Amazon customers clamor for facial serum with a very odd ingredient

Amazon's vast marketplace houses millions of products spanning every category fathomable. One of the hottest items in this endless digital aisle that customers seem to be clamoring for comes from the mucous of a snail.

COSRX snail mucin, according to Amazon data, is the most sought after product in its facial serum category, with over 100,000 sold in the past month alone. 

It is also one of the top three products for all Beauty and Personal Care on Amazon.

The product was a top seller for Prime Big Deals Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It was also one of the bestsellers for Amazon creators in 2023.

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Just one listing on Amazon's website has over 93,000 reviews of the product described as "The Real Snail Essence", which is formulated with 96.3% snail secretion filtrate. This is essentially the mucous that snails produce when they move.

According to the COSRX website, the formula is used to help fade dark spots, improve skin texture, combat anti-aging and offer intense hydration for the skin.

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Given this skin care phenomemon, industry analysts valued the global snail beauty products market at just over $555 million in 2022. Between 2023 and 2030, analysts at Coherent Market Insights projected that the market's value will reach well over $1 billion.

According to data from Glimpse, which analyzes hundreds of millions of consumer behavior signals from across the web, interest in the snail mucin in general grew 110% over the past year with 135,000 searches per month.

According to Texas-based Alamo Heights Dermatology, snail mucin contains a variety of "beneficial compounds" including hyaluronic acid, glycoproteins, proteoglycans, and antimicrobial peptides, all of which hydrate the skin, promote collagen production, and repair damaged skin cells.

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Dermatologist Elizabeth Bahar Houshmand, an American Academy of Dermatology fellow, told National Geographic that the product also contains vitamins A and E as well as antioxidants that help reduce inflammation and signs of aging.

Still, additional large clinical trials are needed to prove its effects, Houshmand added.