Dermaplaning.Glow, softened down.
The quietest treatment on the menu. Forty minutes, no needles, no downtime, a noticeable difference in light by the end of the session.
- Session length
- 40 minutes
- Results read
- Immediate · peak 7–14 days
- Repeat
- Every 4–6 weeks
- Downtime
- None
Dermaplaning at Skin Aesthetics by Krystian, Southampton. Removes vellus hair and dead skin with a sterile blade for an immediate increase in light reflection and product absorption. Session takes 40 minutes. Results immediate with peak at 7–14 days. Downtime none. Suitable for almost everyone except active acne or open lesions. By appointment in Bursledon.
Pricing and booking are on Fresha, kept in one place so it is always current.
A clean blade. Held at the right angle.
Dermaplaning is a manual exfoliation treatment that uses a sterile surgical blade, held at a low angle to the skin, to remove the very outer layer of dead skin cells along with the fine vellus hair that grows on the face. The result is a measurably brighter complexion, smoother make-up application for two to three weeks, and a face that reflects light differently in the mirror immediately after the session.
The smallest treatment on the menu, and the one most often underestimated. The blade itself is not the work. The work is the angle, the pressure and the cadence across the face. Held badly, the same blade produces uneven exfoliation, micro-cuts and irritation that can last several days. Held correctly, the patient feels almost nothing and the result is read by anyone they see for the next fortnight.
Krystian runs dermaplaning at the start of almost every monthly facial routine for our standing patients. It is the foundation under any active skincare regime, because it removes the layer of dead surface cells that prevents serums and SPFs from absorbing properly. Patients who add a single dermaplaning session every four to six weeks to their existing routine almost always report that their daily skincare started reading better afterwards, not because the products changed, but because the canvas underneath did.
We do not run dermaplaning over active acne, broken capillaries or visibly inflamed skin. The treatment is for the patient whose skin is otherwise calm and is asking for brightness, surface smoothness, and a reset before an event or before a season turn. It pairs particularly well with Profhilo as the second appointment in a "before-the-holiday" or "before-the-wedding" two-week window.
The vellus hair that grows back, contrary to a great deal of misinformation online, does not grow back darker, thicker or more wiry. The hair returns to the diameter it was before, because the follicle and the growth pattern have not been touched. This is the single most common question we are asked at consultation and the honest answer is the one published in every dermatological textbook of the last forty years.
Three things we read first.
Before any pass of the blade, before the cleanser comes out, before the lighting is fixed.
Skin calmness
Active acne, visible inflammation, or broken capillaries are reasons to defer. The treatment is for a calm canvas. Krystian will reschedule if the skin is asking for a different appointment first.
The light you'll be reading it in
Dermaplaning is photographed-in-light work. We standardise the lighting at every visit so the brightness read at week one can be measured against the read on day zero. Before and after photographs are taken at the same angle.
The follow-on regime
The serum or SPF you'll be using afterwards. Dermaplaning measurably increases the absorption of active skincare and that increase needs to be matched with a sensible regime, not a more aggressive one.
Forty quiet minutes, end to end.
What to expect from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave the studio.
Arrival and consent
Tea, written form, the consent walkthrough. We re-photograph at the same angle every visit in standardised lighting so the brightness read can be measured between sessions.
Double cleanse
Surface oils and any sunscreen residue are removed. The skin needs to be visibly clean before any blade-work begins. We assess for active inflammation one last time before proceeding.
The treatment
The blade is held at a low angle and worked across the face in short, controlled passes. Most patients feel a soft scraping sensation and nothing else. We work in quadrants and ask before moving on to each one.
Hydrating finish and SPF
A hydrating mask or serum applied while the surface is at its most receptive, followed by SPF. We book the next session at the four-to-six-week mark for compounding result, no pressure if you'd rather come back when the brightness drops off.
The honest version.
The questions every patient is too polite to ask out loud. Read at your pace.
Will the hair grow back darker?
No. This is the single most common question and the answer is the one in every dermatological textbook of the last forty years. The vellus hair returns to its original diameter and colour because the follicle and the growth pattern have not been touched. The hair feels different for the first day or two because the cut end is blunt rather than tapered, but it returns to its natural state within a week.
Does it hurt?
No. Most patients describe a soft scraping sensation across the surface of the skin and nothing else. There are no needles, no heat and no chemical sting. It is, by some distance, the quietest treatment on our menu and the one most patients fall close to sleep during.
Is there any downtime?
None. The skin may read slightly pink for the first hour. You can apply makeup the same evening and return to all normal activity straight away. We recommend SPF on the day of treatment and the morning after, which is true on any day of the year regardless.
How often should I have it?
Every four to six weeks is the rhythm most of our standing patients run. The cycle of cell turnover is approximately twenty-eight days, so a session at the six-week mark catches the next surface layer at the moment it would otherwise start to dull. Most patients book the next session before they leave.
Where can I see the pricing?
Pricing and booking are on Fresha. The reserve-your-consultation button on this page takes you to the live pricing.
What we tell you before we begin.
- Mild redness for one hourThe most common short-term effect. Settles before you leave the studio in most cases.
- Increased sun sensitivity for 48 hoursThe surface barrier is briefly thinner. SPF on the day of treatment and the morning after, always.
- Occasional micro-cutsVery rare with a correctly held blade. Resolves within a day with a gentle hydrating moisturiser.
- Sting from active skincareAvoid retinoids, acids, and benzoyl peroxide for 72 hours post-treatment. The absorption is higher and so is the irritation.
- ExclusionsActive acne flare, broken capillaries, visible inflammation, recent isotretinoin within six months, eczema or rosacea in active phase, or recent sunburn.
Krystian will refuse a treatment if he reads any of these in your consultation. The complimentary thirty minutes will tell you honestly which route fits.
Reserve your consultation.
Thirty minutes, in person, in Bursledon. Krystian will tell you honestly whether dermaplaning is the right starting place, or whether something else is.