You should apply your occlusive (slugging product) as the very last step of your nighttime routine, after your moisturizer has had a few minutes to absorb, usually 1-5 minutes, to prevent trapping actives and to allow initial absorption before sealing everything in. It's best to wait a bit for your moisturizer to sink in, then gently pat on your petrolatum or ointment, and avoid applying actives like retinol underneath.
Slugging should be done as the last step of your nighttime skin routine. You'll layer whichever occlusive you use, such as petroleum jelly, over thinner skin care ingredients, including serums and other moisturizers.
The "3-Minute Rule" for moisturizer is a skincare guideline recommending you apply lotion, cream, or ointment to your skin within three minutes of bathing or washing, while it's still damp, to trap water and lock in hydration for healthier, less dry skin. This technique seals in moisture lost during washing, preventing it from evaporating quickly and helping to strengthen the skin's protective barrier, making it especially beneficial for dry skin and conditions like eczema.
While you don't have to wait for your moisturizer to dry completely (because you might be waiting quite a while on some of the thicker options!), we recommend at least giving it a minute or two.
Slugging is generally considered ideal for those with dry skin. It may not be suitable for acne-prone skin or for individuals prone to blemishes. Seek the help of a board-certified dermatologist for any questions regarding whether or not slugging is right for you.
Slugging won't replace your medical-grade skincare routine
Slugging won't prevent skin aging, so you'll still need to use quality, medical-grade skincare products when you are not applying an occlusive.
Babe Ruth holds the record for the highest career slugging percentage in Major League Baseball history at a staggering . 6897.
This eyeball-grabbing rule suggests that you go straight into your skincare routine immediately after washing up, within 3 seconds. At first glance, this may seem like it's sprouted from the imagination of an ardent skin care-lover.
The key to finding out what works for your skin is through practice and testing, you'll learn what your skin wants and needs as you trial things out over time. In the event of over-moisturising your skin for a period of time, you could notice your skin becoming bumpy, clogged pores, breakouts, and even dry spots.
Incorporating moisturizer into both your morning and evening routines is essential. In the morning, use a lightweight, broad-spectrum SPF moisturizer to protect your skin from UV damage and environmental stressors. At night, opt for a richer cream or hydrating serum to repair and replenish your skin while you sleep.
In general, Firoz says that a tablespoon or more of moisturizer in one application is too much. “Using a tablespoon or layering heavy moisturizer multiple times a day without real need is generally overkill for most skin types,” she says.
A 7-step skincare routine generally involves cleansing, toning, treating (serum/essence), eye cream, moisturizing, and SPF in the morning (replacing sunscreen with a night cream at night), with makeup remover as the first step if needed, following the light-to-heavy product rule for best absorption. This layered approach ensures each product's active ingredients effectively penetrate the skin for optimal results.
Many people rub moisturisers into their skin but a better technique is to tap a small amount of moisturiser into your face and neck using light upward movements. Tapping your moisturiser into your skin will help it to absorb and can also boost circulation.
A step-by-step guide to slugging
Unlike batting average, slugging percentage gives more weight to extra-base hits such as doubles and home runs, relative to singles. Batters who excel at getting extra-base hits are sometimes referred to as sluggers.
The skin types that should avoid slugging are oily skin and acne-prone skin, as these types already have a robust lipid layer, and slugging could lead to congested pores and breakouts. Damaged or infected skin should also avoid this technique, as occlusive treatments may not allow skin to completely heal.
There are some classic signs of over hydrated skin to look out for, which include: an uneven skin texture, clogged pores and blackheads. As well as this, the skin often feels dry even after applying excessive amounts of moisturizer. For some people, overhydration manifests as very oily skin.
Maybe twice a day, or maybe after every shower. If you're noticing breakouts or clogging pores, you might be overdoing it. This is where taking a step back and skin moisturize less often could help balance things out.
Also, your product should last you a few months, not a few weeks—using up product quickly indicates you might be using too much. Some signs that you may be over-moisturizing are clogged pores, blackheads, bumpy skin, and excess oil.
How to Tell You're Overwashing Your Face. The most obvious sign of over-cleansing is that “squeaky-clean” feeling you get after drying your face. Tightness and dryness are the biggest side effects. “The cells become dry and cracked, and release small molecules called chemokines, causing itchiness,” explains Greenfield.
The 60 second ritual involves massaging your facial cleanser into the skin for a full minute before rinsing. The idea is simple: instead of quickly washing your face in 10 seconds, you give your skin the time it needs to truly benefit from the active ingredients and encourage circulation.
The Korean skincare "3-second rule" is the practice of applying your next skincare product (like toner or moisturizer) to damp skin within three seconds of cleansing to trap moisture and boost absorption, maximizing hydration and product efficacy because wet skin absorbs actives much faster than dry skin, leading to better ingredient penetration and sealing in water.
Slugging percentage represents the total number of bases a player records per at-bat. Unlike on-base percentage, slugging percentage deals only with hits and does not include walks and hit-by-pitches in its equation.
Williams also led the AL in home runs four times, and his . 634 career slugging percentage is second to only Babe Ruth. In his third big league season in 1941, Williams hit . 406 – becoming the last big leaguer to reach the .
Ruth established many MLB batting (and some pitching) records, including career home runs (714), runs batted in (RBIs) (2,213), bases on balls (2,062), slugging percentage (. 690), and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (1.164); the last two still stand as of 2019.