually harmed or killed. If the method used for secretion collection is not suitable, animals are exposed to stress and release skin irritants. In addition, the secretion of each snail species does not have the suitable ingredients in the production of cosmetics. In this study, various essential oils and ozone were sprayed with cold steam into the porous chamber containing the snails in a specially designed device. Secretion was collected, from live snails (Helix aspersa) suitable for use in cosmetics, without being exposed to stress. Then the cream was formulated with this secretion. Microbiological and physicochemical analyzes were made in the cream produced. As the results; secretion containing important bioactive components was obtained from the appropriate snail species with sustainable methods, and the analysis results showed that the cream formulated with the addition of the secretion was qualified and suitable for use.