Skin Slugging: What Is It and Should You Try This Beauty Trend?

Skin slugging is the latest skincare trend for keeping your skin soft, bouncy and moisturized. Didn't understand? Read on.

During the winter months, dry, dull, and spotty skin is a frequent occurence. A recent TikTok trend has become the craze for providing an overnight remedy to repair damaged skin and giving it a summer glow using only a tub of petroleum jelly.

Meanwhile, check out these simple tips to improve your skin texture naturally.

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What is Skin Slugging?

Slugging is a popular skincare technique for sealing the skin to lock in the moisturizing properties of skincare products.

With its origins in Korean beauty therapy, slugging involves liberally using a petroleum-based product as the last step of your routine, to help lock and seal in your skincare products overnight, and removing them with a cleaner the next morning.

Slugging is an excellent winter skincare procedure for people with dry or sensitive skin. Petroleum jelly is an occlusive that's not only excellent in soothing irritated skin and promoting wound healing, but it can also act as a barrier to protect the skin.

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Benefits of Skin Slugging

Slugging seals moisture into the skin, reduces transepidermal water loss, and maintains and repairs the skin's natural lipid barrier, which links skin cells. Good functioning of the lipid barrier is necessary for healthy skin functioning. Chances of injury are increased when the barrier is not functioning as effectively as it should.

Skin slugging improves the way the skin protects itself by artificially thickening the skin barrier. People suffering from skin dryness or damage and want to increase their skin's moisture content can highly benefit from the slugging method.

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Which Skin Types Should Try Skin Slugging?

Skin slugging is recommended for people with normal to dry skin that becomes visibly drier during the winter.

It's effective not only on the face but also elsewhere: If you've dry spots on your knees, elbows, ankles, or anywhere else on the body, use your preferred moisturizer and then a petroleum-based product to seal it. On the contrary, people with oily or acne prone skin should avoid this trend.

Beware though: slugging can trap dead skin cells, oil, and debris, which can promote bacterial proliferation and exacerbate acne outbreaks. Hence, to be on the safer side, you should always wash and clean the areas properly before slugging them.

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Difference between Skin Slugging and Moisturizing

There's a very basic difference between skin slugging and moisturizing. Moisturizers help hydrate the skin, whereas petroleum-based products lock the moisture into the skin. Petroleum-based products are called occlusives, and these products are not breathable i.e. they dont allow transfer of moisture from the skin to the atmosphere. Hence, they improve the skin's ability to retain moisture.

However, keep in mind that petroleum jelly does not hydrate the skin. It only helps retain moisture. So, skin slugging won't provide any moisturization, but it can help increase the effectiveness of your moisturizer.

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Downsides of Skin Slugging

If you have oily or acne-prone skin, occlusives will block your pores. You should also be wary of using active substances beneath an occlusive. For instance, if you use retinoids in your skincare, do not use an occlusive over it, as that can cause skin irritation.

Also, slugging must always be the final exercise in your routine. If you forget a step in your routine, you must either skip it or remove the occlusive layer altogether and start again, which can be quite cumbersome.

Slugging is best recommended for people with very dry to dry or sensitive skin. It's not a permanent cure, so if you need a long term remedy beyond a few weeks of slugging, look for a cure that's more specifically aimed at your issue.

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Final Thoughts

There's no reason you shouldn't try slugging if you have normal to dry skin and aren't prone to acne.

Nevertheless, applying a thinner layer to a small area of skin or testing it on your hands first is advisable. Everyone's skin is different, and everyone's reaction to the practice may differ, so start off slow with just a small patch of skin.

If you want to look great in your skin, try these yoga poses for healthy skin that can make you glow from the inside out.