Slugging. It's not about mullusk.

There is a trend that involves covering your skin in a occlusive layer of petroleum jelly or a mineral oil like substance. Let's talk about it.

The action is called slugging. The purpose is to prevent transdermal water loss, and to help deliver skin-care ingredients into the skin, maintain water content, and give the appearance of plump firmer looking skin. Slugging doesn't negate the need to keep skin hydrated by consuming water throughout the day. So drink water, folks. Now back to slugging.

So what exactly do I need to do?

Before bed, after washing your hands, face, and/or feet, rub on a moisturizer like a good lotion, body butter, cream or oil. As soon as you finish rub on a layer of Vaseline® or some other petroleum jelly. You can cover the skin on your hands with a pair of cotton gloves. It's absorbs excess moisture, but allows air though the fibers to prevent sweeting. On your feet, put on cotton socks for the same reason. The next morning, perform you ritual of washing your face, hands, and /or feet in the bath or shower.

That's it.

It's funny the way things come full circle. We older people have been doing this for years, but we didn't have a name for it. So, I guess thank you, youngsters. We now have a name covering our hands and feet, or covering our face with a heavier oil to prevent water loss after applying moisturizers.