Everything Dermaplaning Does, and What It Does Not

Dermaplaning does one thing well, and it does it the same day: a blade takes dead surface cells and fine vellus hair off your face, and your skin looks smoother and brighter straight away. It does not make your hair grow back thicker, it does not reach the depth a medium or deep chemical peel reaches, and the claim that it improves your skincare runs ahead of the evidence.

A session typically runs 30 to 45 minutes and needs no recovery time.

What dermaplaning removes, and what it leaves behind

The outermost layer of your skin, the stratum corneum, is made of cells your body has already finished with: flat, dead, and on their way off anyway. Dermaplaning takes them in one pass instead of waiting. Your provider holds the skin taut and draws a sterile surgical blade across it at a shallow angle, lifting those cells and the fine vellus hair among them.

In a 2023 laboratory study, four strokes of a dermaplaning device took off the stratum corneum and some of the living layer underneath, which is deeper than most people picture. It does not reach the dermis, where collagen is made, and nothing about it is designed to.

Does the hair grow back thicker or darker?

No. What grows back is the same hair the follicle was already making, and the reason sits deeper than a blade can reach.

A hair has a living part and a dead part. The living part sits in the follicle; what you cut is dead keratin. Whether a follicle makes fine, pale vellus hair or thick, dark terminal hair is decided at the dermal papilla at its base, where androgens bind to receptors and drive the switch. A blade on the surface does not reach it.

The controlled evidence is thin and old. In a 1970 study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, five men shaved one leg weekly for several months and left the other as a control. No significant difference in the weight of hair grown, the width of individual hairs, or how fast they grew could be put down to shaving. That was leg hair on five men, not facial vellus hair on a woman's cheek, so the mechanism above carries the answer across.

So why does regrowth feel different? A 2007 BMJ review of common medical beliefs explains it. A cut hair has lost the fine taper at its tip, so the blunt end feels coarse even though the hair itself has not changed. New hair can also look darker for a while because it has not yet been lightened by sun.

How it compares to microdermabrasion and a chemical peel

These are three different tools, not interchangeable ones. Microdermabrasion abrades the surface with crystals or a diamond tip. An evidence-based review in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery concluded it appears to produce changes in the dermis, the layer dermaplaning does not reach, and to improve contour irregularities. Its effect on pigmentation and acne is limited. That is more than has been shown for dermaplaning.

A chemical peel works by chemistry and by depth rather than by scraping. If pigmentation, rough texture or acne is what you want changed, a peel is the more serious tool, and why fall is peel season in Denver explains how depth gets chosen. Microneedling versus chemical peels covers the step up. No published trial has compared dermaplaning head to head with either, so the choice is clinical judgment about your skin.

Does it help your skincare absorb and your makeup sit better?

Partly. The two halves of that question sit on very different evidence. In the same 2023 laboratory study, dermaplaned skin showed a significant drop in electrical resistance, a direct measure of a weaker barrier, and two model drugs crossed it over 24 hours. It was run on skin samples in a laboratory using pharmaceutical drugs, not on faces using serums, and results varied significantly between operators. The barrier does come down. "Your serum works better" is a step past what has been measured.

It cuts both ways. A lowered barrier is why we ask you to skip retinoids, acids and exfoliating scrubs for two to three days afterwards, and waxing, threading and depilatories on the area for at least a week. The same openness that lets a hydrating serum in lets an active sting.

Makeup is the other half. Taking off flakes and fine hair leaves foundation a flatter surface to sit on, and it is what people mention most the next morning. The published research on dermaplaning is small, and none of it has measured makeup.

Who should skip dermaplaning, and when

We do not dermaplane over active acne breakouts, because a blade can move bacteria across the face, and we do not recommend it for inflammatory rosacea, deep cystic acne, or very reactive skin. In a flare, the answer is usually wait, not never.

Isotretinoin is worth asking about directly. The drug's labeling advises stopping it for six months before cosmetic procedures, including waxing, dermabrasion, chemical peels and lasers. Two 2017 expert panels revisited that evidence and found too little of it to justify delaying superficial peels or superficial, hand-held dermabrasion done by a trained clinician, though one still advises against the deeper kinds. Neither panel reviewed dermaplaning itself, so this is a conversation with your prescriber rather than something this page can settle.

What to expect at Redbud

A visit to our Denver med spa starts with your providerlooking at your skin and saying whether today is a good day for it. There is no downtime, makeup can go on straight afterwards, and sunscreen matters more than usual for a few days.

A 2011 systematic review in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery screened 42 peer-reviewed papers on dermaplaning, topical oxygen and photodynamic therapy together and called the supporting data scarce, anecdotal and not well documented. It asked for realistic expectations and better studies. Dermaplaning is a low-risk treatment with a visible, short-lived result and a thin research record, worth having for what it does rather than what a product page promises.

Frequently asked questions

Does dermaplaning hurt?

Most people describe it as a light brushing or scratching rather than pain, and no numbing is used. A blade on dry skin can nick, which is why a trained provider holds it and why we do not recommend at-home blade tools.

How is dermaplaning different from shaving?

For the hair it is the same thing: a blade cuts the dead shaft and the follicle is untouched. For the skin it is not. A razor is built to glide over wet, lathered skin and avoid it while taking hair. Dermaplaning is done on dry skin held taut with a single-edged surgical blade, and the skin is the target.

How long does it last, and how often?

Our service page gives the smoothness as lasting about three to four weeks. Fine vellus hair regrows at its own pace, at the color and thickness it had before. If it comes as part of a facial, how often you should get a facialis the better guide.

Not sure whether dermaplaning is what your skin needs, or whether a peel would do more? Book a visit and we will look at your skin and tell you which fits. More general questions are answered on our FAQ page.

This article is for general education and is not medical advice. Dermaplaning is a cosmetic exfoliation procedure and individual results vary. Talk with a licensed provider about your skin, your medical history and any medications you take, including isotretinoin, before booking.