Everything You Need to Know About Dermaplaning

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As a Filipino-Chinese girl, it’s no secret that all of the hair on my body is pretty dark. Although the hair on my head is really thin and fine, somehow, the rest on my arms, legs, and face is thick and coarse. I remember being so envious of my older sister and mom because their leg hair was thin enough that they didn’t have to shave, while I was made fun of in middle school for having hairy legs. It led to even more insecurity as I grew up and began noticing hair growing on my face, too.

My eyebrows always had strays that grew down to my eyelids, while I had a mustache that made my upper lip look darkened. Fast forward to college when I discovered Melissa Alatorre, a beauty YouTuber who created a video about how she shaves her "peach fuzz," aka vellus hair. I remember following her tutorial to a T—except I switched out the single-blade eyebrow razor for disposable double-bladed ones you get from the drugstore—and I emerged an enlightened woman.

Gone was all the fuzz that made my skin feel more textured than it already was from eczema. My face felt so soft, and when I put complexion makeup on the following day, it sat more comfortably on my skin, making me look airbrushed. I vowed to never stop shaving my face. My techniques have evolved over time (I graduated to a bougie, rose gold, $75 Oui Shave razor), but the concept remains the same.

It's no wonder dermaplaning has become one of my favorite beauty trends to date.

Dermaplaning uses a scalpel for hair removal.

The process involves using a scalpel to remove peach fuzz and lightly exfoliate the skin's surface. Estheticians started incorporating it as an add-on to their treatments in the past few years as a way to professionally remove hair from your face without lasers, tweezers, wax, or other painful alternatives. After watching video after video, reading dermaplaning reviews, and looking at impressive befores-and-afters, I knew I wasn't alone as a believer in face-shaving.

To see how the professionals do it, I booked an appointment at Le Jolie Medi Spa in West Hollywood, where they offer dermaplaning as an add-on to all of their facials. I booked their CBD facial to help smooth some eczema breakouts that I had been struggling with. Farah Bazzy, an esthetician at Le Jolie, did my entire treatment.

My esthetician using a scalpel on my face for dermaplaning.

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Dermaplaning is extremely gentle and pain-free.

After cleansing my skin—but before exfoliating or extracting—Farah whipped out her scalpel and began to dermaplane my face. She slightly stretched the skin to keep it taut as she went over with the scalpel, but honestly, it was so gentle that it took me a minute to realize that she had actually started the process. It felt like someone gently scratching along my skin; it even felt more comfortable than when I shave my face at home. There was no pain or discomfort, and getting my entire face done only took about five to seven minutes. After that, we proceeded with the rest of the facial.

It felt like someone gently scratching along my skin

Farah mentioned that people generally really like getting dermaplaning done because it’s a very gentle way to get rid of peach fuzz, exfoliate a little bit, and improve the skin’s overall texture. She said that her clients don’t like when they get their faces waxed because it can pull off the top layer of skin and cause some irritation, but dermaplaning has the benefits of waxing without the pain or irritation.

Dermaplaning is not for everyone.

Farah says that people with hyper-sensitive skin and severe rosacea should steer clear to avoid irritating their skin more. According to her, dermaplaning should usually be done before most of the major steps of a facial. She will always do it before dermal infusions, peels, or scrubs.

My face directly after dermaplaning.

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Dermaplaning will give you your most luminous, soft skin.

If you’ve been thinking about trying out dermaplaning during your facials, I cannot recommend it enough. I left my facial looking so glowy and feeling so soft — it took everything in me to stop touching my face. Putting on makeup the next day was effortless, and I didn’t need to pounce my Beautyblender as intensely to get my foundation to blend out correctly. I know that I’ll continue shaving my face myself as a way to maintain less peach fuzz (my facial hair grows ridiculously fast), but I am absolutely a dermaplaning believer now, and can’t wait to have the treatment done again and again.

Kristin Corpuz Kristin is a musician and freelance beauty, travel, and fashion editor and writer based in Los Angeles, and she is a proud graduate of Berklee College of Music.