Slugging vs Quenching: Why Your Skin Needs a Drink, Not an Occlusive Seal.
You may have come across slugging, the K-Beauty trend that involves coating the skin in a thick layer of occlusive skincare as the final step before bed. The aim: lock in moisture and wake up to plumper, dewier skin.
It's a trend built on a genuinely good instinct: protecting hydration overnight matters. We just think there's a way to achieve that which works with the skin's own processes, rather than inhibiting them.
Here's how we see it.
What is slugging, exactly?
Slugging involves finishing your night routine with a heavy layer of an occlusive moisturiser, like petroleum jelly, to seal everything underneath it in and stop water escaping through the skin overnight.
Occlusives work by forming a physical barrier on the surface of the skin, so nothing can pass in or out.
The theory behind it
The idea is to mimic your skin's own lipid layer: the blend of oil molecules and fatty acids that sit on top of your skin, protecting it from dehydration.
Picture pouring oil over water: it floats, forming a barrier. A healthy lipid layer works the same way, sitting over the skin and slowing the moisture that escapes from the cells below.
Is there a better way?
Slugging sounds great in theory – who wouldn’t want to lock more hydration into their skin?
There are 3 things that we question about slugging.
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Skin needs to breathe overnight. While you sleep, skin is busy repairing its own lipid layer, releasing natural oils and secretions as part of that process. Sealed under an occlusive layer, that repair work is harder for the skin to carry out.
- Trapped isn't quite the same as absorbed. Without a functioning lipid layer, skin can struggle to metabolise the other beneficial ingredients in your products. Hydration can end up sitting on the surface, rather than making its way down to where it's needed most.
- Replicating or mimicking the lipid layer has its limits. It would be more beneficial to replenish lipids where possible by using ingredients that are bio-compatible with the skin.
Introducing Quenching
Rather than sealing the skin, our approach is to quench it.
The underlying goal is much the same as slugging: saturate the skin with hydration and reduce moisture loss. But quenching works with the skin's natural functions, allowing it to breathe while helping rebuild the lipids in your skin.
1. Exfoliate
To help the hydrating ingredients that follow actually penetrate, start with a clean base. A Facial in a Jar exfoliating gel mask, like Plumping Pumpkin or Brightening Berry, gently clears away surface debris while feeding nutrients back into the skin as it works. That means everything you layer on next can actually get where it needs to go.
2. Cleanse
Reach for Drench or Smudge Budge. Both cleanse through a gentle oil exchange rather than stripping the skin, and both are rich in skin-compatible plant oils that help replenish the lipids cleansing would otherwise take away, leaving skin soft and comfortable rather than tight.
3. Hydrate
We're not really believers in traditional toners (more on that here), but we are believers in something that refreshes the skin and pours extra hydration in straight after cleansing. Our Bio Juice is formulated using an ingredients called Fucogel that works like a moisture magnet, drawing in hydration and holding onto it for the long haul.
If you're a fan of a good serum, this is also where it comes in. Juice-C Drops is packed with hydrating heroes like fermented hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid, glycerin and propanediol, alongside actives like vitamin C and resveratrol, all working the way a good serum should: fast-absorbing and easily layered. What sets it apart is that it's a serum-oil hybrid, so it carries the nourishing and lipid replenishment benefits of a face oil too. The oil layer also contains Commipheroline to support the skin's own fat storage and help it plump from within. The result is one lightweight, juicy step that delivers serum performance with the nourishment of an oil folded in, setting the stage for the richer layer still to come.
4. Nourish
Our answer to the occlusive final step? Green Juice, our multi-tasking Skin Rescue Balm. It melts into the skin as a breathable layer that locks in everything underneath, while its plant lipids work to rebuild your skin's outer layer rather than just imitate it. Longer-term benefit, not just a temporary seal.
Don't forget the rest of you
The same ‘quenching’ principle also works beautifully as a body routine too.
Here we would recommend massaging a body oil like our Green Juice Rescue Oil, onto damp skin straight after a shower, helping to lock in any water before it evaporates. Then layer a body cream over the top, such as Super Fruit or Mummy's Tummy, to help seal that hydration in.
It's the same quenching principle applied to the body: the moisture-locking benefit of an occlusive step, without the heavy residue.
One of the best things about this routine?
Despite all those plant oils, quenching leaves far less of a "slick" than a traditional petroleum-based routine. That's because these oils are designed to be metabolised and absorbed by the skin, rather than just sitting on it.
If you wake up with little to no residue on your skin (or your pillowcase), that's your sign the quenching is working exactly as it should.
