Cape Town -
Forget about expensive skincare products. A Cape Town woman says garden snails are keeping her skin young and supple.
For the past two years, Edith Pangle, 62, has been letting snails slide over her face because she believes their slime keeps her beautiful.
“I just let the snails crawl over my face, my neck and my hands,” the Silvertown granny told the Daily Voice.
Edith says she got the idea after seeing a television advert about an acne product made from snail slime, promising smooth, clear skin.
She was impressed with the product but couldn’t afford it – and then decided to come up with her own homemade version.
“I can’t afford the expensive cream [made] from snails in France,” she said. “That’s when I started collecting the snails and using them.”
Edith gets her snails from friends and family with gardens.
She keeps her stash in a bag in her bedroom, and at least once a week she has her unique “beauty routine”.
“I have my snails right here, I keep them for weeks in this packet and I don’t even need to feed them,” she said.
For 15 minutes, the snails slither over her face and neck, leaving behind a trail of silvery slime.
After the “treatment”, Edith splashes some water on her face and voila, she is fixed for the week.
But her brother Ken says the whole thing freaks him out.
“I can’t watch when she does this, it’s too grillerig (creepy),” Ken says.
Edith says her female friends are impressed by her find, and she has even convinced a few of them to give it a try.
“I told a friend in England to try it out and she called me a few weeks later to say it does work,” she said proudly.
“Once a woman reaches a certain age you need to look after your skin, and this costs me nothing.”
Daily Voice