Slugging: TikTokTM as a source of a viral "harmless" beauty trend.

ABSTRACT

"Slugging" is a viral beauty trend on TikTokTM that entails slathering a petrolatum-based ointment on the skin as a last step in your evening skincare routine. Due to its occlusive nature, slugging has a potential risk for harm. Here, we screened top 50 TikTok videos on slugging and analyzed upload source, content, and quality of each video. Overall, 18 (36.7%) videos were deemed educational, discussing risks and/or benefits. By upload source, health care providers (HCPs) created more educational videos (87.5%, P = .009), while online influencers created more patient experience videos (43.3%). This difference was evident when comparing the upload source. DISCERN scores (a validated measure of video's quality as a source of information) differed significantly among HCP, influencers, and others (3, 2, 2, respectively, P = .01). Together, our study demonstrates that compared to influencers and others, HCPs created videos of more high-quality, educational content on slugging.