A new “miracle ingredient”???

I’m kinda taken aback to read of a new face cream that’s hit the market in England.

A £60 [about US $120] jar of face cream made with the venom of an Asian snake is being billed as the latest antidote to wrinkles.

The makers of Planet Skincare anti-ageing daily moisturiser claim their synthesised viper venom ‘stuns’ the skin in the same way a real snake bite would, helping to keep it smooth.

They say it gives ‘Botox-like results’ without needles. It went on sale in Selfridges last week and is selling at the rate of 50 pots a day. Staff say it is their best-selling premium skincare product.

The key ingredient is a synthetic version of the poison of the Temple Viper, a snake common in Thailand.

Amino acids in the venom block nerve signals telling muscles to contract, which helps to stop wrinkles forming.

Christine Benson, of Selfridges beauty, said: ‘Products containing snake venom have been used for a few months now in the US, actresses especially love the effect.

‘Unlike Botox it allows the face movement and emotion, but lessens wrinkles and paralyses muscles which cause creases.’

Dr Aamer Khan, medical director of the Harley Street Medical Skin Clinic, said: ‘This could work for somebody who doesn’t want injections.

‘The effects are not going to be as dramatic as with Botox. It will also need to be reapplied as the body gets rid of it quickly.’

Dr Dominic Williams, an expert on pharmacology at Liverpool University, said: ‘This product may have an effect but would need to be used frequently.’

Each 30ml pot should last about a month. The moisturiser is not the first time snake venom has been used as a beauty treatment. Lip Venom, by Du Wop, is a lip gloss which uses venom and is said to plump out the lips.

I’m shaking my head in disbelief here. Women are really prepared to pay $120 for a single month’s supply of face cream with synthetic snake venom???

Dang. Why not go for the real thing, instead of an artificial substitute? Wait till I tell Bubba down on the bayou about this. All those cottonmouths and water moccasins he’s been shooting for years? I’ve found a market for him at last!

Peter