Lay It On Thick

The latest influencer-fueled craze holds that the secret to sumptuous skin might be lying in a tube of petroleum jelly.

- Leslie Camhi

CLEAR IT UP 

Applying a jellylike protective layer at night may help condition the skin. Photographed by Norman Jean Roy.

Is it because you’re lazy?” a friend queried, only half- jokingly, when I told her I was investigating the TikTok-propelled skin care trend known as slugging. But her comment left me wondering why a slow moving mollusk, often encountered in garden lanes after a rainfall, has suddenly become the spirit animal of contemporary skin care. Of course, we’ve all been through a lot: the pandemic, natural and climate change–related disasters, wars and the gradual erosion of democracy. Who hasn’t been feeling a little “sluggish” recently?

This new mode, however, involves applying an occlusive, i.e., water-resistant, layer of a petroleum-jellylike substance to the face as the final step (after cleansing and moisturizing) in your evening skin care routine and leaving it on as you sleep. Slugging’s proponents claim that going to bed looking like a glazed donut carries with it a host of benefits, including increased hydration, a replenished and protected skin barrier, and (for that rare mature follower of TikTok trends) a reduction in wrinkles. In other words, it’s meant to mimic or intensify the restorative work that a good night’s sleep has on one’s complexion.