I’ve been writing about skin care products for quite some time now. One of the things I’ve noticed is how it is constantly changing and evolving.

The more people become conscious of ingredients, the more the industry veers towards safer, greener options and the more labelling we see on our products.

Ten years ago you never would have seen “Gluten-Free” or “Paraben-Free” on any of the mainstream products.

Like I said, the industry is always changing. People are always coming up with weirder ways to preserve their skin and some of these methods provide a little shock value; i.e. The Vampire Facial.

While I’m no stranger to being shocked by methods and techniques, I was shocked to learn about some of the strangest ingredients. What you are about to read is like a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not version of skin care ingredients.

Prepare yourself. Some of it is pretty nasty!

5 Seriously Strange Skincare Ingredients

Sperm

I’m going to start off on a high note here.

Sperm – yes, you read that correctly – is added to many moisturizers. Turns out these little swimmers contain a very potent antioxidant, spermine.

It is said that spermine is “30 times stronger than Vitamin E.” In fact, the company that claims this has an entire moisturizing line dedicated to the use of spermine.

From moisturizing and anti-aging to glossing your locks, there’s apparently nothing a little semen can’t do. Who knew?

Bird Poop

If you’ve read Memoirs of a Geisha you probably aren’t surprised to see this one make the list. Geisha’s often used a concoction that included the use of certain bird droppings to lighten their skin.

Salons all over the world are hitching their star to that bandwagon and offering facials that include Nightingale poop. These faeces contain a high content of the amino acid, guanine. Guanine helps cleanse and brighten your skin.

Placenta

That gooey sack that follows your new bundle of joy after childbirth is sometimes saved and eaten. *shudders *

The placenta contains remaining hormones and nutrients that were passed from mother to fetus in utero. While there isn’t much research to back up the supposed benefits, it hasn’t stopped people from eating it or adding it to skin care products.

Several companies make use of placenta in their products because they contain lots of protein, antioxidants and amino acids which are good for your skin.

In products, the placenta is processed so much that even the FDA has approved it for safe use.

Snail Mucin

You know that little line of slime that follows a snail as it slides along? Yea, that mucin is actually added to certain products.

Snails use this slimey residue to repair damage to their shell. These regenerative properties make it great for combating wrinkles and healing acne scars. It also increases your skin’s elasticity and firmness for tighter, younger looking skin.

Ambergris  

Ambergris, aka. Whale Vomit, is a waxy substance that has been used for ages in perfumes and certain beauty creams. It is used in perfume to reduce the rate of evaporation and many of these perfumes find their way into scented body lotions and creams.

As you can imagine, getting your hands on whale vom isn’t the easiest, which makes it worth a fortune. It can cost $10 per gram and if you think of how many grams a whale can vomit, this is clearly a profitable market.

I don’t doubt that some of these strange ingredients have skin benefiting qualities, but you won’t catch me snacking on a placenta or rubbing snail slime on my face anytime soon.

How about you? Do any of these strange skincare ingredients freak you out, or is it just me who is left feeling a little baffled over here?