"Snail facials" use slime for anti-aging skin care. New discovery or desperate pursuit of youth?

The latest beauty craze may feel slimier than your typical facial at a spa.

A Tokyo spa has launched a "snail facial" clinic, in which a therapist places the mollusks on clients' faces, leaving trails of mucus slime.

Snails crawls on the face of a woman for the demonstration of a new beauty treatment at the beauty salon 'Ci:z.Labo' in Tokyo.

 The slime reportedly contain "proteins, antioxidants and hyaluronic acid, which help skin retain moisture, reduce inflammation and remove dead skin," according to the paper.

For about $245, a visitor to the Ci:z.Labo Clinical Salon in the Ebisu district of Tokyo can get the treatment.

One brave Telegraph reporter even tried the facial herself.

"I am relieved to feel Manami san skillfully monitoring their positions, instantly lifting them off my skin with a little tug to defy the suction whenever they go anywhere near my mouth, nostrils or eyes," she described.

The snails at the spa are fed an all-organic diet of carrots, Japanese mustard spinach, and Swiss chard, according to a Wall Street Journal reporter who also tried the treatment.

Could snails actually have an effect on your skin?

Dr. Elizabeth Tanzi, co-director of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery, told the National Post that "there are no respected scientific studies to prove that it actually works."

There are safer beauty options out there than snails, added Dr. Jennifer L. Walden, a Texas-based plastic surgeon who specializes in skin care and anti-aging, to CBSNews.com.

"Snails have had medicinal uses historically in the past, but I would be wary to use live snails directly on the face for treatment since they carry the risk of harboring parasites that can cause organ damage, meningitis, and other problems," she told CBSNews.com in an email.

Specifically, snails can carry parasitic worms that cause the disease schistosomiasis, Walden points out. The disease can cause health problems like abdominal pains or bloody stools that can persist for years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If snails are not your thing for $245 a pop, there are safer, more purified skin treatments as alternatives on the market today that contain hyaluronic acid, antioxidants and other well documented and respected anti aging substances.

 May we suggest

LaNouvel Cellular Hyaluronic acid Nutri Serum with Collagen / Elastin, Peptides, Dragon's Blood & Resveratrol

Hyaluronic Acid makes up fifty percent of this high quality formulation. Holding up to 1000 times its weight in water and drawing moisture out of the environment and onto the surface of your skin, there is not a more effective moisturizing agent on the world market today. Non-comedogenic, penetrates deeply, and activates collagen production for a fresher, younger, firmer, brighter complexion. Loaded with potent antioxidants, peptides, amino acids and free radical defenders, this miracle serum will give you the boost, lift and smoother, happier and truly vibrant skin. And let's let snails roam free in their natural habitat.