Narrator: This machine is extracting the slime
from snails in the name of beauty.
It will end up in skincare products around the world
to repair and moisturize the skin.
Historically, the way to get snail mucin
was by killing them,
but new machines like this one stimulate the snails instead.
Companies around the world have adopted the technology.
Here in Italy, snail farming has reportedly increased
by more than 300% over the past two decades.
Just in time for an almost $4 billion snail beauty market
to take off.
Advocates often claim their products
can improve wrinkles and texture.
But can snail slime really do all that?
And how has it become such a big business?
Simone Sampò always knew he wanted to be a snail expert.
Narrator: He's led the International Institute of Heliciculture
in the northern Italian town of Cherasco since 2016.
Narrator: Through the institute,
Simone helped develop methods that create
ideal conditions to grow and harvest snails.
And they haven't exactly been moving at a snail's pace.
Simone says they've seen a huge increase in demand.
Rita: People are trying to opt for
what is known as clean beauty, kind of more organic,
plant-derived, animal-derived products.
Narrator: It all starts in rooms like this one.
Narrator: The eggs hatch after about two weeks
and then go to an incubation room.
The institute sells the baby snails
to farmers who raise them outdoors
using methods developed by the institute.
Simone Basile is one of them.
Narrator: She started out in 2019 with about 33,000 snails.
Narrator: The snails mostly eat vegetables like cabbage and spinach.
They are also fed as supplement containing corn, soy,
and other flowers to strengthen their shells.
Once the snails reach adulthood after about one year,
farmers can sell them back to the institute
or to private buyers.
Simone will take these 11-pound boxes
to the institute.
Narrator: As for the slime, it's what helps snails move
and protect themselves against small predators.
But it also contains antioxidant properties
that are said to repair skin damage.
So how do heliciculturists get snail slime
for beauty products?
It's a centuries-old practice, but back in the day,
the snails had to be killed for the slime to be extracted.
The tail goes that Greek physician Hippocrates
applied crushed snails to treat skin inflammations.
Later on, snails were dunked in pots of salt water
and vinegar that forced them to release the slime.
That is, until it was discovered
snails would also release slime if they were stimulated.
So Simone spent years developing this machine
to get them to release the mucus without killing them.
He describes it as a little spa for snails.
The steel structure has two domes
that can fit about 44 pounds of snails.
The snails are first cleaned with water and ozone.
Then they're sprayed with an acidic solution
that makes them release the slime
as a defense mechanism.
The institute says this process
doesn't cause harm to the animals.
The machine extracts about 118 ounces of slime
during the one-hour process.
Narrator: It will then be distributed through the institute's
Lumadea brand to seven countries.
It sells for about $60.
But that's not the end of it.
The snails go through this process about three or four times
before they are euthanized with a highly
concentrated solution of ozonated water.
Narrator: The intestines are used for gourmet dishes,
the shells for cosmetic products,
and the eggs to make snail caviar.
The products are distributed through the
Lumacheria Italiana company, which Simone also leads.
Narrator: Part of it may have to do with the rising global influence
of K-Beauty.
South Korea is one of the top 10 beauty markets
in the world.
It's established itself as a snail-cream superpower.
And North America is projected to be
the fastest-growing region for snail beauty products.
In the US, brands that use snail mucin
have expanded their presence through retailers
like Target and CVS.
There's also growing demand worldwide
for products that protect against aging and pollution.
And consumers seem to be gravitating toward
natural skincare ingredients.
Studies have shown it can treat radiation-induced
irritations, wounds, and burns.
I've seen the wound-healing benefits
and the skin-regenerative benefits
of using snail mucin after a laser procedure.
Narrator: But the clinical research is limited,
and the slime's long-term effectiveness is yet to be seen.
Rita: The hope will be that it will move from just
this anecdotal kind of idea
to something that's more clinically investigated.
Narrator: Simone has faith in its future.
His company says its studies have shown
that the slime has compounds like allantoin
and elastin that repair and moisturize the skin.