I’d seen so many GLOWING reviews of people’s experiences with dermaplaning. Smooth, glowing, exfoliated, peach fuzz free skin that helps make up apply like a dream. Sounds great, Right? but what about the aftercare? What about the inevitable return of the fuzz? What happens in the short to long term when you put down the razor? (Yep, it’s pretty much a scalpel shaving your face…) I offered myself up as a guinea pig and the following blog is my brutally honest review of dermaplaning, why it isn’t for me and what you need to know before committing to the razor.

The process

“Dermaplaning is a physical form of exfoliation similar in theory to microdermabrasion,” says Dr. Jonquille Chantrey, cosmetic surgeon and skin expert. “It requires the use of a sterile, surgical scalpel (not as scary as it sounds) to gently shave the skin’s surface, removing the top layer of dead skin along with fine vellus hair.” (Definition from Refinery29).

Armed with a snazzy, if not scary looking eyebrow razor, rubbing alcohol (safety first) and my usual skincare routine for post ‘shave’ I set out to defuzz my face…

I placed the razor in rubbing alcohol to ensure it was sterile before use on my face and prepped my skin by using THE FACE SHOP Rice water bright light cleansing oil, COSRX low PH Good morning gel cleanser and Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner to minimise the potential of irritation.

Time to shave.

I pulled my skin taught and used short stroke motions keeping the blade to a 45° angle at all times. I was SHOCKED at how much peach fuzz I had, I didn’t even know I was that fuzzy. I continued de-fuzzing my face until I was a smooth all over albeit red and irritated (ETA: it’s worth mentioning that I have sensitive/reactive skin so I wasn’t overly surprised by the redness and irritated feeling). I used a Tony Moly pureness sheet mask post ‘shave’, followed by Rohto Mentholatum – Hada Labo Gokujyun Premium Lotion and Pyunkang Yul Moisture Ampuole. The redness soon settled and I was feeling pretty good about the whole experience. But not for long…

A few days after the ‘big shave’ I broke out. IN A BIG WAY. I had spots appear under my skin all across my face, angry red pimples in clumps and my skin looked red, irritated and angry. I put it down to the fact that I had effectively deep exfoliated my skin and it was just the initial after effect of doing so. But my skin didn’t settle; more and more bumps appeared under my skin. The angry red spots stayed red and angry. Even my thorough skincare routine didn’t seem to help. I was disappointed and pretty annoyed that my normally clear skin looked anything but. After a couple of weeks I noticed the vellus hair (ok, ‘tash) making a comeback. So naively I decided to go through the whole process again, HUGE mistake. The redness and spots had started to die down by this point but I was left with under skin spots, that I assumed were just the result of trying something new on my skin. After the second round of dermaplaning my skin reacted in exactly the same way but I broke out in an even worse way.

After my second attempt to make dermaplaning the wonderful addition to my skincare routine I’d heard it would be I decided that enough was enough. The outcome simply wasn’t worth the weeks and weeks of clogged, irritated skin, not to mention the more obvious new hair growth. Vellus hair had never been an issue previously and I usually waxed my top lip and brows to tame unruly hairs which didn’t leave me with the undesirable effects of dermaplaning. I ditched the ‘razor’ once and for all, vowing NEVER to use it again

So, my experience wasn’t a great one and it seems I’m not the only one. When looking into others’ experiences with dermaplaning (and to figure out what went wrong), I found an overwhelmingly large amount of information from providers of the treatment and news articles raving about how great it was. I couldn’t be the only one who felt underwhelmed and disappointed by my experience surely? Eventually, going into the Google search deeper I found a large amount of people who seemed to have had the same issues I’d experienced. Others reported break outs, awkward regrowth and disappointing results.

Had I searched more thoroughly than I did prior to embarking on the dermaplaning journey I wouldn’t have gone through with it. The incredibly short term results weren’t worth the weeks and weeks of appalling skin troubles. I last dermaplaned 6 weeks ago and it’s only just now that my skin is beginning to return to its pre dermaplaning state. Whilst I totally understand that not everyone will experience the same issues as me and others it’s definitely worth knowing the potential issues that may arise from the treatment.

It’s fair to say dermaplaning is not for me, but hey, the more you know. In future I’ll be sticking to waxing for any of those pesky patches of facial fuzz I want rid of.

Have you tried dermaplaning? How was your experience and would you recommend it?

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Hannah x