When I hear K- Beauty, the first thing that comes to mind is lots and lots of moisture.
What is Slugging?
The word ‘Slugging’ which was coined by K- Beauty and made popular by Reddit is a skincare trend which includes coating your face in Vaseline or Petrolatum overnight. This helps prevent transepidermal water loss and keeps moisture in your skin making it the best for dry skin types.
Though it’s been popularized as a face treatment to aid with hydration, this beauty trick works on other parts of the body as well.
Petrolatum prevents most water loss while allowing your skin to repair its barrier, leaving it better off once the petrolatum is removed.
While you don’t have to worry about petrolatum being comedogenic, if you are acne-prone with sensitive skin, it’s best to avoid not just petrolatum, but anything that’s occlusive.
Slugging is a practice most dermatologists recommend for quickly healing dryness and eczema and trapping in moisture and the three easy steps to slugging are;
1. Cleanse and dampen your face as you normally would.
2. Apply a gentle serum or moisturizer though this is optional.
3. Seal it in with a thin, occlusive layer of Vaseline or any petrolatum-based ointment and remember to keep the petrolatum layer thin.
So if you’ve been looking for a skincare trend that would not require you breaking the bank, here it is.
Writer: Temiloluwa Erinfolami
