Slugging is the latest beauty trend taking over the internet. The goal is to achieve that dewy, glasslike skin that dreams are made of. The trend originated from K-Beauty and spread like wildfire through Reddit, but the idea behind it is nothing new.
How Does It Work?
So how does slugging work? All it requires is a tub of Vaseline ($6.99). Before bed, you take a bean sized amount of Vaseline and spread it all over your face. Leave it on while you sleep, and when you wake up in the morning, you’ll have smooth, soft, and moisturized skin.
If this sounds familiar, it’s probably because our grandmothers have been doing it, or at least a version of it, for decades. When they spread that cold cream all over their faces, it was basically the same idea behind slugging. It’s all about locking in moisture.
The Science
When you spread Vaseline—or any other petroleum-based lotion— all over your face, it locks in moisture and helps reinforce the all-important skin barrier. It can not only protect the skin barrier, but the petroleum layer can help repair damage that already exists. Slugging is ideal for anyone worried about aging skin, dry skin, and it is especially helpful for people with eczema.
If you don’t have Vaseline on hand, there are some alternatives that will still give you all the great benefits that slugging provides. Aquaphor is my personal favorite, but any kind of petroleum-based healing ointment will get the job done.
The Beauty of It
The simplicity of the trend makes it both easy and cheap and therefore super accessible to all skincare lovers. The beauty of this trend is that it doesn’t take tons of time or tons of money like so many other trends out there. There is no need to drop hundreds of dollars at Sephora. Just a few bucks and a quick layer of petroleum and you’re on your way to gorgeous dewy skin. No battling with winter skin this year!
While this trend is amazing, and will work for most skin types, you may want to proceed with caution if you have very oily or acne prone skin. Part of what the petroleum does is create an additional barrier that locks in moisture, but it also locks in whatever else is on your skin, so make sure to cleanse really well first.
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