I Shaved My F*cking Face Off (But I’d Do it Again)

Dermaplaning, or the art of literally shaving the skin off your face, is a great exfoliation method if you’re brave enough to take a razor blade to your face. It’s skin-transforming, but a little gross as well. Just like with any exfoliation treatment, it removes dead skin cells and dirt, but with this, you’re scraping it all away by hand.

When I told my mom that I was going to try dermaplaning, she asked me if I was drunk. She thought I had totally lost all rational thought. Like yeah, I was ready to take a razor to my skin, but it’s a legitimate skincare practice, accepted by many dermatologists.

After developing the nickname “speedy gonzalez” by my not-so-charming Italian (ex) boyfriend, I developed a bit of a complex when in direct sunlight. According to my sweet gyno, going off birth control can cause a rise in testosterone… and a bit of a stash. That’s what led me to researching shaving my face, and I found dermaplaning. It’s like a crazy spa treatment that you can bring in-house, and probably want to since the spas will charge a couple hundo.

Despite the less-than-empowering reason I initially got into this exfoliation technique, the results made me feel great about myself. My skin was literally brand new, like a baby’s bottom. I made everyone in the office feel my skin the next day, because you really have to feel it to believe it. There aren’t enough words to describe just how soft my skin was.

I used Shiseido blades, which are made specifically for dermaplaning. And I didn’t just wing it, I watched nifty little how-to video that walked me through every step. What I can tell you, is you need your skin to be bone dry—Sahara-level dry. Definitely wash your face first, that’s important. But if you typically use an oil-based cleanser, swap it out for foam this time. And then dry your skin and wait a few minutes. If you don’t, the razor will stick to your skin.

Then as you’re going through the shaving process, keep your skin taught. Pull the skin up as you go, and shave in tiny little micro-strokes. Take your time—the whole process should take over a minute.

Just do it all carefully. And like I said, your skin will be brand new. So be sure to take care of it—use this time to serum it up, moisturize (heavily) and use sunscreen.

Also worth noting, your hair won’t grow back thicker or blacker, it will grow in the same as it was before. Unless you overdo it on the dermaplaning. If you face-shave too often, you might see increased hair growth.

The one last piece of advice I can give you is to not dermaplane regularly. This is a treatment you should only do once in a blue moon.

If you’re ready to start dermaplaning, I highly recommend my trusty Shiseido blades. But there are plenty of dermaplaning options out there.