Yahoo Lifestyle This One Thing Helps 'Drive Moisture Into the Skin Overnight,' a Board-Certified Dermatologist Says
When it comes to hydrating skin, it can sometimes feel like you can never get enough moisture—especially in this season when dry, cold air seems to strip your body of most of its hydration. So, how can you deeply moisturize your skin so it stays hydrated and moisturized in the winter?
There are a few ways to give your skin some deep hydration, but one method exists that is cost-effective and easy to do. Plus, you can add it at the end of your normal skincare routine so that it hydrates overnight.
Parade spoke with Dr. Jordan C. Carqueville, MD, the founder and Medical Director of The Derm Institute of Chicago, and learned the best way to keep your skin hydrated while you sleep, as well as other winter skincare tips—especially if you’re a woman over 50.
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The Best Way to Moisturize Your Skin Overnight, According to a Board-Certified Dermatologist
If you feel like your skin is dry, your first course of action is going to be lotion or some type of moisturizer. And while it’s important to moisturize your skin in general, one added step can actually enhance how much hydration your skin takes in. And that step is slugging.
What Is Slugging?
"'Slugging' is kind of a catchy term commonly used in social media beauty care to describe the use of an occlusive barrier on the skin at bedtime,” Dr. Carqueville tells Parade.
You can “slug” and create said barrier on top of your skin with “topicals” such as petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or Aquaphor. “Any other occlusive topical ointment works to serve as a barrier,” Dr. Carqueville shares.
So how does slugging work? The occlusive ointment works as a shield on top of your skin to not only protect it but also hold in the moisturizer you apply as part of your nighttime skincare routine.
“The goal is to create a protective layer on top of the skin that may help drive moisture into the skin overnight,” Dr. Carqueville explains. “Cleansers and routine skincare products may be used on the skin before applying the last occlusive layer on top. This last emollient layer on the skin will appear greasy and wet, almost like slug mucus, hence the name.”
As Dr. Carqueville points out, slugging has become trendy in recent years, but it’s a legitimate method and is something people of any age can do. And women over 50 can especially benefit from slugging.
“As we age, we lose the ability to retain moisture,” she shares. “Using hydrating products such as hyaluronic acid combined with occlusive emollients overnight [slugging] will help the skin to hold in moisture.”
Dr. Carqueville says that “slugging should generally be safe for most skin types to enhance penetration of moisture.” But it is important to know when you can’t use it.
“If you are acne-prone, applying occlusive emollients to the skin can clog pores and worsen acne,” the board-certified dermatologist tells Parade.
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4 More Skin Hydration and Care Tips for Women Over 50
Slugging is a method to lock in moisture overnight and enhance the performance of any other moisturizer you’re using. But how else can you really hydrate your skin and take care of it in the winter, especially if you’re a woman over 50? Dr. Carqueville shares four tips below.
1. Use products that ‘bind water’
Again, before you even slug, you need to also moisturize. And choosing the best products to do so is a great way to really hydrate your skin.
“Using products that bind water is helpful to moisturize,” Dr Carqueville says. “This would include moisturizers that contain hyaluronic acid.”
In addition to using moisturizers or serums with hyaluronic acid in general, she also recommends reapplying it throughout the day if you’re feeling dry.
"Reapplying will keep the skin looking dewy," she explains.
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2. Use a humidifier while you sleep
You’ve probably heard this one before, but putting moisture into the air is a good way to keep dryness away.
"Sleeping with a humidifier next to your bed can also help increase the ambient moisture in the air, and keep your skin better hydrated,” Dr. Carqueville shares.
3. Keep it simple
Another tip you might have heard before—and for good reason—is to keep your routine pretty modest when it comes to steps or the products you’re using.
“In general, I recommend keeping skin routines simple and avoiding irritating skin excessively,” Dr. Carqueville recommends. “Listen to your body—if you are using a product that is causing redness and irritation, stop using it and consult your dermatologist for the best path forward."
On that note, she says that if you have rosacea, eczema or sensitive skin, you should “keep in mind” that certain “anti-aging products” might not be good for you. These can include retinol or vitamin C acids because they might “aggravate [the] skin.”
4. Look into laser treatments
Dr. Carqueville is also a fan of laser treatments.
"I always tell my patients that lasers are the fountain of youth,” she tells Parade. “Exercising the skin with laser treatments to develop new collagen is truly the best way to maintain youthful skin. Skincare is supplemental, and I recommend using non-irritating, hydrating skin products that will help to create more supple-appearing skin."
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Source:
Jordan C. Carqueville, MD, is the founder and Medical Director at The Derm Institute of Chicago and a board-certified dermatologist. She is triple board certified, in fact, and treats patients for medical and surgical dermatology.
