Why Skin-Care Reddit Swears By the Slug Life Method for Super-Hydrated Skin – Self

From the Reddit community that brought us this innovative pore-clearing method, now comes the slug life, an aggressive moisturizing technique that requires participants to slather their faces in a heavy occlusive moisturizer as the final step in their bedtime skin-care routine. The vast majority of loyal slugs cite Vaseline as their preferred occlusive, but there are some who swear by Aquaphor as an alternative.

Far be it from us to mock a solid moisturizing routine, but this sounded a little extremeand its given name doesnt help much. Turns out, although the term slug life might be a recent invention, the method itself is hardly new.

I actually heard about this 15 years ago, when I was a med student, Krisanne Sisto, M.D., a dermatologist at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, tells SELF. I have been using Vaseline literally every single night since.

Dr. Sisto credits Vaseline with making her skin feel smoother and softer, while also reducing the appearance of fine lines. Her experience aligns with that of numerous Redditors, many of whom adopted the slug life as a last-ditch effort to address their dry, flaky, over-exfoliated skin.

The skins moisture barrier can get damaged pretty easily, whether from harsh weather or harsh products, Dr. Sisto explains, and a heavy occlusive moisturizer can help the skin recover when that damage occurs. (For those in need of a refresher, occlusive moisturizers essentially create a barrier over the surface of the skin and prevent moisture loss.) It basically provides an environment that allows your skin to naturally heal, she says.

Some will try to get even more moisture into their skin by layering a humectant product like hyaluronic acid, which pulls water from the air and surrounding environment onto the skin, underneath their occlusive of choice. Using a humectant first will likely make the slug life more effective overall, Syril Keena Que, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of clinical dermatology at Indiana University, tells SELF. Vaseline by itself wouldnt really do as much, because it doesnt really contain the waterit just retains it. But the idea here is that theyre drawing in as much moisture as possible, then sealing it into place.

In fact, Dr. Que says she often encourages her patients with eczema or extremely dry skin to apply an occlusive moisturizer immediately after a bath, while their skin is still a little damp. Its the same principleusing a humectant is just keeping the water there, and then putting the Vaseline on top really just traps that water, she says. Thats especially important for dry skin or those who have conditions like eczema in which the skins normal mechanisms for sealing in hydration arent working properly.

As you may have guessed by now, this is a great routine for anyone dealing with very dry skin, but people with acneparticularly those who treat it with extremely drying products like tretinoincould also stand to benefit from the slug lifes healing and ultra-moisturizing effects.

It can be an uphill battle convincing an acne patient to use a thick product like Vaseline, Dr. Sisto admits. But, as Dr. Que explains, Vaseline can help to provide more moisture and help rebuild that skin barrier. No matter how your skins moisture barrier has been damaged, the slug life could help get it back in fighting shape.

That said, if you have oily and acne-prone skin, youre right to be skeptical of this trend. Vaseline doesnt directly clog pores, but it can still exacerbate breakouts and acne in people with naturally oilier skin, Dr. Que says. The bacteria that causes acne feeds off oil, so if your skin produces a lot of oil and youre using Vaseline, youre basically just promoting the environment that would cause the bacteria to grow, she explains.

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Why Skin-Care Reddit Swears By the Slug Life Method for Super-Hydrated Skin - Self