Everything Dermaplaning Does, and What It Does Not

Dermaplaning is the one that works the same day. A sterile blade lifts the dead surface cells and the fine vellus hair off your face, and most people sit up smoother and brighter, with makeup sitting flat instead of catching. It's a favorite before a photo or an event, and there's no downtime at all.

And no, your hair doesn't grow back thicker. That's been looked at, and it isn't true. A session runs 30 to 45 minutes, makeup goes straight back on, and you'll see the difference before you leave.

What dermaplaning does to your skin

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 off in one pass. Your provider holds your skin taut and draws a sterile surgical blade across it at a shallow angle, lifting those cells and the fine hair with them. It feels like a soft brushing, and most people find it oddly relaxing.

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 doesn't reach the dermis, where collagen is made, and nothing about it is designed to.

Does the hair grow back thicker or darker?

No. If that's what has kept you out of the chair, let it go. What grows back is the same hair the follicle was already making.

A hair has a living part and a dead part, and the blade only cuts the dead part. 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 never gets near it.

The direct evidence is old and small, and it points the same way. In a 1970 study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, five men shaved one leg weekly for months and left the other as a control. No significant difference in hair weight, hair width or growth rate could be put down to shaving. That was leg hair on five men, not facial vellus hair on a cheek, so the mechanism above carries the answer.

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 hasn't changed. New hair can look darker for a while too, because the sun hasn't got to it yet.

How it compares to microdermabrasion and a chemical peel

Three different tools, not three versions of one. Microdermabrasion abrades the surface with crystals or a diamond tip. A review in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery concluded it appears to produce changes in the dermis, the layer dermaplaning doesn't reach, and to improve contour irregularities. Its effect on pigmentation and acne is limited. That is still 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 bigger 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 which one suits you is a conversation.

Will it help your skincare and your makeup?

Partly. The two halves sit on very different footing. 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. That was skin samples in a laboratory using pharmaceutical drugs, not faces using serums, and results varied significantly between operators. The barrier does come down. "Your serum works better" is a step past what's 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 easy half. Take off the flakes and the fine hair and foundation has a flatter, smoother surface to sit on. The published research on dermaplaning is small and none of it has measured makeup, but it's what people mention most the next morning.

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. That is the size of the file, and it doesn't make the smoothness any less real. Come for the day you have it, not for what a product page promises.

When to wait

We don't dermaplane over an active breakout, because a blade can move bacteria across the face, and we don't 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 by a trained clinician, though one still advises against deeper kinds. Neither panel looked at dermaplaning itself, so that one is a conversation with your prescriber, not something this page can settle.

What to expect at Redbud

A visit to our Denver med spa starts with your provider looking at your skin and telling you whether today is a good day for it. No numbing, no recovery, and your skin feels soft by that evening.

[verify: Krista to confirm whether Redbud offers dermaplaning on its own or only as part of a facial, and whether both she and Tanna perform it]

Unrushed, one provider, no queue: that's what a boutique spa is for, even for something this quick. For a few days afterwards sunscreen matters more than usual.

Frequently asked questions

Does dermaplaning hurt?

No. Most people describe a soft scraping 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 don't recommend at-home blade tools.

How is dermaplaning different from shaving?

For the hair it's the same thing: a blade cuts the dead shaft and the follicle is untouched. For the skin it isn't. A razor glides over wet, lathered skin and avoids it while taking hair. Dermaplaning is done on dry skin held taut with a single-edged surgical blade, and your 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. The fine hair comes back at its own pace, the same color and thickness it was before. If it comes as part of a facial, how often you should get a facial is the better guide.

[verify: Krista to confirm the interval she typically recommends between dermaplaning appointments]

Want to be smoother for a particular day, or wondering whether a peel would do more? Book a visit and we'll tell you which one fits. More general questions live 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.