Slugging is a skincare trend that has its roots in K-beauty and involves covering your skin with a layer of occlusive moisturizer, typically Vaseline, which is 100 percent petroleum jelly. We have always recommended using Vaseline on top of all skincare products for added moisture.
In short, the idea is to ‘lock in’ moisture and your other skincare products so that your skin is kept looking plumper for longer. The occlusive moisturizer acts like a plaster for your skin, preventing trans-epidermal water loss.
It’s also up there with being one of the most simple skincare hacks around. You simply apply a very thin layer of Vaseline over your face as the final step of your nightly skincare routine. Then you let it work its magic by, well, doing nothing. It just sits there and supervises your skincare, making the formulas work smarter not harder.
Easy peasy!
Slugging For Acne Prone Skin
You should see the shock on our client’s faces when we tell them to apply Vaseline all over their face to protect it from various acne triggers.
I know what you’re thinking… Vaseline for Acne? You have GOT to be kidding, right?
Believe it or not – this tried and true beauty product really helps build a strong barrier. A strong foundation makes the application of things like antioxidants, retinoids, and peptide penetrate the skin deeper while helping it stay put.
When it comes to acne, you want your skin to be well-lubricated at all times to help your skin barrier repair itself otherwise; you’re just going to create more acne and breakouts. This is where the slugging comes in.
Counter to conventional thinking, slathering skin with such a heavy salve-like product WILL NOT cause you to breakout.
Which leads me to the next point.
Is Vaseline Safe to Use on Your Face?
It was concluded years ago that petroleum jelly is 100% non-comedogenic, meaning it will not clog or block your pores. Petroleum is one of the best occlusive (blocks water loss) moisturizers that can be used making it completely safe to use on the face.
Occulant products, such as Vaseline have more uses than simply treating dry patches. We recommend our acne clients use these products to occlude the skin before diving into chlorinated or salt water pools, preventing over drying of their already inflamed sensitive skin.
We also advise our clients to use them to soften their lips safely as most Chap Stick is comedogenic. Our acne-safe chap stick is however, not comedogenic.
Try it for yourself & see.
Products like Vaseline prevent water from evaporating from your face. This particular ointment helps to improve your skin barrier and keep it healthy. And a healthy, hydrated skin barrier means fewer breakouts, less redness and irritation, and even decreased fine lines and wrinkles.
Slugging is a win, win!
The Takeaway
Vaseline should never replace your moisturizer. However, it can help your acne better heal itself by locking in moisture and amping up the effects of your usual skincare products. Please contact us before randomly adding Vaseline to your daily or nightly regimen.
We would only recommend slugging with Vaseline. We would NOT recommend using Aquaphor. Aquaphor is a product we used to recommend but it has lanolin in it and we have recently added lanolin to our pore clogging list thus removing Aquaphor from our safe-to-use list.
Also worth noting: Make sure to use a pillowcase you don’t care about destroying, since some product will inevitably get on your pillow. And change your pillowcase every night when using the slugging technique to keep bacteria from clogging your pores.
Don’t go another week worrying about your breakouts. All of our clients get beautifully clear when they follow our gentle guidance. Are you ready to go all in for clear skin?
Schedule your appointment today! Let us help you get started on YOUR clear skin journey.
Cheers to clear!
Rene