We Tried Slugging for a Week…

Graphic by Anika Dua

Every single night of the past few weeks I’ve received horrific jump scares by my roommate emerging from our shared bathroom with the face of a glossy, sludge-like newborn baby. “I’m slugging,” was his only response after I screamed, as if it was a natural occurrence in everyday life rather than a new beauty trend on which I wasn’t caught up.

“Slugging” is lathering your face in some kind of viscous substance like Vaseline to trap any water as the final step of a nighttime routine in order to hydrate irritated and dry skin. It became popular in the K-beauty community on social media sites like Reddit and Tiktok. Those online swear by it, as does my obsessed roommate. Despite the madness of my evening, I decided to subject myself to the trend named after a creature I despise most for an entire week to see if it was true.

Luckily for me, I already had everything I needed to begin. My skincare routine was already minimal to start with, so adding on the extra step of coating my face in Vaseline wasn’t too time-consuming but definitely was a new sensation. I kept wanting to wash my hands or touch my face, but I just had to sit with the newfound reality of a sticky hell. The first night was definitely the hardest, as falling asleep felt strange with a towel on top of my pillow and laying on my back rather than my usual comfy side.

Nevertheless, I woke up day after day pleasantly surprised. My skin looked a bit softer than usual, and it felt great washing my face in the morning. Full disclosure: every ounce of my being wanted “slugging” to work, otherwise I had subjected myself to feeling disgusting slimy for an entire week.

Besides the fact that I missed Saturday night, my week of “slugging” was overall successful. Unless you have sensitive skin, I recommend throwing your pride aside and partaking in the new skincare trend. Even if you just want to see what putting Vaseline on all over your face feels like.