I like my beauty regimen as natural and organic as I can get it. But I prefer that my treatments not move about independently.
So the strange new “snail facial” offered by one Japanese salon seems kind of, well, slimy. The theory is that as the snails roam around a person’s face, their mucus helps to exfoliate and moisturize the skin. But snails need their mucus more than we do: It’s how they protect their feet as they travel. Snails are also nocturnal animals who like it dark and damp. That’s not exactly what they get in a dry plastic box under bright salon lights. And there’s no solid data or science behind the touted snail-slime benefits, not like there is for the exfoliating properties of plant-derived glycolic acid, for example, or the moisturizing benefits of aloe.
And with those, you don’t get snail slime in your hair.
Much more common but equally ridiculous are so-called “fish pedicures.” Nail salons keep Garra rufa fish in tubs of water and starve them so that they are hungry enough to eat the dead skin off patrons’ feet. And since live fish can’t be sanitized, there’s an increased risk of infection. I believe I’ll stick with a nice pumice stone.
Of course, I also prefer that my beauty products not be made from anyone who once moved about independently, either. So I stay away from crushed-snail facial creams, ant body wash, bee-venom masks, and all the other bizarre beauty concoctions of the week. And I like using PETA‘s Beauty Without Bunnies online database to find out which products are and are not tested on animals.
Because every woman loves to feel pretty, and there are few things uglier than being cruel.
Written by Michelle Kretzer
Image courtesy of Flickr