Explaining the Snail Secretion Skincare Craze

Caracol Natural Skincare, NEW to the US, is a natural skincare brand that uses snail secretion as the key ingredient. Steeped in tradition, this Chilean based family-owned skincare brand has combined Chilean ancient medicine with modern technology and is now available in the US on AMAZON.

Founded in 2006, Caracol Natural is a beautiful story of people in harmony with nature, with high admiration for Chilean and global ancestral medicine, and with the conviction that skincare with natural eco-friendly ingredients, along with premium actives, can offer better-faster-stronger results.

The use of snail secretion (also known as snail mucin) in cosmetics can be traced back to ancient Greece, where Hippocrates reportedly prescribed snails for skin inflammation. In the 20th century, snail farmers in Chile noticed that their hands became softer and smoother after handling snails, which led to the development of snail-based creams for hand care. The use of snail secretion in skincare products again gained popularity in the 1990s, when a group of Chilean farmers developed a snail cream that became a best-seller in Korea. Since then, snail secretion has been incorporated into a wide range of skincare products, including creams, serums, masks, and lotions.

One of the most interesting aspects of snail secretion is its ability to improve skin health in multiple ways. Snail secretion is a complex mixture of compounds, including hyaluronic acid, glycolic acid, allantoin, antioxidants, and peptides, that can work together to provide a range of benefits for the skin. Another interesting aspect of snail secretion is that it is a natural ingredient that is sustainably sourced. Snail farming is a relatively low-impact agricultural practice that doesn't require large amounts of water or land, making it an environmentally friendly option.

Here are some of the main benefits of snail secretion:

Hydration: Snail secretion contains hyaluronic acid, glycolic acid, and allantoin, which help to hydrate and moisturize the skin. This can help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and leave the skin looking plump and supple.

Anti-aging: Snail secretion contains antioxidants, peptides, and other compounds that can help to reduce the signs of aging. It may help to improve skin elasticity, reduce the appearance of dark spots, and improve skin texture.

Healing: Allantoin, a compound found in snail secretion, has been shown to have wound-healing properties. It may help to reduce inflammation, speed up the healing process, and reduce the risk of scarring.

Soothing: Snail secretion has a soothing effect on the skin, which can help to reduce redness and irritation. This makes it particularly beneficial for people with sensitive skin.

Brightening: Snail secretion contains glycolic acid, which can help to brighten the skin and reduce the appearance of dark spots and hyperpigmentation.

The Caracol Natural lineup includes:

The Gentle Cleanser - $22.99

The Gentle Cleanser Facial Foam Expert gently removes impurities while respecting your natural skin barrier. This gentle face wash formula includes Snail Secretion Filtrate plus 8 Clearing Vegetal Extracts like Nettle, Aloe Vera, Sage and Rosemary that helps restore skin balance. Our formula is fitter for sensitive, delicate, dry, flaky, worn, dull, sallow skin, nevertheless is recommended for balancing oily skin and suitable for all skin types

The Eye Contour Serum - $32.99

The Eye Contour Serum hydrates, moisturizes, refreshes and restores the healthy appearance of the delicate skin around the eye. It helps to depuff, reduce dark circles and sagginess, lessen oxidative stress, minimize and prevent fine lines and crow's feet. Our Eye Contour Serum helps to brighten, firm, plump, lift, soothe and smooth skin to sustain and recover a radiant, lively and healthier look.

The Gentle Serum - $35.99

The Premium Gentle Serum is designed to restore and maintain firmer, denser, flexible, healthier, radiant and bouncier skin. Our Skin Care Gentle Serum for Face and Neck helps subside fine lines, wrinkles, sagginess and dullness. It lessens oxidative stress, it hydrates, moisturizes, softens, calms, plumps, and boosts skin wellbeing, bestowing a beautiful and youthful complexion.

Texture Reform Cream - $32.99

The Texture Reform Cream feels soft, silky, light, cool and fresh; it moisturizes and hydrates efficiently without leaving a greasy feeling; it appeals to anyone grease-averse. It helps to brighten up dull and lackluster skin, care for the balance of normal to oily skin, sensitized and acne prone skin (it is not medicinal), lessen oxidative stress, minimize and prevent the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, keep in check aging and strengthen the skin barrier.

Launch of New Skincare Facial Service

As the wants and needs of consumers change over time, Massage Heights responds with service innovation and evolution. The North American spa franchise brand has announced the launch of its new facial service, LED Light Therapy, available at select Retreats nationwide. Partnering with LightStim and their FDA Cleared technology, the newest service features two treatments designed to reduce wrinkles and treat acne and its inflammation.

