The South Korean skincare trend known as “slugging” involves applying petrolatum (such as Vaseline) to your face to prevent water loss and heal damage to your skin barrier. Slugging works best as the last step of a nighttime routine, since our skin is most susceptible to losing moisture while sleeping — but did you know there's another way to improve slugging?
Using vegetable or fruit oils work even better than Vaseline for slugging, and cosmetic chemist Krupa Koestline points out that “vegetable and fruit oils, like coconut oil, [are] more sustainable.” Another hack for slugging is to use skincare containing glycerin before the humectant, since it’ll attract water to your skin and reduce fine lines.
However, Dr. Alexis Parcell warns those with oily skin should do slugging less or not at all, and you should always check products' labels to ensure that the oils used won't clog your pores. Some oils (such as coconut) are comedogenic, AKA pore-clogging, and you obviously don't want slugging to make your skin worse.
Some popular products to use for slugging include the Peach & Lily Rescue Balm, since it’s infused with oils like sunflower seed and castor seed, combined with plant-based waxes for a balm-like consistency. If you have oily skin, try Missha Super Aqua ell Renew Snail Cream and Farmacy Honey Halo Ultra-Hydrating Ceramide Moisturizer.