— Style —

Dermaplaning: A Needless, Expensive Beauty Treatment

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I’ve been seeing a lot of references about a beauty secret, of the stars, called Dermaplaning. A recent Yahoo article said, “The treatment consists of scraping a tiny scalpel around the face to remove the vellus hairs, otherwise known as peach fuzz, which in turns acts as an exfoliant for dead skin cells… The procedure lasts a pain-free 25 minutes and costs between $85 and $150 per session.”

Hello! That’s called shaving! Men do it, everyday, but if you pay anyone that much to shave your face… Darlin’ you’ve got more money and time than you know what to do with.

It seems as though aestheticians and plastic surgeons have added—I’m going to call it what it is, shaving—to the other services they provide. The same Yahoo piece quoted a New York-based plastic surgeon who said, “If you are looking to have dewy, smoother skin, this is a great exfoliation treatment to add to your monthly regimen.”

Most of us have felt a man’s face after he’s shaved. Because shaving exfoliates the skin, it makes it feel smooth, like a baby’s butt, but shaving once a month? If your husband waited a month between shaves, it would be more than noticeable. While women can go longer than everyday without shaving, your peach fuzz will grow back. If you’re like me, you may also have a single, wild hair that grows out of the end of your chin. I can feel it after a week.

What if you save your $85-$150, and learn how to shave your face? It’s no big deal. I’ve been doing it for years. And no, shaving does not make the hair grow back darker or coarser. That’s a myth! Here’s what you need to know:

  • Buy yourself a good razor, not one of those cute disposable ones made for women, and buy a cartridge of extra blades. Change them often and DON’T use it on your legs! My favorite is the Gillette Trac II.  The blades have a lubricating strip, so you don’t need shaving cream.
  • Until you get comfortable shaving your face, you may want to look in the mirror. I don’t use shaving cream because it doesn’t allow me to feel the contours of my face. Instead, I make a lather with soap and water.
  • Gently shave in a downward motion, along the sides of your face, cheeks, upper and lower lip, chin and neck area. Go slow, if you’re nervous.
  • When you’re more comfortable, you can do it in the shower. I shave in the shower; have never used a mirror, and I’ve never cut myself.
  • Moisturize as usual. There’s nothing special you need to do. Your makeup will glide on effortlessly and look beautiful.

If you’re interested, here’s a video I did almost five years ago , for my BreastCancerSisterhood site. It covers the causes of facial hair on women and what to do about it. It was filmed in Comfort, Texas, at the oldest barbershop in the state, and it’s a hoot. The barbershop and the video. Over the years, the quality of the video has been compromised, but as long as you’re not watching it on a big screen, it looks great.

Love, Brenda

8 Comments

  • Mamavalveeta03 November 8, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    The link didn’t take me to the video, Brenda. Just wanted you to know. But I loved your post about your dear husband, James, and I may pass it along to a friend who lost her husband quite unexpectedly two years ago. She’s still struggling with what “life without Larry” looks like, and it’s not a place she wants to be.

    • 1010ParkPlace.com November 10, 2014 at 10:59 pm

      Val,
      Our tech guy says he’s guessing “it’s something with her browser. That’s just a good old YouTube video, so it should work on any modern browser. But if she has an old browser, ad blockers installed, then it might not play.”
      Brenda

      • Mamavalveeta03 November 12, 2014 at 8:06 pm

        Ipad, new, so I don’t think that’s it.

    • Tinymill November 11, 2014 at 1:33 pm

      Hi there, please try this link, which is a direct link to the YouTube video. Sorry for any inconvenience. : )
      http://youtu.be/5kLOUoxKih8

      • Mamavalveeta03 November 12, 2014 at 8:22 pm

        You made it look so easy! I caught a glimpse of my “peach fuzz” (light but plentiful!) in the car mirror yesterday, so I’m going to try shaving. Wish me luck.

  • 1010ParkPlace.com November 9, 2014 at 12:20 am

    Hi Val,
    Try this link to the video. http://bit.ly/10Foum4

    I know how your friend feels. It took me a good two years before I wasn’t beside myself with grief and missing him. The only advice I can give her is she just needs to walk through it. Eventually the gut-wrenching grief subsides, and you shift into another way of living, of coping without them. If she hasn’t gotten any help, or listened to something like a guided imagery audio, she might consider that. I don’t know whether she has a job, but she may need to find a new focus in her life. I don’t mean to sound cliche, but reaching out to help someone else, maybe volunteer somewhere, is the best way to stop focusing on yourself. I think we get more out of it than the person, dog, cat, we’re trying to help. That’s the closest thing to a magic fixer I know, and while that feeling may not last, if you keep doing it, you’ll keep feeling better until one day, you realize you’re in the car, and you’re singing along with the song on the radio.

    • Mamavalveeta03 November 12, 2014 at 8:15 pm

      Thanks, Brenda, for such compassionate and wise advice. She’s a very talented artist, and has started a thriving “paint and sip” business that keeps her busy. I think it’s the lonely nights and the big bed shared only by a dog that constantly reminds her of her loss. Unfortunately, she lives about a thousand miles away from me, so I can do very little but encourage her to care for herself and do what she needs to in order to move forward.

  • Elizabeth December 4, 2014 at 10:28 am

    Thank you so much! Going to try shaving ASAP!

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