Non-invasive, painless and no recovery or downtime required, this treatment is made up of LED (Light Emitting Diode) wavelengths that are represented by two colors that offer various therapeutic benefits. The LED Light Therapy will serve as an add-on option to the brand's existing personalized facials. It also joins a robust list of other available add-ons to facial services such as the HydraFacial, microdermabrasion, skin refinement, skin purifying and more.

"Coming off a successful 2022 with record-breaking revenue and Average Unit Volume and more than 1.4 million services, we are continuing to build off this momentum with added services," said Susan Boresow, CEO and President of Massage Heights. "The LED Light Therapy treatments are the perfect complement to our facial offerings as wellness and self-care remain a priority for our guests. When considering our first service launch in years, we knew it had to be something that would truly benefit our guest's skincare and wellness, and LED Light Therapy was an easy choice. Further innovation of products and services will continue to be key in our brand maintaining the strong trajectory we are on."

Selection on treatment mode for each LED Light Therapy add-on is dependent on a guest's specific skin care needs. Wrinkle mode softens the look of lines and visible pores, encourages a more vibrant and youthful appearance, tones and refines skin texture and stimulates the skin's natural ability to counteract signs of aging. Benefits of the acne mode include calming existing breakouts, reducing redness, destroying acne-causing bacteria, helping to restore balance of healthy skin and does not utilize harsh chemicals or medication.

While widely known for its elevated massage services, Massage Heights has placed an increased focus on skincare in recent years to reflect the increased consumer demand. High-tech treatments such as LED light therapy are in high demand, as they address both anti-aging and acne concerns, and the service is gentle with no downtime. As more consumers prioritize self-care and skincare, meeting guests where they are needed remains a top priority for Massage Heights.

"Adding LED Light Therapy to our personalized facials provides guests with results-driven treatment through a relaxing experience," said Jennifer Fredette, Director of Skin Care Services, "Since the treatment is customizable for each guest – we can help them correct concerns from acne and inflammation, or anti-aging benefits such as luminous and firmer-looking skin. LED Light Therapy can be added to monthly facials, or our skin therapists can create a treatment plan with more frequent facials to help correct specific concerns."

The massage franchise started in 2004 and has grown to more than 115 Retreats throughout North America by providing personalized wellness treatment options through massage and skincare services. Massage Heights is a family-owned massage and wellness franchise dedicated to elevating the lives of others by providing Members and Guests with professional, affordable, and resort-quality massage, skincare, and wellness services. For more information about the Massage Heights franchising opportunity, please visit MassageHeightsFranchise.com.

Couture Goes Cuddly

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW), the iconic brand known for its creative and empowering bear-building experience, is expanding into designer fashions with the launch of its new teddy bear faux fur couture coat collection, direct from the Build-A-Bear Atelier design team. The entire exclusive collection can be found at Build-A-Bear Cuddly Couture .

The company has more than 25 years of designing popular outfits and accessories intended for furry friends to wear, and recently introduced a line of human-sized sleepwear in the Build-A-Bear Pajama Shop. However, this is the first time the company has explored the fashion-FURward runway trend of creatively incorporating plush materials and teddy bears into a collection intended for people. As would be expected from a company known for disrupting the plush industry and being a pioneer in experiential commerce, no detail was overlooked with this fanciful new introduction to the world of high fashion.

"We have cultivated wonderful relationships with our fans, understanding that with each of the 225 million furry friends that have been created since our inception, a special memory and moment is captured for that guest," said Jennifer Kretchmar, Chief Merchandising and Digital Officer.

"Creative designs have been at the center of our business from the beginning, and high fashion is a natural next step for our brand. The opportunity to have the growing number of adult Build-A-Bear enthusiasts express themselves with this exclusive collection of custom teddy bear coats is very exciting. Playful interpretations of fashion have been showing up on runways from Paris to New York and we believe this is a PAWfect extension for our brand," concluded Ms. Kretchmar.

This new Build-A-Bear prêt-à-porter line is constructed by hand in the Build-A-Bear Atelier with oversight by Misty Jackson, Vice President of Merchandising and Design, with each piece envisioned as a limited edition, all lovingly made with faux teddy bear fur and a lot of heart.

"Fashion has always been known to push boundaries with new ideas and innovation as consumer trends evolve," said Ms. Jackson. "Much of today's popular apparel is inspired by runway shows, influencers, and celebrities, which have recently shown a tendency toward whimsy. Build-A-Bear's iconic and playful aura make it well suited to lean into this FURbulous trend. So, you have to ask yourself, why just be cute when you can also be couture?"

The designers explored soft textures with smart, utilitarian styles and streamlined tailoring with each of the pieces in this BEARY special collection highlighting haute couture trends. In addition, the line features en vogue colors, lush faux fur, and most importantly, a nod to the nostalgia of childhood. Early predictions have teddy bears and furry fashions being on the fuzzy edge of style next season.

