Before You Pick Up the Blade: Dermaplaning Decisions Estheticians Need to Make

Clients book dermaplaning by name. They’ve seen the videos and the little piles of peach fuzz, and they want the glow — but knowing how to dermaplane and knowing when to dermaplane are two different skills.

This episode isn’t a how-to. It’s about the decision you make before the blade comes out: what dermaplaning actually removes, why a barrier-first approach changes how often you reach for it, when active acne makes it the wrong call, and why stacking it with an enzyme and a peel in the same appointment is usually doing too much. Lisa also makes the case that choosing not to dermaplane is a sign of expertise, not a shortfall of it.

This episode is general education for licensed professionals, not medical or legal advice. Always work within your own scope of practice and your state’s rules.

Read the full transcript

Just because I can dermaplane this client, does that mean I should?

Have you ever had a client come in and say "I want dermaplaning" before you've even looked at their skin? Dermaplaning has become one of those treatments that clients know by name. They see the satisfying videos, they see the little piles of peach fuzz all gathered up, they hear that their makeup is going to go on smoother and that their skin is going to glow. So naturally they want it.

But here's a question I want estheticians to start asking. Just because I can dermaplane this client, does that mean I should?

This isn't going to be a step-by-step tutorial on how to dermaplane. Instead, I want to talk about how we actually make the decision to dermaplane someone in the treatment room, because dermaplaning is a tool and it's a skill. And just like every other tool and skill we have as estheticians, it isn't appropriate for every skin, every concern, or every appointment.

What are we actually doing when we dermaplane?

Most clients think dermaplaning is basically shaving the face. It's kind of one of my things that annoys me. It's not a face shave. They'll come in and they'll say "I want the face shave," and I'm like, okay.

We are removing vellus hair, but that's only part of what's happening. Dermaplaning is also a form of mechanical exfoliation. As we move a blade across the skin, we're removing superficial corneocytes from the stratum corneum, the top layer of the skin, along with that vellus hair. So I always explain that vellus hair removal is an additional benefit besides the exfoliation part of dermaplaning.

That can create the incredibly smooth texture that clients love. Products might feel like they apply differently afterward, makeup tends to sit better on the skin, and you get that immediate bright, polished appearance.

But I think sometimes we become so focused on the result that we forget to ask what we had to remove to get there — to get to that point of that "glow," quote unquote. Because those corneocytes aren't just useless dead skin sitting on the surface waiting for us to get rid of them. They are an actual part of our skin barrier. Everybody says that the corneocytes, the stratum corneum, are dead, but it is very much a functioning part of our skin system.

Dermaplaning and a barrier-first approach

That brings me to something I talk about all the time, which is the barrier-first approach, and sometimes corneotherapeutic practices.

If you've followed me, you know that I'm very, very barrier-focused in the way I approach skin. Corneotherapy is based around preserving and supporting the integrity of the stratum corneum rather than routinely disrupting or aggressively removing it. And this is where dermaplaning and a strict corneotherapeutic approach don't really align. Dermaplaning intentionally removes superficial corneocytes, and corneotherapy generally takes the position that those cells have a purpose.

Instead of saying "How can I remove more dead skin?" we're asking: why isn't the skin functioning or desquamating appropriately in the first place? Why isn't it shedding those dead skin cells the way it should be?

You don't have to belong to one camp

That distinction is important, but it doesn't mean I think dermaplaning is bad. It's not. I use dermaplaning. It's something that's on my treatment menu and I offer it.

This is where I think estheticians can get trapped into feeling like we have to belong completely to one camp. Either I'm strictly into corneotherapy and I hate dermaplaning, I'll never do it, I don't think you should — or I don't care about corneotherapy and we can dermaplane. Two views can exist at the same time. We can understand corneotherapy and respect the barrier and incorporate those principles into our treatments without pretending that every single service we perform fits perfectly within a strict corneotherapeutic model.

For me, understanding corneotherapy has actually made me more selective about exfoliation. I'm not looking at every client and thinking "how much dead skin can I remove today?" I'm looking at their skin and asking: what does this skin sitting in front of me need right now? What does it actually need? And sometimes dermaplaning makes sense, and sometimes it absolutely does not.

