Slugging (petroleum jelly)
Petroleum jelly is safe, cheap, and honestly useful. The AAD recommends it for dry lips, rough patches, and helping small scrapes heal. But coating your whole face in it ('slugging') is a different story if you get breakouts: the AAD specifically cautions that petroleum jelly on the face can cause breakouts in acne-prone people. Very dry skin and no breakouts? Reasonable. Breakouts? Skip the slug.
what the evidence says
AAD endorses petroleum jelly for dry lips and patches but cautions against face use for acne-prone skin.
sources
note:Skinformed is general education, not medical advice. It doesn't know your skin, can't diagnose anything, and is no substitute for a clinician. If something on your skin hurts, spreads, or worries you, that's a doctor visit, not a product search.