Glowing skin starts by sloughing away the buildup of dead cells that clogs the pores. One popular method for exfoliation is shaving the surface of the skin with a scalpel. If scraping away a layer of skin sounds scary, fear not. The process is painless, and some people even find it relaxing, says Valerie Moll, head aesthetician at The Lifestyle Center. “Your skin is so smooth afterward, it feels like butter,” she says.
Dermaplaning, also called blading, is quickly becoming more popular than microdermabrasion, which uses fine crystals or a diamond tip to clean pores. One reason many people prefer blading is because it doesn’t cause the peeling, flaking and red skin that often follow a microdermabrasion treatment. It’s also a more controlled method that allows the technician to target areas of concern. Best of all, at an average of $85, it’s less expensive than microdermabrasion, which typically costs about $120.
“A lot of times people will come in scheduled for microdermabrasion because that’s what they’ve heard of, but they always choose dermaplaning after learning about it,” Moll says. “I haven’t done a microdermabrasion since we started offering blading.”
The treatment can help anyone—including those with dry or dull skin, fine lines and wrinkles, rosacea, or mild acne scarring—achieve smoother, more radiant skin, experts say. (The procedure isn’t designed for people with severe, active acne.) Dermaplaning takes 30 minutes, and the results last about a month. As an added bonus, it removes fine facial hair. “Everyone loves that it also gets rid of the peach fuzz without waxing,” Moll says. The hair regrows at the same rate, texture and color as before treatment.
Dermaplaning should be performed by a licensed aesthetician in a medical spa setting. It can be done as a stand-alone treatment or to prepare the skin for a facial or medical procedures, such as laser treatments and chemical peels. Cleansing and exfoliation are the foundation upon which all other treatments are built, Moll says. Whether you use at-home products, dermaplaning or a combination of both, everyone should exfoliate regularly for optimal skin health.
“It allows all the products you use at home to penetrate better and work more efficiently,” Moll says. “It sloughs off all the dead skin cells that give your face a dull look, and it gives you that healthy glow everyone wants.”
