How To: DIY Dermaplane (Benefits & Review & FAQ)

Hey you! Confession time y'all: I occasionally shave my face. Sound crazy? Wait! Hear me out! What I do is an at-home version of dermaplaning.  I have been asked so many times to talk about this, so after 5 years of doing it, I finally am! And there are so many benefits!

• Exfoliation of skin
• Smoother skin
• Smoother makeup application
• Personally, I feel like my skincare products are more effective because they can really sink into skin.

Does it actually make a difference? Here's an embarrassing before and after:

Another reason: some of us have darker hair and some of us have a lot of peach fuzz. I have both, so I dermaplane. Here are some common questions:

• Does it hurt? 
• No.
• That razor looks huge! I'm worried I'll cut myself! 
•   I have never cut myself when shaving my face (knock on wood), but I'm not rushing through it either. 
• What razor do I use? The same as my husband?
• You can certainly lather up and use your husband's razor, but I don't think it's necessary. I like to use Fromm and Tinkle (in the top pic) razors, both from Sally Beauty. I also like the small ones from Sephora. Fromm makes small ones as well for those areas like the upper lip and between the brows. If I'm in a hurry, I'll use a battery-powdered razor, like the one from Finishing Touch, pictured below:

But won't my hair grow back thicker? Faster? Longer? I don't want a beard!

• No. I cannot believe people still believe this old wives' tale! When I first started, I only shaved one half of my face to see and compare if it was really worth it. Guess what? Once I let my facial hair grow back in, both sides looked THE SAME. 
• Because I am a super dedicated beauty blogger (I totally have no life), I actually looked at the peach fuzz under a microscope to further prove my point. On some hairs from the shaved side the angle was different (like you could tell they were cut at an angle), but other than that, you can't tell a difference. Trust.
• So how do you do it?

*Shave away from hair growth if you don't have sensitive acne-prone skin.

I do this on clean, dry skin, but you can lather up and use a razor like for yours legs if you'd like. 

Sometimes I shave all of my face, but usually I shave the peach fuzz around my cheeks, as pictured, my upper lip, and between my brows. 

I hold my skin taut and shave away from the hair growth. I have done it with and against hair growth and truly have noticed zero difference between the two on my skin. My skin is soft either way. You shave your legs, right? And it's smooth, right? Why not try that for your face?

HOWEVER, if you are acne-prone, I would definitely recommend (1) doing a patch test--shaving a small area (2) shaving with hair growth.

• How often do you do it?
• I dermaplane a couple of times a month. It takes maybe 5 minutes. I make sure to clean off my razor (and I go a step further and disinfect) After two months, I throw out my razor and get a new one. Sometimes I'll use 2 razors--the regular size and a smaller brow one.
• What are the side effects?
• No one I've ever recommended this to has had a negative side effect. However, over the years I've done lots of research and any side effects have been from user error, like using a dull and/or dirty razor, not doing a patch test, etc. We see the word "razor" and we think of nicks from shaving our legs. Dermaplaning at home isn't like that.

• FYI: You can always visit a professional if you don't care to do it on yourself. And you can use the Covergirl Ultra Smooth Hair Smoothing Foundation + Applicator if you'd like.

Extra Elle:

• How has your week been so far? It's been a stressful, emotional one for me. Just recent life events have put me more on edge and feeling sensitive than usual. I'll share more on it when I'm ready, but just keep me in your thoughts! No worries--just thinking positively.
• Two big purchases for my upcoming beach trip--new Ray Bans and the Rebecca Minkoff bag I've wanted for ages.