Shereene IdrissBoard Certified Derm, Founder and Chief Nerd

YouTube Channel

30 Jan 2026 · 1 min

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This content was created by Shereene Idriss. This content was uploaded by Shereene Idriss. This is a YouTube short titled "Face Basting aka Slugging 2.0 after Retinol Part 1 #shorts" (posted 2024-04-04). It features a single speaker — a board-certified dermatologist — explaining "slugging 2.0" or "face basting": applying a zinc-oxide–rich, petrolatum-containing cream (compared to diaper rash cream) after retinol and moisturizer to lock in hydration. The speaker advises this is appropriate only for experienced retinol users who tolerate retinoids well (using them multiple nights per week) and notes it can be especially helpful in winter.

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Slugging right after retinol, is it going to irritate your skin? You probably thought right, but this doesn't necessarily apply to everyone because everyone's skin is different. I'm a board certified dermatologist and I love slugging 2.0 which in my world is also called face basting. That's when you use something that is rich in zinc oxide, usually paired with petrolatum. It comes in the form of don't shoot me a diaper rash cream for your baby's butts. And can you do this on nights where you use a retinol? The answer is actually yes if and only if you can tolerate retinols. Meaning you're somebody who's a veteran who's been using retinol for years and you can use it more nights on during the week than off. So like four, five, six nights a week, even seven nights a week without any irritation. Go ahead and use that right after you use your retinol and moisturizer in order to lock in the hydration, especially in winter.