(E.B.W.) Critter Corner

Feature:

You don’t eat the escargot in this facial treatment

"…Live snails, hailed as an elixir for youthful, beautiful skin, take center stage in an unusual ‘snail facial’ launching in Tokyo.

Snails are placed directly onto the faces of reclining clients, leaving trails of slime, a sort of mucus, in their wake.

The secreted mucus is key to the facial, as it reportedly contains a beauty-boosting cocktail of proteins, antioxidants, & hyaluronic acid that helps skin retain moisture, reduce inflammation, & remove dead skin.

‘Snail slime can help the recovery of skin cells on the face, so we expect the snail facial to help heal damaged skin,’ said Yoko Minami, sales manager at Clinical Salon…

It is currently home to 5 snails, kept in a small clear container where they are fed organic vegetables, including carrots, Japanese ‘komatsuna’ greens, spinach, & Swiss chard.

Spa staff said the snails were bought from an organic snail breeder in Japan & are fed organically to ensure they are clean & healthy…

The live snails are…part of a 60 minute treatment called the Celebrity Escargot Course, costing just over $240.

It starts with faces being washed before the snails are gently placed on the cheeks & forehead & allowed to move around as they please.

This is followed by a series of massages, masks, & electrical pulse machines using creams infused with snail mucus to ensure that the live secretions fully penetrate the skin…

…as long ago as 400 BC…snails were first highlighted for medicinal uses, with records of Hippocrates mixing crushed mollusks with sour milk as a treatment for skin inflammation.

Today, snails appear to be making a comeback in the beauty industry, with a string of international skin products containing snail mucus…

Over the past 2 years, snail face creams, serums, & masks have surged in popularity in particular in Japan & South Korea…”

Danielle Demetriou

THE LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH

in The Gazette, Montreal

July 20/2013