Dermaplaning

Dermaplaning is a surface treatment in which a practitioner draws a fine blade across the skin to lift loose surface cells and fine facial hair. It usually involves little or no visible recovery. The practitioner confirms when your normal skincare and actives resume.

The protocol is the treating professional's clinical decision.

What it is

The practitioner holds the skin taut and moves a surgical-style blade across it in short, light strokes. The blade lifts the loosest cells from the outermost surface and removes the fine, soft hair on the face.

It differs from shaving at home with a facial razor. The practitioner assesses the skin first, works in a set sequence and leaves alone anything that should not be shaved over.

Practitioners use it for the look of dullness and for a smoother-feeling surface texture, and before makeup for events. It sits alongside microdermabrasion and hydradermabrasion as a surface treatment, and is sometimes paired with a superficial chemical peel. It is one of the professional treatments explained in this section.

Who performs it

A licensed skin professional performs it, within the scope of practice set by each state, province or country.

What the skin goes through

Dermaplaning works at the surface. The skin feels smoother to the touch straight away, and makeup often sits more evenly on it for a period afterward.

Because the outermost layer has been thinned slightly, the skin can feel more sensitive to products, heat and sun for a short time. Brief redness is possible, and small nicks can happen, particularly over uneven or raised areas, which the practitioner works around.

Dermaplaning is not usually performed over skin that is inflamed, broken or reacting. The practitioner also asks about recent peels, retinoid use and sensitivity before the blade touches the face. Background on sensitivity checks is on patch testing and allergens.

Recovery

For most people, the day continues as normal. The practitioner describes what to expect for your skin, and that description is the reference.

Typical aftercare means no heat, no scrubbing and no exfoliating products for a short period, with daily sun protection throughout. Makeup can often go on the same day; ask first if your skin tends to react. Fine facial hair returns over the following weeks, which is why dermaplaning is usually booked as maintenance rather than once.

This is the wrong week to try a new product. On freshly exfoliated skin, a reaction to something new cannot be separated from a reaction to the treatment, so keep to the routine your skin already tolerates. A nick that bleeds beyond a moment, redness that spreads or any area that becomes painful is a reason to call the practitioner.

Questions to ask your practitioner

• Is the blade new for my session?
• Is dermaplaning a good fit for my skin, or would another surface treatment suit it better?
• I use retinoids or acids at home. How many days before should I stop?
• Will you pair it with a peel, and if so, why?
• How do you handle raised areas or anything on my skin that should not be shaved over?
• What should my skin feel like tonight and tomorrow, and what would be outside that?
• When can I restart my normal skincare and my actives?

Caring for skin once it is intact

Once skin is intact, keep it simple while the surface feels more sensitive:

• Cleanse gently. Comfort Cleansing Milk with cool to lukewarm water.
• Hydrate. Hydrating NanoSerum as the daily serum.
• Moisturize. AquaCell Moisturizer.
• Protect. Daily broad-spectrum sun protection from any brand. Vegalab does not sell an SPF product.

Exfoliating acids return on the practitioner's date. Why that matters for sun exposure: acids and sun sensitivity.

Related professional protocols

• Thirty-minute back-bar facial: an efficient maintenance facial for the treatment room.
• Pre-event radiance, 48 hours out: the finishing protocol for a fixed date, with its own rules on recent treatments.
• Post-shave comfort: for skin that meets a blade several times a week.
• At-home maintenance after a professional treatment: the written week after the appointment.

For a treatment that works below the surface, see microneedling.