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Should you slug?
Slugging is sealing your face with a layer of petrolatum overnight. It cuts water loss dramatically, which is exactly what a dry or damaged barrier needs and exactly what acne-prone or fungal-prone skin does not. Seven questions to place you.
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How does your skin behave by mid-afternoon with no product on it?
The science
Who slugging helps, and who it sets back
01
Slugging means finishing the night routine with a layer of petrolatum or a similar occlusive, so nothing evaporates until morning. For dry skin, a damaged barrier, or a dry climate and indoor heating, it works: overnight water loss drops and the skin is visibly calmer by morning. That is the whole mechanism, and it is a good one for the right skin.
02
For acne-prone skin it is usually a mistake. Petrolatum itself is not strongly comedogenic, but sealing sebum, sweat and product residue under an occlusive for eight hours provokes congestion in skin that clogs easily, and it can flare fungal acne by trapping heat and moisture. Applying it over a retinoid or an acid also drives more of the active in, which can turn a tolerated product into an irritating one.
03
The quiz sorts you into a clear yes, a sometimes (after a barrier setback, not routinely), or a no. If the answer is no, the moisturizer picker on this site finds a lighter way to the same goal, and the barrier test tells you whether what you are feeling is dryness or damage.
FAQ
Common questions
Is slugging good for acne-prone skin?+
Usually not. Occluding sebum and residue overnight tends to cause congestion, and it can flare fungal acne. If you are acne-prone and dry, a lighter humectant plus a non-occlusive moisturizer gets most of the benefit.
How often should you slug?+
Dry or damaged skin can slug most nights in dry weather. Combination skin should treat it as a repair step after a setback, one or two nights, not a routine.
What goes under the petrolatum?+
A humectant or plain moisturizer on slightly damp skin. Not a retinoid or an acid: occlusion pushes actives deeper and turns tolerable into irritating.
Does slugging cause milia?+
It can contribute in people prone to them, because trapped debris under an occlusive is one of the things milia form around. If you get milia easily, skip it.