I tried dermaplaning and it ruined my skin

“My skin was red, raw and out of control.”

I hate to be that person but I’ve always been someone who’s managed to get away with having clear skin despite not doing much to maintain it. I guess it’s just genetics. I have the occasional breakout, but I think you’d be stunned at how minimal (and sometimes non-existent) my skincare routine is. 

But this all changed recently. Let me set the scene. It was that weird period between Christmas and New Year’s when the world pauses. No one’s around, nothing is open and everywhere feels like a tumbleweed town. I’m not too fond of this period; I find the forced monotonous relaxation torturous after a while. 

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At the time of my skincare faux pas, I’d been staying with my family for over a week. Don’t get me wrong, I love them dearly, but I was in desperate need of a circuit breaker and some fresh faces. So I went for a walk and stumbled across one of the only open things I’d seen in days: a chemist.

One thing you should know about me is that I have this problem. If I’m ever at the chemist waiting for a script, I can’t help but fill my arms with crap I don’t need. I’m someone who usually researches a product ’til the cows come home before buying but there’s something about the bright lights, loud colours and narrow aisles in the chemist that lower my inhibitions. The part of my brain that controls impulses goes rogue, and I wind up spending money I don’t have on products I don’t need.  

During this post-Christmas lull, I’d been spending a lot of time on TikTok, and at the time dermaplaning was the skincare flavour of the week. Of course, I don’t need to spell out the rest. Boredom struck, I was in the chemist – what can I say? I trotted back home with dermaplaning razors in tow.

From what I’d seen, dermaplaning was a very effective way to get rid of dry, dead skin. It also removes all those teeny fine hairs on your face; you know, that protective fuzz that no one notices but you? You can have a dermaplaning treatment done at most beauty salons, but you can also do it yourself if you buy the right tool. The tool is essentially a thin long stick with two blades on each end. 

Personally, I felt like my peach fuzz was just in the way. My makeup always looked claggy and I blamed the fuzz. I also blamed my chronically dry skin. I’ve always been a dry girlie, and in the dryer months my skin gets pretty parched. So needless to say, I felt as though dermaplaning was made for me.

It had occurred to me that there was potential for disaster. Sure, hair grows back and that can cause irritation. But truth be told I didn’t do my research, and it’s hard to sort the fact from the fiction on beauty TikTok. For starters, not everyone will respond to certain skin treatments, products and cosmetics like you will. Never mind that a lot of TikTok beauty content is sponsored, so it’s near impossible to find an honest and reliable review.

But when I arrived home, it was go time. I cleansed and scrubbed my face, got in front of my mum’s twenty-year-old magnifying mirror and went for it. I followed what I saw online closely, going in the direction of my hair and applying minimal pressure. It was a delicate process, but boy was it satisfying. When I was done, I was smooth and silky and that was that. Until a few weeks later.

I’d been arrogant. I thought I’d narrowly avoided disaster and that my great skin genetics were just back at it again, letting me get away with whatever I wanted. But I was naïve. As soon as the hair started coming in, I was polka-dotted with tiny pimples, then it was cystic acne which evolved into clusters of red raging spots. My skin was red, raw and out of control. 

Out of sheer desperation, I reached out to Karen, a beauty therapist and the Founder of Cohr Skin Beauty & Wellness, who gave me the educated opinion I wish I’d heard months ago. Despite there being many factors potentially at play that were causing my consistent breakouts, it was pretty clear from the get-go that dermaplaning was the catalyst for all of this.

Karen explains that “whilst some claim it’s great for skin rejuvenation and pore minimisation, a good exfoliant will do that too, without the negative side effects [of dermaplaning]”. It’s easy to get swept up by what you see online, but Karen says the truth is that “only a trained beauty and/or skin therapist should be performing that kind of treatment”.

For a generation that likes to DIY that can be hard to hear but, as Karen says, “there are so many variables to be taken into consideration when embarking on any skin treatment. [Dermaplaning] should be left to a professional that’s been properly trained and understands how the skin works”.

It’s hard to know exactly what caused me too to have such an adverse reaction but performing it on myself with no experience is harmful enough on its own. “Dermaplaning should only exfoliate the top layer of skin. But if it’s done incorrectly, on the wrong angle, for example, scarring can occur.”

Since my mishap, I’ve spoken to others about their experiences with dermaplaning. Some told me they do it regularly, claiming it’s a significant factor in their regime as it keeps their skin bright and healthy. But Karen still stresses that there are things to consider before trialling something new.

“Certain skin types may contradict a treatment, especially those prone to pigmentation issues and breakouts. Medications like Accutane can also really affect the outcome. Those things need to be considered before skincare and skin treatments, especially treatments that can be potentially harmful to the skin.”

It’s been months now and my skin still hasn’t returned to its regular state. But I have hope. Each breakout has been moving further up my face and currently, the hot spot for acne is on my forehead. I’m praying they’re on their way to evaporating into the sky above me. 

Karen tells me that in her 30 years in the business, she’s seen “many beauty fads come and go”, so perhaps I shouldn’t jump the gun next time there’s a new skincare hack (at least not without doing my reading first).

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