This post is created in partnership with the newly opened Light Touch Aesthetic Center in Ohio City, Cleveland.
I first heard of dermaplaning several years ago, when my friend Megan mentioned it at our quarterly sushi dinner. Her skin always looks fantastic, so I’m prone to listen to her advice. I didn’t have it done however because I will always always favor massages over facials when choosing where to allocate self care beauty dollars. That said, as someone FIRMLY in their late 30’s, I’ve become more conscious about professional skin care. I had a facial on my birthday in July, where my aesthetician told me I had “no visible signs of aging”. Naturally, I’ve been pretty smug about it since.
Regardless, when Light Touch Aesthetic Center suggested a partnership where I would try out a dermaplaning treatment, my curiosity took over.
What is Dermplaning?
Dermaplaning is a cosmetic procedure that removes the top layers of dead skin via tiny strokes of a surgical scalpel. It helps brighten and even the skin tone and softens rough, dry skin so your skin looks and feel smooth. The main benefit is deep exfoliation, with the removal of the fine peach fuzz on your face as an added benefit.
Most people are good candidates for dermaplaning, however if you have an open wound or active acne, you may want to wait until you’re healed before you go get this procedure.
What is the experience like?
I’ve only had Dermaplaning at Light Touch Aesthetic Center, so please note that the experience described is specific to this location. Light Touch is a medical spa, and as such, does not offer any massage services. As such, my procedure was shorter (clocking in at 35 minutes) than my spa facial (60 minutes and included a shoulder and neck massage) early this summer. There’s also no steam involved at Light Touch, which meant that my hair wasn’t affected at all.
That said, my dermaplane facial started off with me laying on a very comfortable massage bed, fully clothed. Katie, my aesthetician, wrapped my hairline in a towel and applied an enzyme mask on me. Once the mask was dry, she wiped it off with a damp towel. It was time for the dermaplaning to begin. Using a #10 surgical scalpel, Katie began the process with short strokes from my forehead, removing the top layers of dead skin and peach fuzz. It didn’t hurt at all - if anything, it felt mildly abrasive, like someone was rubbing a washcloth of my skin. She continued all the way down past my jawline to my neck to make sure she was evenly removing my dead skin and so that I wouldn’t have a defined line at my jawline where the treatment ended. Once she was done with both sides of my face, she applied a hydrating mask, and just like that, we were done! It was super quick, and my skin felt very smooth and fuzz free.
This is my face right after dermaplaning. You can see a little touch of pink on my cheeks from the procedure and it’s shiny from the leave-on hydrating mask she applied after.
What are the results of dermaplaning?
A couple of hours later I had to get ready for video shoot, and as I was applying my makeup I noticed how smoothly my makeup went on. I normally use a beauty blender sponge, and my makeup looked like it had been airbrushed on. Other than than, my makeup routine and results were unchanged, and my skin didn’t feel any more sensitive or irritated than normal.
As I write this, I’m nearly a full week from the procedure, and my skin still feels very smooth. I’ve been told that serums and beauty products absorb in deeper and are therefore more effective post-dermaplaning, but honestly there’s no way for me to measure that. I asked Katie if I could get the same benefits by just shaving my face at home, and while I would get the fuzz-free smooth feeling, I would not get the deep exfoliation from the dermaplaning procedure. Also there’s a risk of infection if you’re not using a properly sterilized, new, clean razor at home.
Overall, I’m very happy with the results, highly recommend it, and would definitely do it again!.
Now for some details if you want to have this procedure done at Light Touch Aesthetics:
My aesthetician was Katie Pond, and you can contact her via instagram or request her via the website. You can also get 10% off all aesthetic treatments with the code BOMBAY TAXI BOUTIQUE. The normal dermaplane facial costs $139, or is an add on to any aesthetic treatment for $45.