Slugging is a K-Beauty skincare trend that has gone viral across TikTok and Reddit. Although the popular - the beauty practice isn't new. Slugging recently saw a resurgence on on TikTok for its ability to restore rough, dry skin overnight. which requires slathering your face in a petroleum-based product as the final step in your nighttime skin-care routine and leaving it on overnight to lock in moisture. Now, TikTokers are extending the same principles of skin slugging to their dry hair.
TikTok's latest obsession, hair slugging, is a viral hack for getting shiny, hydrated, and silky hair overnight. Hair slugging, like its skincare counterpart, isn't a new beauty trend and has long been used by Black people and people of color. However, it's one of the latest topics to take over TikTok, where users have been raving about the hack. The hashtag #hairslugging has over three million views on the app.
What Is Hair Slugging?
Hair slugging is a new name for coating your dry hair in oil as an overnight treatment. In this TikTok video you see that the practice of hair slugging consists of coating the mid-length to ends of hair in a hair oil and wrapping hair in a fuzzy sock tied with a silk scrunchie. In this clip, @moniquemrapier says they've noticed her strands are "shinier, healthier, and more silky", which has led a wave of people trying out the method at home.
Some users lather their hair in a hair serum or hair repair product, while others are trying coconut oil in their hair, which is what's used in traditional Ayurvedic practices. With hair slugging, you can apply the serum or oil to dry hair to penetrate into the hair overnight to help seal in existing moisture.
What Are the Benefits of Hair Slugging?
It is commonly known that putting a concerted effort in to nourishing our hair, moisturizing the hair, and preventing friction are all factors that contribute to overall hair health. Using oils and serums on the scalp + hair help to lock in moisture, helps to prevent frizz and breakage.
A nourishing hair serum or oil applied to the mid-shaft and ends, then concealing or covering the hair to avoid friction overnight, allows the scalp and hair to absorb nourishment and maintain moisture. Another benefit is increased softness and shine when using as a leave-in treatment or styling aid and for a deep conditioning treatment.
How to Try Hair Slugging
Hair slugging can be done 2-3 times a week, or as often as needed! Start by applying three to four pumps of oil and add more as needed until the ends of your hair are saturated.
The most important part is to use the right oil for your hair type. Fine hair textures work best with a serum or a lightweight oil such as the SAVE ME FROM Pollution Assault is made with babassu oil, meadowfoam seed oil, karanja seed oil and green tea to repair, strengthen, and hydrate hair. For coarser, thicker hair, using a thicker and more emollient oil, like SAVE ME FROM Thermal Obsession (that's formulated with over a dozen rich butters + oils), will lock in moisture and keep frizz at bay.
Another aspect to consider is how to wrap your hair, and while the fuzzy sock is a clever idea, you might get better results if you sleep on silk. In most instances, many people are still sleeping on cotton pillowcases, which can draw moisture out of the hair. Ideally, something like a singular braid with a silk bonnet would do the trick (bonus: wake up to beach waves in the morning).
My Hair Slugging Experience
I decided to try this hack out for myself to see if it made a difference for my strands using SAVE ME FROM's versatile hybrid scalp + hair repair treatments.
The process of slugging was fairly simple, especially for someone like me who doesn’t have the patience for a 10-step haircare routine (that's why I love SAVE ME FROM 9 uses in just 1 product).
I applied a customized combination of SAVE ME FROM Thermal Obsession (for intense moisture) and SAVE ME FROM Pollution Assault (for nourishment and shine) to create a lightweight oil to apply the ends of my hair. I wrapped my hair up in a bun with the SAVE ME FROM Hair Cap (I love that it's a breathable polyester microfiber) to seal in the moisture and went to bed!
When I woke up, I took my hair out of the cap and was amazed at how gorgeous and defined my waves were the next day! I loved that the combination of the two treatments absorbed into my hair, making my hair so soft and silky that I couldn't stop touching my hair! If you want to hear more about how I continue to do hair slugging every week, check out my video where I talk about hair slugging live!
