Should you consider shaving?

At no point in my life has a razor ever approached my face. Even then, I kept reading about it. Women shaving.

Why, I hear you ask, would a woman want to do this?

Flipping through headers without reading because in my head razors and African skin and hair, more so female skin and hair, are not the best marriage there is.

But this skin care miracle snowballed, relentlessly cropping up on my Flipboard feed so eventually, I decided to read it. And I was astonished at this one form of beauty therapy I will likely never ever try for very valid reasons as you will soon find out.

“Shaving the face” as it has been referenced in women’s magazines, is more than simply stocking up on twin or triple blade razors and swiping across your face.

Not even with the assistance of EVOO or raw coconut oil as a softening buffer.

THE SKILL

This skill of shaving women’s faces is called Dermaplaning. When done by a practising dermatologist or a licensed aesthetician/skin therapist. It is no ordinary shave.

It is done by use of a very specific scalpel, a 10 gauge, held at a 45 degree angle, called a dermatone. By use of short, quick, feathery strokes, one starts from the forehead towards the middle of the face.

Skin is held taut with one hand and scalpeled with the other. Avoiding brows, nose, eyes and mouth of course. Plenty of women it would appear, do it themselves at home and happily post videos on YouTube.

Why, I hear you ask, would a woman want to do this? Their dreams for flawless skin are valid it turns out. The most obvious reason is softer, glowing skin.

Dermaplaning is an exfoliation process done by a scalpel with only one life. Post procedure, it must be discarded. It scrapes off dead skin cells that have grown for a rather particular 21 days, and needs to be repeated for the effects to remain constant.

This scalpel facial gets rid of peach fuzz – those little hairs with the audacity to peak through your foundation and powder because you are unfortunate enough to be a human female; AKA vellus hairs.

Dermaplaning is a delight on hairs tweezing and threading can’t grasp. A facial said to be so gentle you can wear makeup, and must wear sunscreen after to protect radiant baby skin.

Skin care products and cosmetics go on smoother so thankfully, you will use less. In case you are wondering, no, facial hair will not grow back coarser.

Dermaplaning starts off on cleansed skin. If you have active acne, steer clear. It is an especially terrible idea for women with cystic acne. The blade could nick a pimple and cause an infection.

Acne treatment almost always requires glycolic acid, Accutane or retinoids such as Retin-A or Differin. All quite proficient at exfoliating already.

Experts insist on waiting until a break out clears and topping this timeframe with 6 months of medication-free skin before attempting it. Acne evidently rules out Dermaplaning.

DERMAPLANING

That being said it is reputed to smooth out acne scarring, unblock blackheads, reduce wrinkles and improve the skin texture. While on the subject I hesitate to recommend it to a diabetic or anyone on blood thinners.

Pregnant or nursing women will however find Dermaplaning highly recommended for the safety of the foetus and child. As a facial it lifts the complexion by scraping off a build up of oil and dirt leaving you with healthier-looking alive skin.

Thank you K-Beauty for this glass skin inspired obsession.

Some dermatologists prefer chemical peels. They penetrate deeper unlike Dermaplaning’s celebrated yet superficial gunk removal. Do not even think of winging it.

See a dermatologist or doctor with experience on your kind of skin. This way you know how good a candidate you are.

Dermaplaning sometimes precedes laser treatment (generally not recommended for African skin), microneedling (tiny needles penetrating the skin to awaken collagen production), chemical peels or microdermabrasion (use of crystals and suction to exfoliate the face).

It all depends on how hardy your skin is. Based on conversation with skin care experts, I would say not very. Dermaplaning is also one of those procedures whose results you can’t tell in advance. Skin does what it does.

Unpredictability is a fantastic reason to see a professional. Someone who can handle your after care and have a candid conversation with you about you skin needs before, during and after the procedure.

Someone who can and will tell you heck no, but how about this instead. If I were you, I would listen.