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Ah, yes. The joys of having dry skin. Constant flakiness and that tight feeling that never seems to go away. I feel you. I’m very familiar with the struggle of having extremely dry skin. So, let me introduce you to the joys of Vaseline in your skincare routine!
Vaseline? Really? Yes, really! You’re going to have to trust me on this one. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Vaseline has been having a bit of a moment on TikTok lately. If you’re as invested in SkinTok as I am, then you’ve heard about a lovely little thing called slugging.
What is slugging? Slugging is the process of applying Vaseline on your face at night as a way of protecting your skin barrier and preventing all the moisture in your skin from evaporating during the night. Now, slugging is certainly not for everyone. If you have extremely dry, irritated skin, this is definitely for you, but if you have oily skin, you may want to skip on slugging.
Now that you know what slugging is, how do you do it? There’s actually a specific method to doing it so that you get the maximum benefits.
1. Dampen your face
First, you want to make sure your face is wet. If you typically shower before applying your skincare, this is easy; don’t towel dry your face when you get out of the shower – just jump right into your skincare routine. If you’re lazy and don’t shower in the evening (like I am sometimes!), you can literally just spray your face with some tap water to dampen it. If you’re feeling fancy (treat yourself!), opt for a nice hydrating toner or face mist (I love this one from Tower28!). Whatever you end up doing, after you wash your face and before you apply your moisturizer and serums, you’re going to want to make sure you have damp skin.
2. Apply your moisturizer on damp skin
If you use serums, feel free to apply your serums after dampening your face, but before your moisturizer. If you don’t use serums, after you dampen your face, go right in with your moisturizer. Whichever steps you take, make sure you’re applying your moisturizer to damp skin; this will allow for your moisturizer to seal in the water moisture you just applied to your skin previously. If you have dry, irritated skin like me, check out this La Roche Posay moisturizer — it’s a hidden gem that can be used on your body and face!
Related: The TikTok Beauty Products That Are Actually Worth It
3. Apply Vaseline
After you apply your moisturizer, go straight in with your Vaseline. You definitely don’t need much, so don’t worry about feeling like a literal slug. I typically only use a pea-sized amount for my whole face! Vaseline will act as a barrier and keep all your moisture locked into your skin. You’re going to want the Vaseline to sit on top of your skin and act as a literal barrier on your face.
And that’s the routine! Don’t worry about Vaseline rubbing off on your pillow at night; it’s bound to happen a little bit, but it definitely doesn’t stain, and it also won’t dramatically affect your routine. If that really bugs you, you can try sleeping with a t-shirt over your pillow! In the morning, you’ll want to wash off any residue off of your face. If you have a seriously damaged skin barrier or just really dry skin, you should definitely give it a try. Vaseline was a game-changer for me, and helped heal my skin so quickly achieve that coveted glow!