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The Most Unusual Skincare Ingredients: Do They Actually Work?
In a world that’s, let’s face it, oversaturated with skincare products, brands are going a little further to be noticeable. One way companies are doing this is through the use of some very weird ingredients.
My question is, why? Aside from marketing, is there any real purpose to these unexpected and sometimes gross-sounding “skingredients”? In terms of the animal byproducts, are they really any better than a cruelty-free alternative? And what does snail goo actually feel like anyway? To find answers to all these and more, read on.
Snail Mucin
This K-beauty product, texturally more like a serum than an essence (more liquid), is made of 96% snail mucin. Snail mucin is the shiny stuff left behind in trails. People believe snail mucin aids in skin repair, hydration, tone and brightness, essentially delivering the “glass skin” of our dreams, although this evidence is predominantly anecdotal. It’s a thin, clear and oddly stretchy goo, both when it comes out of the snail and when it’s in skincare. But, when applied, it sinks in nicely and wears well under makeup.
Snail mucin is deemed superior to conventional skincare staples because it does everything in one. It’s suitable for all skin types. It soothes acne, smooths texture, hydrates deeply without feeling oily and brightens without irritation. It’s even been used to heal burns. Put simply, it’s good, and it works.
The issue? How it’s extracted. Snails produce mucin in excess only when they’re irritated or frightened. Thus, you must purposefully induce these feelings in many snails to produce them. This is generally done by putting them in a vat of water and shaking the tub around. Then, skimming off the mucin from the top. It’s ethically a bit of a grey area. I’m not here to tell you what to do, but if you can make peace with it, the CosRX essence is a real delight.
Snail Mucin – Found in CosRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
Sheep Sebum
Lanolin, wool wax, or just sheep sebum is an oily substance that sheep secret to protect their skin against cold and rain. Sounds a little gross, right? But because of its natural skin-protecting properties, human beings can also benefit from it. It’s particularly popular in thicker bodies, hand creams, and lip balms. It combines the protective properties of a barrier cream like petroleum jelly, making it semi-occlusive, with the penetrative power of a cream hydrator like glycerin, making it semi-permeable. In other words, it sits on top of and sinks into the skin, which is key for truly moisturised skin.
Lanolips is the biggest name in the lanolin market, producing a huge variety of skincare products based around this wonder hydrator. My favourites are the lip balms. They’re thick and long-lasting but absorb nicely and come in a wide variety of delightful scents.
Lanolin is generally considered cruelty-free in that sheep must be sheared anyway (to access the lanolin), or they’ll become too dirty and hot. But, because it’s an animal product, it remains unsuitable for vegans. For me, if I remove the greasy sheepskin connotations from my mind, lanolin is an absolute staple.
Sheep Sebum – Found in Lanolips Ointment Multipurpose Superbalm
Bee Venom
Simply put, bee venom is the substance that comes out of a bee’s stinger when it attacks. It’s a potent mix of enzymes, amino acids and peptides, all of which are standard anti-ageing skincare ingredients that contribute to faster cell turnover and collagen rejuvenation. Bee venom delivered in a concentrated dose is irritating to the skin (hence, why they use it to attack you), but a small amount acts as a reparative stimulant. It’s supposed to have similar benefits to acne and anti-ageing skincare products, and because it’s naturally derived, it can be better for sensitive skin.
The Rodial Cleansing Balm combines bee venom with pore-clearing salicylic acid and a nourishing blend of oils to make a makeup-melting and skin-plumping cleanser. It’s a real treat, particularly because it’s so good at taking off day-old grime. I also love the Nip & Fab pads for days when you’re feeling congested and dull. Alongside its venom, they include propolis extract, a tree substance collected by honeybees to seal and varnish their honeycombs to heal skin. There’s also pimple-busting ingredients like witch hazel.
Bee Venom – Found in Rodial Bee Venom Cleansing Balm and Nip + Fab Bee Sting Fix Toning Pads
Is it cruelty-free?
However, the jury is still unsure whether bee venom can be truly cruelty-free. Usually, when bees sting, their stingers are ripped out of their butts, and they die. To extract the venom for cosmetic purposes, the bees sting a glass pane, and the venom is harvested from there. The issue is how they make bees sting a harmless pane of glass. Because bees only sting when feeling threatened, an electrical current has to trick them into wanting to defend themselves. Is it cruel? Do bees understand feelings of fear? Again – I leave it up to you.
Collagen
This complex protein, responsible for firm, smooth skin, is found in the connective tissues of mammals, including us humans. For skincare, it’s typically harvested from cows, pigs and fish and extracted when they’re dead. It’s well established that collagen depletion is a crucial factor in skin ageing; we lose about 1% to 2% of our collagen every year after 30.
The DHC Collagen Gel is a bouncy, peach-toned gel-cream that delivers plumpness and hydration while absorbing quickly and not feeling heavy or oily. The star ingredient is astaxanthin, a powerful algae-derived antioxidant, which they claim to be 6,000 times more powerful than vitamin C, but collagen features high up on the ingredients list. Collagen particles are notoriously too large to penetrate the skin, and there’s limited proof that they can actually be absorbed.
It’s a lovely face cream, particularly under makeup, but it has a slightly tacky base. The collagen aspect still has me unconvinced, though. I eat meat, so taking a moral stance on using up a bit of dead cow isn’t really something I can do. But I would be interested to see if the gel was any less effective without the bits of connective cow tissue.
Collagen – Found in DHC Astaxanthin Collagen Gel
Bone Marrow
Glucosamine, or bone marrow, is oil inside animal bones – typically fish or chicken. It’s anti-inflammatory and hydrating, and when applied topically, it’s supposed to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. It even stimulates the production of hyaluronic acid (a naturally hydrating substance found in the skin that makes you look plump). Glucosamine can be derived from a plant source (a fungus called Aspergillus niger, to be exact), which appears to be the case for Dermalogica’s vegan cream.
The name may suggest the cream is thick and occlusive, but the opposite is true. It’s fairly thin and runny and absorbs really quickly. Don’t let that fool you, though—this is one of the most hydrating creams I’ve tried. I tend to use it to spot-treat dry patches or around tired eyes to great effect.
Would I use it if it transpired that the glucosamine was from bone marrow? Probably, but I’m basically dead inside at this point. Since it doesn’t need to be sourced from dead things, it’s probably for the best that it isn’t. Call me an idealist, but that’s just how I feel, man.
Bone Marrow – Found In Dermalogica Age Smart Power Rich