This exclusive category expansion comes as adults and teens increasingly embrace the Build-A-Bear brand with 40% of sales coming from this older consumer. The company has recently extended into collectibles, gifting, affinity products and the popular "Build-A-Bear After Dark" collection. These more adult-focused, yet still playful, product offerings over-index on the company's website, buildabear.com, where there is a microsite that is age-gated for older consumers called The Bear Cave, which has growing interest and traffic trends.

To see the entire exclusive fashion FURward collection, visit Build-A-Bear Cuddly Couture and follow Build-A-Bear's social media pages and channels for updates.

Build-A-Bear is a multi-generational global brand focused on its mission to "add a little more heart to life" appealing to a wide array of consumer groups who enjoy the personal expression in making their own "furry friends" to celebrate and commemorate life moments. Nearly 500 interactive brick-and-mortar experience locations operated through a variety of formats provide guests of all ages a hands-on entertaining experience, which often fosters a lasting and emotional brand connection. The company also offers engaging e-commerce/digital purchasing experiences on buildabear.com including its online "Bear-Builder", the animated "Bear Builder 3D Workshop" and its age-gated, adult-focused "Bear Cave". In addition, extending its brand power beyond retail, Build-A-Bear Entertainment, a subsidiary of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., is dedicated to creating engaging content for kids and adults that fulfills the company's mission, while the company also offers products at wholesale and in non-plush consumer categories via licensing agreements with leading manufacturers. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. posted total revenue of $467.9 million in fiscal 2022.

Kaleidoscope X Da Brat Styling Collection

One of the largest Black-owned hair-care brands in the U.S. and available in the country's largest big-box retailers and drugstores, Kaleidoscope Hair Products, has launched its game-changing KALEIDOSCOPE X DA BRAT Styling Collection. This revolutionary product line is designed to provide maximum benefits for those who love and embrace protective styles.

Grammy-nominated rapper and actress Da Brat collaborated with her wife and natural hair care mogul Jesseca "Judy" Dupart to create the KALEIDOSCOPE X DA BRAT Styling Collection, offering six innovative products designed to maintain the health of hair and scalp while achieving maximum style benefits. The collection features ingredients such as coconut oil, ginger, and Manuka honey that soothe and nourish the scalp while promoting hair growth.

The KALEIDOSCOPE X DA BRAT Styling Collection has already taken the beauty industry by storm, selling out within an astonishing six minutes of its online release.

"We are passionate about bringing our innovative and effective products to everyone who loves protective styles and desires healthy hair. This collection is not just a hair product line, but a representation of our shared commitment to the protective styling community," said Da Brat.

The KALEIDOSCOPE X DA BRAT Styling Collection includes six amazing products, each with a unique set of benefits that are perfect for use on braids, twists, wigs, weaves, locs, and ponytails.

The products are available for individual purchase (15.99 each) or as part of bundle deals.

- The Platinum Shine Spray- Imparts a silky luminous shine, conditions hair and scalp, eliminates frizz, and controls flyaway strands.

- The Unrestricted Braid & Loc Butter - Imparts the perfect balance of moisture to hair and scalp, nourishes and soothes the scalp.

- The Whatchu'Like Apple Cider Vinegar Cleansing Rinse - Deeply cleanses without stripping, reduces friction, reduces time to detangle, soothes, moisturizes and refreshes the scalp.

- The Yo Fav Wrapper Mousse - Is great for finishing braids, twists, and other protective styles. It can also be used as a wrap or setting foam.

- The So So Slick Braid & Grip Gel - Helps hold braids and twists for longer protective styles and clean parts. It adds healthy-looking shine, smooths edges and ponytails.

- The Funkdafied Soothing Braid & Scalp Spray - Instantly nourishes hair and scalp, helps strengthen and soften hair, relieves tension, boosts shine, and revitalizes dry, dull hair.

"The KALEIDOSCOPE X DA BRAT Styling Collection is not just a hair product line, but a movement. It's for all of us who are passionate about our protective styles and care deeply about the health of our hair and scalp. We're thrilled to bring these innovative products to our customers, offering maximum benefits that will change the game for the protective styling community," said Jesseca "Judy" Dupart, founder of Kaleidoscope Hair Products.

To get your hands on this innovative collection, visit iluvcolors.com or head to select Walmart, CVS, Sally Beauty and Meijer stores.

Kaleidoscope Hair Products, created by former hairstylist Jesseca Harris-Dupart, offers the perfect restorative system to keep hair healthy and beautiful from start to finish. In 2014, Jesseca designed the line to address the hair loss her salon clients were experiencing after trying to do their own weaves and color at home. She launched the brand initially with four products via a series of viral social campaigns that quickly turned her passion project into a beauty sensation and a multi-million-dollar business. Today, Kaleidoscope Hair Products is one of the fastest growing brands in the haircare industry with major retail partners including Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, Sally Beauty and more.