What is Slugging and Whether or not you should do it?

About a week ago, a customer email in and said she was going to use her Vilot Face Balm for “slugging.” I replied to her and told her I was extremely happy that she wrote in but mistakenly thought slugging meant she was displeased with the balm and referenced it negatively.

About a week later, I heard the word slugging and immediately thought of my customer email. So I did what any one with a phone does when they are uninformed, I “googled it!”

Little did I know, “slugging” is ACTUALLY a thing! 

But Here’s the thing, If you have our Vilot Face Balm you are ALREADY ahead of the sticky trend!

Slugging is a K-Beauty skincare trend which includes coating your face in petrolatum or Vaseline. This is meant to prevent transepidermal water loss and keep moisture in your skin. It's best for dry skin types with promises to hydrate.

While it’s been hitting top trending charts on google, the method has been around for a while: It has roots in Korean beauty and is a longtime favorite of the beauty crowd on reddit. 

How to do “Slugging”?

The technique involves applying a heavy emollient, such as Vaseline or Aquaphor, as the final step in your skin care routine. According to an article on Today, board-certified dermatologist Dr. Rachel Nazarian, at the Schweiger Dermatology Group in New York City told Shop TODAY, "These products are occlusives, meaning they seal the top layer of the skin and enhance the penetration of the products that came before them, making them more effective." 

Petroleum jelly can help relieve dry skin by providing moisture, According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). This, in turn, leads to a plethora of other benefits, like more youthful-looking, glowy, and bouncy skin. It’s thought to be especially beneficial during the cold, less humid winter months that tend to leave your skin feeling dry and tight.

How To Add Slugging To Your Routine?

If you want to join in on the slugging fun, here is a routine posted by Beauty magazine. It’s easy. Follow the steps below for a full routine.

Step #1. Cleanse Your Skin

As with any skin care routine, it’s important to begin by washing your face with your favorite cleanser or cleansing bar. 

Step #2. Smooth On a Serum

Slugging is all about layering on the hydration. So, pat on moisturizing Vilot Hydrating Facial serum, to quench your complexion.

Step #3. Apply Moisturizer

Next, reach for a moisturizer. Here is where your slugging will differ from anyone who ISNT a Vilot Skin customer. This works to provide your skin with intense hydration.

OPTIONAL!!! Step #4. Layer On Petroleum Jelly (proceed with caution)

Now, for the moment you’ve been waiting for: petroleum jelly. Grab a jar and apply a thick, even layer to your skin. You’ll end up looking slimy and shiny, but that’s the goal! Catch some Z’s and let the wonder of slugging begin.

Step #5. Wake Up and Rinse

When you wake up in the morning, remove the petroleum jelly with the help of your face wash and reveal beautiful, glowing skin.

How Often Should You Slug?

As far as frequency goes, it’s best to listen to your skin. If you have skin that tends to be dry, you may benefit from slugging on the daily. Those that have oily skin, however, may find they want to take part less or only during the winter months. Listen to your complexion to determine what makes sense for you.

Here is WHY as a VILOT SKIN CUSTOMER YOU DONT NEED TO DO SLUGGING!!!

The Vilot Face Balm is a large quantity 2.4 ounce balm, used as a daily & nightly moisturizer for the rejuvenation and renewal of all skin types especially maturing skin. Perfect for even the most sensitive skin, our essential blend is infused for several weeks with collagen.

Vitamin E and B complex help eliminate the appearance of or minimizes dark spots, aides with redness or blush skin due to rosacea, eliminates the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles, boosts collagen production in the skin and leaves the skin glowing with youthful, radiant results. 

The easy to use, travel size Face Balm promotes a luminous healthy, clear, rejuvenated complexion with enhanced radiance that addresses roughness, wrinkles, redness, dryness, and irritation. It facilitates the healing process, reduces the appearance of scars, and calms inflammation. The Balm is so moisturizing because of its Lucious ingredients that helps facilitate and contain moisture as well as absorb quickly into the skin. 

If you use Vilot Skin’s Face Balm, you WILL NOT NEED to use Vaseline to retain moisture as it does the job on its own. Just Glide the Face Balm across the face, neck & décolleté as generously as desired twice daily for the exact same results.

Because we don’t know it all, we referenced an Article by Byrdie for “The Science behind Slugging” by Charlotte Palermino.

 “One of the biggest barriers to using Vaseline has little to do with efficacy and actual safety and more to do with perceptions. Why does an ingredient dermatologists recommend for babies have such a bad wrap for being “toxic"? Clean beauty (Like Vilot Skin) is partly to blame. The EWG or Environmental Working Group ranks petrolatum as a “1-4” due to contamination concerns and The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has a post that, without context, would make you think that most petrolatum causes cancer. 

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (TCFSC) claims that “petrolatum is often not fully refined in the US.” As we’ve established, this is not true. The U.S. has regulated and tested petrolatum since the '60s, and it has long been recognized as a skin protectant by the FDA.⁴ TCFSC goes on to note ”it can be contaminated with toxic chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).” While studies have shown that PAHs are linked to breast cancer, petrolatum is not listed as a potential source, whereas tobacco smoke and smoked and grilled foods are.⁵

The Bottom Line

The reality is, in the U.S., products with 30 to 100% petrolatum are considered skin protectant drugs and are subject to FDA regulation and registration on NDClist.com.⁴ Any over-the-counter drug like sunscreen, hand sanitizer are considered OTC drugs and must register with the FDA to receive a unique NDC code for consumers. As petrolatum is recognized by the FDA as a proven skin protectant, like colloidal oatmeal, any product with over 30% petrolatum must register. This unique code identifies your brand and the factory that produces it making it easy to find vetted products.

While you won’t find brands under the 30% petrolatum mark on the website, parent companies are a good indicator of business practices. Why? Factories that follow GMP or Good Manufacturing Practices register with the FDA, as the FDA does routine checkups with factories, they don’t want to lose their license. Translation? They aren’t peddling contaminated petrolatum.” 

Have you tried Slugging? Will you try it in the future? If you already have, let us know in the comments! We'd love to hear about your experience.