Dermaplaning is the newer skincare regiment that has gone bananas. Let’s go through the steps and see what’s up with dermaplaning.
Basically, your skin is cleaned and removed of all makeup. It’s deep cleaned to get it as clean as physically possible. A secondary compound typically make of AHA is applied to the face in order to dry out the top layer of skin. A surgical blade is then drug across the facial skin (in a specific manner) that’s been pulled tight in short strokes. Areas not touched are the delicate eye area and nose. After the dead skin and baby fuzz is removed using the surgical blade the face is then treated with moisturizing and calming masks. Some aestheticians use a light chemical peel to produce the most evenly exfoliated skin. Skin can feel irritated for a day or two. But it’s baby butt smooth afterwards.
The goal is to produce a smoother look to the face. It’s good at removing dead skin. It also removes the peach fuzz or baby hair which helps with that glow that’s become super popular. HOWEVER if you have thicker facial hair ( i have thicker facial hair under my chin) that should be tweezed [NOT WAXED] before heading to an appointment. Waxing removes dead skin cells so you’ll irritate it even further once you dermaplane). It has to be removed because the surgical blade is held in a way that that particular type of facial hair isn’t as easily cut. The type of hair that’s targeted by during dermaplaning is called vellum hair. The idea behind removing the vellum hair is that your skincare will be absorbed more efficiently by your skin…….. as a heads up that’s BS.
Vellum hair is the hair that’s colloquially known as ‘peach fuzz’. This is the hair that’s on the side burns and generally found all over women’s faces. For men it’s located across the forehead and possibly on the upper cheek area (unless you’re my husband and then it’s just pure facial hair). Thicker hair found on men’s faces, pubic hair, arms, legs, toes, navel region is terminal hair. Terminal hair is affected by androgen concentrations which hit a peak during puberty. Underarm hair is slightly different and is called axillary hair. Terminal hair is best removed using laser hair removal. I have an at home kit I love, I also have it removed professionally. My chin and ‘stache’ area cost about $1000 for the initial 6 week treatment.
Back to dermaplaning. I could not get a video done of my last dermaplaning session because of rules and it’s done at a doctor’s office and there are potential HIPAA rules to follow. Although HIPAA doesn’t say your can’t film in doctor’s offices, some doctors simply refuse to let you do that and that’s fine. Dr. Pimple Popper obviously films in her clinic and her patients have to sign a disclosure agreement and all is good. But that takes lawyers fee and that’s just not what my doctors wants to spend her legal fund on.
In general I’ve done dermaplaning a few times. The biggest con is that you can be over exfoliated and quickly. Don’t go in with exfoliated skin. Don’t attempt to do an at home treatment and then go to your doctors/aesthetician office to show off how awesome your skin looks. If you go in with 💩 looking skin the better. My aesthetician lives for flaky, non-glowy, dirty, oily skin when I go to her office. She can see exactly where my problem spots are, where I’m drier and more oily so she can target to certain areas and give me better recommendations. When you go in to get your hair done or nails done, you don’t pre do your hair or file your nails? NO of course not. Same thing when you see your skin doctor. You’re going to be taking your makeup off anyways so what’s the point of going into that office with a full face of full coverage makeup.
Next con is the cost. It can get very expensive very quickly. At my doctor’s office it’s several hundred dollars. The flip side is to use an at home treatment system which costs between $100 to $200 initially and less than $50 for blade refills. I’ve recently purchased one and will be posting a review shortly. It’s currently in the works and I just need to grab photos.
If you have an active acne breakout this is not a treatment for you. If your provider is willing to dermaplane your face while you’re having an outbreak either they need to avoid those locations or you need to find someone else.
One of the bigger claims is that the removal of peach fuzz can help skincare lotions, potions, and sheet mask absorb more efficiently. As I stated earlier that’s total BS. There is no conclusive scientific evidence to suggest this is true. Like none, I searched for an hour and I’m really good at searching for articles. Now exfoliation DOES help skincare absorb more effectively by removing the oldest, deadest skin cells so you’re left with newer skin cells that are better capable of absorbing moisturizers and such. Removal of the 🍑 fuzz does help give your skin a more healthy glow. It’s two fold though, 1. Your skin is exfoliated so glow will occur there, 2.) your peach fuzz can diffuse the glow so that’s going to help punch that glow up to another level. My peach fuzz in certain areas tends to be colored whereas my skin is white white white so the contrast is rather extreme. Removing that peach fuzz just helps with my confidence because I’m a girly girl and hate having thick facial hair much less the darker peach fuzz.
Dermaplaning is an extreme form of exfoliation. It isn’t uncommon though. Women in Asia have been shaving their faces for ages because of the contrast between dark peach fuzz and the paleness of their skin. But shaving isn’t dermaplaning. What separates dermaplaning from shaving is the deep exfoliation that occurs during dermaplaning. It is an expensive options and something you should know is that it doesn’t help with skincare absorption. If you want to remove the peach fuzz rock on. You can get the same effect using a razor and then using an exfoliation treatment. You’re not going to get the same level of exfoliation, but there’s other cheaper ways you can get that effect.
I do it. I like it. I do enjoy the way my skin feels after I’ve done it. It’s also not going to become the norm of skincare any time soon. Thinking of investing in a Clarisonic brush? Absolutely, it’s worth the cost; it’s changed the way many people clean their skin. But investing in dermaplaning? Meh. If you can afford it by all means go for it. I get facials and microdermabrasion because I love it and can afford it. But if you’re on the fence wondering if its going to make that difference in your skin routine, it probably won’t.
Hopefully this information helps. Let me know if there’s anything you want me to look up. Any questions I didn’t answer. Hit me up below!
I’m going to go eat lunch because I’m starving but I’m getting tired of eating leftover Christmas ham……..
