All About Slugging

If you’re struggling with perennially dry skin no matter what you try to do, slugging might be the key to you achieving supple, moisturized and glowing skin.

And no, I don’t mean slathering a slug’s goo all over your face…

 

Sometimes the dullness, dryness, and irritated skin with acne might be easily cured by something as simple as using moisturizer. This is where slugging comes in.

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What is slugging?

Slugging is applying a thin layer of an occlusive like Vaseline or a heavy face cream on your face after all your other serums and moisturizers to help prevent water loss from the skin. You end up looking like a shiny slug in the end (hence the term) but it works and is done at night when not many people can see you, so it’s totally worth it.

An occlusive forms some sort of a physical barrier between your skin and the environmental elements, therefore locking in hydration and prevent water loss.

 

Sometimes we end up destroying our skin after bombarding it nightly with harsh exfoliants and treatments like retinol, salicylic acid, glycolic acid and the like. Too much of a good thing is also quite dangerous as it can lead to you unknowingly destroying your skin barrier.

Slugging, however, can help repair the damage caused by creating a moist environment that allows the skin barrier to slowly heal and rebuild itself.

But won’t Vaseline cause more acne?

Believe it or not, it will not! Vaseline on its own won’t clog pores, because the size of its molecules are too large to fit into your pores, making Vaseline completely noncomedogenic.

However, if you’re oily skinned, approach with caution as it will also block your natural skin oils from escaping, which may cause eventual irritation to your pores and hair follicles. In that case, you can opt for moisturizers with ingredients such as ceramides and hyaluronic acid.

So if you’re on tretinoin or any other skincare routine involving many acids, consider slugging every couple of nights, especially if you speculate that you might be having dehydrated skin.