Skin care

No Animals Harmed: 7 Most Bizarre Beauty Treatments

Spa treatments featuring live animals may be all-natural, but they're also squirm-inducing

by Erica Smith | COMMENT

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Slimy snail facial, $243 Outside of the French culinary realm, snails don't have much going for them. They're slow, slimy and are really nothing more than slugs with a mobile home. But they're currently enjoying their 15 minutes of fame by crawling and secreting all over the faces of clients looking for the next big anti-aging facial.

Your average ground snail's mucus is packed with proteins and antioxidants that help it slowly, but surely, get from point A to point B. This slime is also rich in hyaluronic acid, an ingredient used in lotions, serums and even lip balms for its intense moisturizing and anti-wrinkle properties. When applied to human skin, it is said to stimulate collagen formation and boost elasticity to keep skin as smooth and firm as a baby's bottom. A snail facial cuts out all those extra additives and instead, lets three of these gastropods inch over your wrinkles and crow's feet with their slimy trails of youth.

Now think about all those times you sprinkled salt on those poor, unassuming snails, and what they could've done for your skin.

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