No, the hair does not grow back thicker. That's a myth.
I'm a big fan of multitasking skincare, and dermaplaning is the best multitasker I know. Five minutes and your makeup sits better, your serums work harder, and the peach fuzz is gone. I loved it so much I ended up naming my whole store after it, more on that in a minute.
What Is Dermaplaning?
Dermaplaning is not shaving, even though both involve a razor. A purpose-made blade removes the very top layer of dead skin cells along with the fine vellus hair on your face, better known as the peach fuzz, so you get exfoliation and hair removal in one pass, at home, with no downtime.
The first thing you notice is how soft your skin feels. Makeup stops clinging to the fuzz, and over time it can help soften the appearance of fine lines and acne scarring too.
Does the Hair Grow Back Thicker After Dermaplaning?
No. This is the myth that stops most women from ever trying it. The hair does not grow back thicker or darker. It can feel slightly different for a day or two because the ends are blunt from the cut, but the thickness and colour never change.
How Often Should You Dermaplane?
Every three weeks is the general advice, but I would do it at least every two weeks. Personally, I do it weekly. I have become very hairy in my 50s, and my skin handles it just fine.
Why My Whole Store Is Named After a Dermaplaner
Now for a slightly embarrassing story. Before this store was called Clean Nectarine, I had briefly called it Talking Clean with Irene. My customers hated that name (fair enough), and while I was trying to think of a better one, I was also hunting for a reusable dermaplaner to stock, because dermaplaners are such a great must-have product, but almost every one on the market was disposable plastic, and I could not bring myself to sell that.
I had already trademarked a name and bought the URL for the dermaplaner I was planning. Clean Nectarine. It was only ever going to be the name of one product, because that is exactly what your skin looks like when the peach fuzz comes off. A peach without the fuzz is a clean nectarine. Get it? When all the other store names I liked were taken, I stole this product name for the whole store, and the rest is history. The old name did not go to waste either, Talking Clean lives on as the name of this blog.
How to Dermaplane at Home
So here it is, the dermaplaner that named a store: the Clean Nectarine Reusable Metal Dermaplaner. The handle is metal, it comes with three blades, and when one dulls you swap in a fresh one from the replacement pack instead of binning the whole thing. Blunt blades are what cause dragging.
I really enjoy my time dermaplaning at home. I will pick a nice sunny spot, mid afternoon, when the 3pm sun comes through and shines right on the fuzz. Always on completely dry skin, before my shower. Damp skin is the one thing that ruins it, the blade needs dry skin to glide. And a rare bonus of being long-sighted: this is one job I don't need my glasses for.
I hold the skin taut with one hand, keep the blade at about 45 degrees, and work in short, light, downward strokes, one section at a time, letting the blade do the work. The sunlight does half of it, you can see exactly what you're getting. I go over my smile lines and other fine lines a few extra times, because the hair comes away and so does the dead skin and everything else that makes those lines look more prominent. It is so satisfying. The skin is glowing before you've even finished.
The usual caveats: avoid the eye and lip area, skip it if you're on blood thinners, mid-breakout, or your eczema or rosacea is flaring, and test a small patch first if your skin is sensitive.
I've also filmed a demo video of exactly how I do it, which you'll find on the product page.
What I Apply to My Skin Right After I Dermaplane
The moment I finish, I go over my face with a rose toner, then massage in a simple face oil, the Weleda Sensitive Recovery Face Oil (the almond one) is my pick. Then I have my shower and do my usual skincare after. For the next few days, keep it gentle: no scrubs, exfoliating acids or retinol on freshly dermaplaned skin.
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