If you’re a beauty afficionado, you’ll know all about the rise of K-beauty. Korean beauty has taken the global skincare industry by storm, kicking off many booming trends across the world. In 2021, social media was awash with videos of skin slugging, a K-beauty inspired craze. Millions across the planet were slathering their faces at bedtime with vaseline and other petroleum balms, leaving on overnight to hydrate and vitalise dry skin. This year, the trend has evolved and 2022 is all about hair slugging. It’s quickly become a bona fide TikTok phenomenon, with millions of hair slugging video views worldwide and countless fans raving about its powers. But what is hair slugging, and should we be doing it? Here’s all you need to know.
What Is Hair Slugging?
Just like skin slugging, hair slugging is another overnight treatment, and the premise is the same. You apply an oil or conditioning product all over your hair at bedtime. Then, wrap it with a fuzzy sock, secure with a scrunchie and then leave to work its magic while you sleep. When you wake up, rinsing is then the first order of the day! It’s all about deep conditioning and hydrating your locks - locking in precious moisture. The goal is to promote shine and bounce while defending against dryness and brittleness.
Does Hair Slugging Work?
Social media is packed with health and beauty hacks, and many of them don’t really deliver what they promise. However, hair slugging is a modern spin on an age-old practice – people have been applying oils to their locks for centuries in different cultures all over the world. Simply put, when you place the right product in your locks, and give it time to absorb into the follicles, it’s going to help moisture work its way in. This will help make your hair healthier, which makes it stronger, shinier and less prone to breakage. It can also help prevent those dreaded split ends!
Who Will It Work For?
Whatever the texture, length and type, hair slugging has benefits. Moisture is a key weapon in the battle against frizz, breakage and hair fall. And moisture is especially important should you have dry, thin or damaged hair. However, it’s important that different hair types are treated differently. For example, while heavy oils (like castor or coconut oil) can work well for those with thick-textured locks, they tend to make finer hair look limp and lifeless. Oils can also irritate the scalp and cause blocked pores. They can also be tricky to rinse out!
For all hair types, a great product to use in hair slugging is a deeply-moisturising hair mask. The Hair Gain Hair Mask is scientifically formulated to hydrate and nourish your hair, while revitalising your scalp. It's also 100% vegan and free from alcohol, sulphates, silicon or parabens.
How To Do It
- Wash your hair with a gentle, cleansing shampoo. This will help remove any dirt and other impurities and help the hair mask penetrate deeper into the follicles.
- Let the hair dry (preferably allow to air-dry or gently towel-dry) until it’s slightly damp.
- Apply the hair mask onto your scalp, and use our Hair Gain wide tooth comb to distribute it evenly through your hair from root to tip.
- Wrap hair up. Many TikTokers are styling hair into a ponytail before securing, but if you’ve got thin hair or hair fall, this can put a lot of strain on your locks. Opt for a gentle bun instead.
- Secure the bun into a fuzzy sock and secure with a soft scrunchie. You can avoid the friction of a sock by using a silk wrap instead.
- Leave overnight while you sleep.
- Rinse thoroughly when you wake up. Use warm water (not hot!) or preferably cool water. Cool water will close cuticles and seal that precious moisture in.
How Often?
While hair slugging can be a great way to give your hair a big moisture boost, it does take time to do! Of course, with Hair Gain’s Hair Mask, while it works fantastically well with hair slugging, it also delivers brilliant results in just 10 minutes a couple of times a week. We’d recommend you use hair slugging as an extra bit of TLC on top of your usual Hair Gain Hair Mask routine. Once a month, or whenever you felt you needed an extra boost. For example, after a few days in hot sunshine, during a really dry, windy and cold winter week or if you’ve been overdosing on those heat styling tools!
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