Dermaplaning is an increasingly popular facial treatment utilizing skin cleansing, a scalpel to remove dead skin and small hairs, and often more cleansing and moisturizing to finish up. The question is…
What are the side effects of dermaplaning and will I regret doing the process?
For a full explanation on dermaplaning, please check out my earlier post called What Is Dermaplaning? The post goes into significant detail on the subject including the process, detailed benefits, expected cost and more.
The post you’re reading now will concentrate on the side effects of dermaplaning, considerations you should know so that you can avoid having dermaplaning regret.
What Are The Side Effects Of Dermaplaning?
Typically dermaplaning is done by a professional practitioner such as a dermatologist or other suitably qualified person. So we’ll concentrate on that for the purposes of this article and won’t touch on the options of doing it yourself or having a friend or other unqualified person doing the procedure.
Minor Side Effects
- Temporary reddening of the skin that typically appears after the procedure and disappears within hours or by the net day.
- Slight peeling of skin may occur shortly after procedure but this usually disappears quickly.
- The skin does become more sensitive to the sun since the procedure removes the top protective layer of skin so it’s important to protect your skin with a good sunscreen with a decent Sun Protection Factor (SPF) while the new skin is being generated over the next few weeks.
- Whiteheads (tiny zits) that appear a day or two after the procedure similar to ones you may experience after another hair removal option like waxing or even shaving.
- Some stories abound of dermaplaning practitioners accidentally cutting off part of the eyebrow of clients. While the hair grows back you may be left with a temporary eyebrow mismatch.
More Serious Side Effects
- Infection is a rare but possible side effect. Practitioners often use a one-time use disposable scalpel so it should already be sterile but an infection can occur, even if the chances are low.
- Scarring is also a rare but possible side effect.
Check with your practitioner if you experience either of these more serious side effects for a course of action to correct it.
In terms of the downsides of the dermaplaning procedure even when it’s performed successfully, the process does tend to be more expensive than other facial care services. $120 or more for a good dermaplaning session is not unusual.
And if you’re doing the procedure for the hair free aspect, remember that it does involve shaving so the result won’t last long. Shaving typically only offers several days of being hair free although since this process removes small peach fuzz, it’s likely the returning hair may not be noticeable until later that this.
Finally, not everyone is a candidate for dermaplaning. Typically if you have bad acne you probably won’t be suitable since it can aggravate your breakout and make it worse.
If you have another issue that can be spread such as a cold sore or infection, you’ll need to wait for it to clear up before attempting dermaplaning.
Can You Have Dermaplaning Regret?
The odds are low that a well-trained and skilled professional will screw up very badly or that you will experience something severe. But as with any procedure – especially one involving a scalpel – it can happen.
Also, you should be prepared to sit very still while the procedure – particularly the scalpel part – is taking place for obvious reasons. So if you like to fidget, you’ll need to get that under control to avoid dermaplaning regret.
Research your local practitioners and choose one that you feel you can trust, who has good reviews and is professional.
Dermaplaning Session: Preparation and Post Treatment
For some skin procedures, there is a bit of work to do before the treatment. In the case of dermaplaning the only thing you have to do is refrain from doing 2 things. One before the treatment and one after.
I asked New York’s Sacred Skincare how to prepare for the treatment and what do avoid afterwards. Here’s the answer they provided:
It’s important to avoid working out for 24 hours following and keep your skin protected with SPF.
Any retinoids or acids should be stopped one week prior to your session.
Sacred Skincare, NYC
So don’t workout the day after your treatment. The less you sweat the better from the sounds of it. And one week before the dermaplaning treatment, you need to stop any retinoids or acids that you take. Retinoids are good for anti-aging and have an impact on the production of collagen so you need to stop using them before treatment.
Conclusion
- Dermaplaning is an increasingly popular skincare option for both men and women that typically combines face cleansing followed by use of a scalpel to gently remove a layer of dead skin and tiny peach fuzz-type hairs from the face.
- For men, the dermaplaning process is typically focused on the upper cheeks, forehead and nose.
- Temporary side effects tend to include: reddening of the skin, slight peeling of skin, temporary sensitivity to sunlight and whiteheads. These tend to pass fairly quickly although sun sensitivity may last several weeks as new skin grows back.
- Serious side effects of dermaplaning are rare but infection and scarring can occur. Dermaplaning regret is rare when you visit a qualified practitioner but it can happen.
- Here is a short 3:15 video that discusses the dermaplaning process along with some clips of what actually happens from a practitioner.
Did you have the dermaplaning procedure done and if so, how was your experience? Let us know in the comments below.