Yuck! Live snail facials are the latest beauty craze - for the brave

It is a long-standing belief that snail slime is good for the skin. 

According to Snail Care, snail extract is great for "supporting ageing, reducing fine lines and wrinkles, scars, skin rejuvenation, acne and eczema".

But are these alleged benefits enough to convince you to have a handful of snails sliding around on your face? That's what the live snail facial is all about.

If there's one nation that has gotten the hang of this type of beauty therapy, it's Japan. Live snail facials are also quite popular in South America. The rest of the world is still playing catch-up.

According to Beauty Blackbook, the craze started in Chile in South America in the 1980s, when a farmer exporting snails to France is said to have noticed that the hands of people who worked with the snails were healed from cuts and scars, and generally looked more youthful than those who didn't handle the slippery creatures.

This led to research by various institutions and companies wishing to cash in. Today quite a number of beauty product manufacturers are bottling the stuff and selling it to consumers who want to try something exotic.

The packaged creams are very different to snail facials because they are mixed with other ingredients and are sometimes scented - as if to make you forget that the active ingredient is snail slime.

Of course the snail facial is a whole other experience - live snails literally slither on a client's face while a beauty therapist makes sure they are evenly spread, with a focus on the problem areas.

According to the Daily Mail, snail facials are gaining popularity in the UK, with celebs like Emma Bunton of the Spice Girls trying the beauty method earlier this year.

Daily Mail posted a video of the treatment on Twitter. After watching we think it's safe to say that snail facials are not for everyone!