What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin ConditioningCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSnail Secretion Filtrate
Skin ConditioningPEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
EmulsifyingTriethanolamine
BufferingMethylpropanediol
SolventCollagen
MoisturisingArbutin
AntioxidantPhenoxyethanol
PreservativeDipropylene Glycol
HumectantSodium Hyaluronate
HumectantGlycerin
HumectantDisodium EDTA
Allantoin
Skin ConditioningChlorphenesin
AntimicrobialParfum
MaskingCentella Asiatica Extract
CleansingPortulaca Oleracea Extract
Skin ConditioningAloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Carbomer, Snail Secretion Filtrate, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Triethanolamine, Methylpropanediol, Collagen, Arbutin, Phenoxyethanol, Dipropylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Disodium EDTA, Allantoin, Chlorphenesin, Parfum, Centella Asiatica Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract
Water
Skin ConditioningSnail Secretion Filtrate
Skin ConditioningNiacinamide
SmoothingButylene Glycol
HumectantCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
MaskingCetearyl Olivate
Glycerin
HumectantSorbitan Olivate
EmulsifyingMicrocrystalline Wax
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Polyacrylate
AbsorbentCarbomer
Emulsion StabilisingHydroxyacetophenone
AntioxidantBenzyl Glycol
SolventArginine
MaskingCaprylyl Glycol
EmollientPentylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningGlyceryl Starch
AbsorbentPolyacrylate-2
Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingRaspberry Ketone
MaskingIsohexadecane
EmollientDisodium EDTA
Butoxydiglycol
MaskingPolysorbate 80
EmulsifyingSorbitan Oleate
EmulsifyingAdenosine
Skin ConditioningBHT
AntioxidantParfum
MaskingWater, Snail Secretion Filtrate, Niacinamide, Butylene Glycol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Olivate, Glycerin, Sorbitan Olivate, Microcrystalline Wax, Sodium Polyacrylate, Carbomer, Hydroxyacetophenone, Benzyl Glycol, Arginine, Caprylyl Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Glyceryl Starch, Polyacrylate-2, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Raspberry Ketone, Isohexadecane, Disodium EDTA, Butoxydiglycol, Polysorbate 80, Sorbitan Oleate, Adenosine, BHT, Parfum
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Carbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerDisodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Learn more about Disodium EDTAGlycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.
Topically, glycerin does several things at once:
Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.
Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.
This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.
Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.
Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.
Learn more about GlycerinParfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.
For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumSnail Secretion Filtrate (the slimy mucus that garden snails produce) is a multitasking ingredient that shows up in "skin repair" formulas.
This ingredient works because it's a grab bag of skin-friendly stuff like:
In a formula, it acts as a humectant and barrier-supporting soother and the research backs this up as well.
A 2025 systematic review of human clinical trials found that snail-derived ingredients improved signs of aging, increased skin hydration, decreased transepidermal water loss, and improved healing after radiation therapy/fractional laser treatment.
Lab studies have also shown the secretion promotes the proliferation, migration, and survival of the cells that rebuild skin (keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts).
There's also a placebo-controlled study where a serum containing it helped with mask-related acne.
Overall, this is a gentle, water-based multitasker that works great for hydrating and supporting the skin barrier. However, please see the section below if you have dust mite or shellfish allergies.
You'll see snail filtrate listed at very different percentages depending on the product. Some Korean serums list it near the top of the ingredients at 90% or more while other products use just a few percent.
This doesn't mean the high-percentage ones are far stronger. Raw snail filtrate is mostly water to begin with so using a lot of it isn't the same thing as using a lot of the active ingredients.
Other products use a concentrated version so a small amount goes a long way. Either approach can work well. Just know the percentage on the label isn't a reliable way to judge how effective a snail product will be.
Being cruelty-free means a brand does not experiment on animals. If you're worried about the well-being of the snails, we recommend looking more into the company of the product. Many brands claim to have developed humane methods to collect snail mucin.
There is much debate on this subject. On one hand, this ingredient comes from an animal. On the other hand, many will argue the ingredient is naturally secreted (like a natural by-product) and therefore vegan. If you have reservations, you can look into Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate or Centella Asiatica Extract as alternatives.
This ingredient is fungal acne safe. Its core composition lacks the fatty acid/ester triggers that Malassezia depends on.
True allergy to Snail Secretion Filtrate is uncommon and most documented cases are linked to a dust mite allergy.
Snail proteins (including Tropomyosin) are similar enough to dust mite proteins that the immune system can confuse them.
In most documented cases, the dust mite was the original trigger and tropomyosin turned out to be only a minor player in some studies (so this has not been fully confirmed).
Another thing to know is that nearly all the evidence comes from eating snails or inhaling the protein and not from cosmetics.
However, the allergenic proteins can survive filtration into a finished product; a topical reaction is biologically plausible but there's little published evidence of it actually happening.
People who are allergic to dust mites (or sometimes shellfish) are the most likely to react.
Learn more about Snail Secretion Filtrate