I admit to having a Tik Tok that I really never use.
I think my tag line is actually: "I'm too old for this."
And if a meme could sum me up, see below
But every now and then a trend comes along that has me curious, (mind you it usually takes a few weeks to make its way to me, and by then its a full blown Tik Tok thing.
This was how I heard about hair slugging.
Mind you I had known about skin slugging for months now. I'm not big on doing it for the face but I've definitely been known to use occlusive products overnight.
"Put vaseline on the heels of your feet, then slip a sock over them overnight.. instant dry heel remedy." You're welcome.
While I hadn't heard of topping of your skincare routine completely with vaseline (one of the forms of skin slugging), it didn't seem that out there for me.
I mean, I guess if your skin really is dry it's going to completely seal everything in.
I have a son who suffers from eczema and trapping in moisture is what we do daily.
So, what is hair slugging?
As one who is hair obsessed:
(it's my crown, massively important in my culture, and I will do everything to keep it healthy and strong)
I was immediately intrigued by this term.
Similarly to skin slugging, hair slugging is topping off hair in a generous coat of product that leaves it intensely moisturized overnight.
Step 1: Most commonly, you take a hair oil: this could be a product from a brand or simply coconut oil, jojoba, marula, or castor for example and apply it liberally over the hair and strands.
Step 2: Then you take a protective wrap (most stylists suggest a silk wrap),
but as seen on several Tik Toks' a fluffy sock can work too (although they aren't my favorite as they tend to absorb the product vs. a silk bonnet), and you can choose to wrap a silk scrunchie around it.
Step 3:....and you leave it overnight.
Easy enough.
Why Do Hair Slugging?
Ok. So it's not a massively involved process (although sleeping with oiled up hair may be slightly bothersome for some), but why even do it?
The benefits:
If you are experiencing dry hair which let's face it a lot of women are, especially postpartum moms, hair slugging is going to temporarily boost moisture levels.
Other benefits include: less frizz + added shine!
Despite some videos out there, it's not going to get rid of your split ends.
Truly the only fix for ends splitting is a trim. However, hair slugging has been known to cause hair to look smoother and shinier which may make your split ends less noticeable.
Because oils help lock in moisture it may even help prevent new split ends, which dry hair is prone to.
The results could really be shiny, hydrated hair by morning which in itself is pretty amazing.
Tips on Hair Slugging:
A notable tip on hair slugging would be to gauge your frequency with your hair type.
If you have thick and dry hair you can get away with doing slugging 1-2 times a week. Curly hair usually tends to be coarser and is a great candidate.
If your hair is fine, try a treatment and then take a week or two off and see how your hair handles it.
Also, look for a lighter-weight oil (steer away from castor which is one of the thickest, or only apply to your ends).
Got an oily scalp and not too keen on the idea of adding more oil to your hair, you can try slugging but avoid the scalp area entirely and only apply oil to the middle-ends of the hair shaft.
Regardless of your hair type, make sure to fully shampoo and wash the hair the next day to ensure you aren't clogging the pores.
Scalp folliculitis can occur and cause irritation or itchiness if the area is clogged and especially if combined with the warmth of a sock or wrap for too long.
Hair Slugging for Postpartum Moms:
I all to commonly hear from postpartum moms that they have never seen their hair in worse shape.
I've heard too often complaints of dry and breaking hair along with just tangling coarse strands.
Dry and tangled hair postpartum can be a combination of several things.
In addition to hormones and stress, hair texture changes from deficiencies can leave hair dry and lackluster.
I always recommend the baby blues postpartum hair vitamins to help support the hair growth and health from the inside, but vitamins take time + consistency and even though the results have a big pay off especially with hair growth (which slugging just can't improve) when you are going through it you really do want that quick fix.
As mentioned, hair slugging won't cause your hair to grow, but it can be a pretty incredible fix if dry & coarse hair has you down.
For a postpartum mom experiencing increased tangling and breaking hair I would highly recommend hair slugging.
It's a pretty easy way to provide increased hydration to hair with near immediate improvement.
Be sure to share your experience with us if you try it!
