Does TikTok’s Hair Slugging Trend Work? We Tried It

Does your hair require some TLC? End users on TikTok assert hair slugging is the respond to. It’s a haircare technique that involves coating your strands with a hydrating item, wrapping it up, and sleeping in it overnight. But does it are living up to the buzz? We tried it on three diverse hair types to locate out.

By now, you’ve most likely heard of TikTok’s favorite skincare hack: slugging. It’s a Korean beauty protective skincare follow that will involve sealing in all of your skincare with a hefty occlusive (a moisturizing merchandise that kinds a protecting barrier to reduce moisture decline). That’s why so quite a few TikTokers have been coating their faces with vaseline. As a single of the most productive occlusives you can locate, it can support these having difficulties with exceptionally dry skin.

Lately, the skincare pattern has entered the hair care dialogue, developing a manufacturer new development: hair slugging. Hair slugging promises gentle, hydrated, and glossy hair. The trend is attaining some critical traction on TikTok—there are films with consumers showing off shiny, delicate hair with millions of views.

But does the viral haircare hack are living up to the buzz? We tried using it on a few different hair varieties to obtain out.

What Is Hair Slugging?

Hair slugging involves coating the hair with a hydrating merchandise (most usually a leave-in hair oil), wrapping up your strands in a fluffy sock, and allowing it soak in right away. The target is nourished, shiny, and healthier-wanting hair.

Even though this idea has been trending everywhere you go, the thought of oiling your hair has been all around for some time. Hair oiling has a loaded record in South Asia. It’s an Indian custom that’s been all over for hundreds of years, as the oil consists of fatty acids that hydrate and improve the hair. And making use of protecting hair wraps is not a new idea both: Black women and people today of shade have been employing protecting wraps for hundreds of years.

Nevertheless, the extraordinary outcomes on TikTok are powerful adequate for any individual to give this trend a check out. But as with any pattern on the internet, results may change based mostly on your hair form and based on the merchandise you use.

The good news? Just about any hair sort can slug their hair, suggests Raven Hurtado, Stylist at Maxine Salon in Chicago. “Curly hair wants tons of moisture to preserve these curls hydrated and bouncy. Dry, curly, and brittle hair will reward more from hair slugging and employing heavier oils for deep hydration a couple situations a 7 days,” she says. “People with finer hair can use a light-weight oil and slug their hair as soon as a week—if you use significant oils and masks, it can bodyweight it down.”  

What Does Hair Slugging Do?

Hair slugging functions in the exact way skincare slugging does: by sealing in moisture. “The oils and serums lock in dampness, getting rid of frizz and including shine,” Hurtado suggests. If you are battling with dry, brittle hair, hair slugging can assist restore your texture and increase the total search and sense of your hair. 

How to Slug Your Hair

Want to attempt the pattern for yourself? Here’s a action-by-stage guide to hair slugging.

1. Apply an oil or hair mask to dry hair from the mid-duration to the ends
2. Place the hair into a fuzzy sock, protecting silk scarf, or tie it up in a silk scrunchie
3. Go away the product or service on overnight
4. If you employed oil, brush out your hair and design and style as regular. If you made use of a hair mask, rinse it out in the early morning so your hair doesn’t search clumpy or heavy.

“It’s recommended to slug your hair just one to a few periods a week dependent on density and texture,” Hurtado suggests. “If you’re slugging your hair just about every night, you can strip out the natural oils in your hair and it’ll make it dryer.”

Does Hair Slugging Basically Operate?

So, does the viral TikTok trend are living up to the hype? We attempted it on 3 distinct hair types to discover out. Check out our outcomes, below.

Sara (Hair Style: 1b)

My hair is lengthy, straight, medium-thickness, and I have a whole lot of it. It is commonly quite comfortable and shiny, but I have noticed it is been drier a short while ago, so I was hoping slugging would support. I swim about the moment a week, so I know the chlorine can be drying.

My to start with problem was locating a sock that match my hair, so lengthy-haired individuals be warned! I finished up digging a knee-high sock out of my drawer that at last match all of my hair. It wasn’t the fuzziest, but it would have to do. I utilized Briogeo’s Really don’t Despair, Mend! Strengthening Remedy Oil. The product itself smelled definitely good and was light-weight, which I loved. I rubbed about 8-10 drops into my palms and applied to my ends initially, then labored the remainder in from mid-shaft down to the ends.

When I woke up, the sock had migrated about halfway down my hair. The sock/scrunchie combo ended up leaving a weird line in my hair. I did not see a big distinction in most of my hair, but the ends undoubtedly felt smoother and extra hydrated. I don’t assume I would do this craze all over again on dry hair, but I like the concept of incorporating a hair oil into my routine after or two times a week for hydration. I’m setting up to use the product or service all over again on moist strands and skip the sock.

Maddy (Hair Type: 2b)

My hair is extensive, wavy, and rather high-quality. It is perpetually dry (probably from two many years of swimming competitively) and always a minor frizzy, so I was energized to attempt this pattern. Observing TikTokers show off their smooth, shiny hair experienced me hoping hair slugging would do the very same for me.

For this experiment, I utilised Authentic Attractiveness Concept’s Nourishing Hair Oil. It’s very lightweight, which is fantastic for my slim hair. The item smells remarkable and has a weightless come to feel. I place 10 drops into my palm, rubbed my fingers jointly, and then ran it via my hair, beginning at the mid-lengths and heading to the ends.

Like Sara, I found that the scrunchie remaining a minimal little bit of a crease in my hair (however I tied it quite restricted so it would not fall off in the center of the evening). When I took off the sock and enable my hair down in the morning, I was, nicely, dissatisfied. The base element of my hair absolutely felt tender, but it did not glimpse really different—honestly, it looked a minor greasy from the oil.

I don’t consider I would check out this trend again, but hair oil will certainly turn out to be a staple in my schedule. A small bit on the finishes just before I head out (or in advance of bed) offers it some extra shine, which I like. But all round, I assume this development is a minor far too extreme for my wonderful hair.

Fatima (Hair Type: 3c)

My hair is ordinarily dry (I have curly hair), so I figured that it wouldn’t harm to give it a very little like. I utilized the Jojoba Oil Blend from Sample Magnificence.

In truth, I didn’t actually know what to count on. It was suggested that I set 6 to 10 drops of oil in my hair in advance of wrapping it, but with the volume of hair I have, I doubled the amount to 20 drops.

This morning, I really don’t know why I was anticipating my hair to be a small much more moisturized than I discovered it to be, likely for the reason that I experienced applied overnight hair masks right before and my hair felt alive all those mornings. But a very little little bit of hydration is better than none at all. I think that utilizing hair oil far more typically and  all over my hair relatively than just mid to end of it may well be additional beneficial for my hair style.