Start with barrier integrity

When I start reconsidering dermaplaning, one of the first things I'm looking at is barrier integrity. If I see significant dryness, irritation, inflammation or flaking, unusual sensitivity, or other signs that make me suspect the barrier is already compromised, I'm probably not going to reach for the dermaplaning blade. That skin may need support much more than it needs exfoliation.

What has the client been doing at home?

I also want to know what the client has been doing at home. Are they using retinoids? Are they using exfoliating acids? Are they scrubbing their skin? Did they just have another resurfacing treatment? And how are they using the products — how often, when, what part of the day?

I want to know whether they've been trying every viral skincare product that appeared on their feed this month. Are they listening to their friends' or family's influence when they come and book dermaplaning with you?

Your consultation is going to tell you everything, and this is why I will forever talk about consultation. We have to know these things before we treat our clients. It's consultation, consultation, consultation.

What about acne and dermaplaning?

This is another area where we need some judgment. If someone has active inflammatory acne — particularly pustules, nodules, cystic lesions, or areas that are irritated or compromised — I am not going to run a blade directly over those lesions. You have to think about inflammation and trauma and the possibility of disrupting those lesions.

But acne isn't always an automatic yes or no answer either. Think about the client. Maybe they have a few isolated lesions that can be safely avoided. Maybe they have primarily non-inflammatory congestion. Maybe dermaplaning simply isn't the best tool for what you're trying to accomplish.

This is where we as estheticians stop treating a diagnosis and start treating the skin that is actually in front of us, because it's all different.

We do not have to do everything at once

This is one of my biggest treatment room soapboxes. Dermaplaning, then an enzyme, then a peel, then another active, then another modality — and suddenly we've created the facial equivalent of putting every condiment in the refrigerator onto one sandwich. We're trying to do too much. It doesn't make sense.

More treatment does not automatically mean better treatment. If you've already mechanically exfoliated the skin with dermaplaning, think carefully about what you put on that skin next. What's the goal? What are you trying to accomplish? What does the client want? Does adding another exfoliating step actually improve the outcome? Most likely it's not going to. Less is more.

Are we adding it because we feel like a facial needs to have a lot of steps to be valuable? Some of the best treatments I perform are actually very simple.

Technique matters — and pressure isn't technique

When dermaplaning is appropriate, your technique matters so much. Your blade angle matters, your pressure matters, proper skin tension matters, and the way you stroke with the dermaplane blade totally matters.

One thing I really want newer estheticians to understand is that pressure is not what makes dermaplaning effective. You should not feel like you have to scrape aggressively at the skin to get a good result. You're working with a blade on someone's face. This is not the moment for enthusiasm to overpower your technique.

If you're unsure of your angle, your grip, your tension, or how to safely work different areas of the face, get more hands-on practice and education before worrying about speed. It's just like everything else — it takes practice. Speed comes later. Control has to come first. You have to know how to hold that handpiece, you have to know what blade you're going to use, and you have to have practiced several times to build up that confidence.

What I want you to take away

Dermaplaning can be a really awesome service. Clients love the immediate smoothness, it can create beautiful results when it's performed appropriately, and it absolutely has a place in my treatment room. But I don't want us automatically reaching for a blade simply because a client booked a dermaplaning.

Look at the skin first. Think about the barrier — have that barrier-first approach. Think about inflammation, think about their home care, and think about what else you're planning to do during that treatment. And remember what corneotherapy teaches us about the stratum corneum: those corneocytes have a job. You don't need to be afraid to exfoliate, but we should respect what we're removing.

There's a big difference between performing a treatment because you know how to do it and choosing a treatment because you understand why this particular skin will benefit from it.

One question before you start

The next time you're standing in your treatment room with a dermaplane blade in your hand, ask yourself one question before you start. Does dermaplaning make sense for this skin today? Not last month. Not because they booked it. Not because you've done it on them before. Not because it looked satisfying on Instagram or TikTok. But today.

And if the answer is no, choosing not to dermaplane can be just as much a sign of expertise as performing the treatment perfectly.

If you took something away from this episode, I want it to be this. You can absolutely know how to do modalities and use them and your tools. We never stop learning and we want to get our hands on everything. But it is our responsibility to know when to do it, how to do it, and who to do it with. Having so many things on your treatment menu doesn't justify your skill level, and making sure your clients know you can do all of these things doesn't justify you as an esthetician. What matters most is that you're doing it for the right reasons on the right person.