Every so often, a beauty trend comes along that really catches on and doesnโt show signs of stopping any time soon. Dermaplaning is easily one of these treatments!
Dermaplaning has rocketed in popularity lately. You might have seen the Instagram videos of face fuzz satisfyingly being scraped away to reveal fresh skin underneath. Itโs said to help improve the appearance of wrinkles, acne and dull skin, as well as acting as an exfoliator – but, what exactly is dermaplaning? And, how do you go about adding it to your treatment list in your beauty salon?
Weโve gathered all the information you need to know as a beautician in our guide to dermaplaning – and caught up with Kirsty from Model Standards to find out how she became a dermaplaning expert in her salon.
What is Dermaplaning?
Essentially, dermaplaning is a high-tech version of shaving your face! To perform a dermaplaning treatment, a sharp surgical scalpel is used to lightly scrape away the top layer of facial hair, peach fuzz (vellus hair) and dead skin cells that can trap oils and dirt.
While you might think taking a sharp scalpel to your clientโs face sounds extreme, it is actually a surprisingly gentle procedure. Unlike chemical exfoliants and facial wax, dermaplaning has a low chance of irritating sensitive skin or causing dryness, and side effects are usually minimal to non-existent.
What are the Benefits of Dermaplaning?
What results can clients expect after a dermaplaning treatment?
Dermaplaning is so popular because it is a relatively quick and straight-forward treatment that can produce beautiful results. Here are some of the benefits that dermaplaning can result in:
- Softer and more radiant skin
- Better penetration of skincare products
- Reduction in the appearance of spots and acne
- Smoother makeup application
- Improving cell turnover in the skin
The extent of these results can vary from client to client and can depend on the existing skin condition. Nevertheless, most of the results should be immediate, painless and require no recovery time – so clientโs can enjoy their glowing skin straight from the salon!
Can All Skin Types Try Dermaplaning?
While most clients are safe to undergo a dermaplaning treatment, there are some skin conditions that should avoid it. While dermaplaning can benefit acne-prone skin, clients with active and cystic acne, or very oily skin, rosacea or extreme sensitivity and hyperpigmentation should be advised against it.
When Should a Dermaplaning Treatment be Carried Out?
The best time to offer clients a dermaplaning treatment is before a facial or other skincare treatment. This is because the skin is perfectly primed to absorb serums, oils and moisturisers to deliver maximum benefits to the skin.
If clients do use strong chemical exfoliants, itโs best to advise them against using them for five days to a week prior to the treatment. Similarly, any other form of facial hair removal such as threading, waxing or shaving should also be stopped around two weeks before the appointment.
You should also recommend to clients that if they do experience a severe acne breakout, rash or any sort of facial wound in the days before their appointment, they should reschedule it until their skin has healed. Similarly, dermaplaning can make the skin more sensitive to sunlight, so if they are planning on going on holiday, advise them to book in at least 2 or 3 days before they go – tanning beds should not be used after a dermaplaning treatment and SPF 30+ should be recommended daily.
What Dermaplaning Tools & Products Do You Need For Your Salon?
Your main new dermaplaning tool at your salon will be your dermaplaning scalpel. You can buy the dermaplaning scalpel handle and blades separately, as each blade will need replacing after every client to ensure proper hygiene. A scalpel blade remover and appropriate disposal box are also essential.
To prepare for the treatment, cleanse first with a gentle cleanser, such as Kaeso Hydrating Cleanser and Kaeso Hydrating Toner. Make sure you have plenty of cotton wool pads on hand to keep the skin and blade clean.
Following the dermaplaning treatment, itโs good to have some face masks available to give your clientsโ skin an extra boost. The Skinmate LED Light Mask is a great upsell, which helps further rejuvenate skin with stimulating red and blue light.
Alternatively, a retinol, collagen or hyaluronic infused sheet mask is perfect for delivering an extra dose of moisture into the skin.
Do You Need Training To Perform Dermaplaning?
While dermaplaning is a relatively short treatment, that doesnโt mean you can pick up a dermablading blade and invite clients into your salon with no training. As you are using a sharp surgical blade, we donโt need to point out how wrong things could go if you donโt know what you are doing!
There are a number of dermaplaning training courses available across the UK. Check with your public liability insurer first to see if they have any specific requirements to be able to cover you for dermaplaning. Most dermaplaning training courses do have prerequisites, such as nationally recognised diplomas in beauty therapy or microblading, or a medical qualification.
Before you sign up to a dermaplaning training course, check the course content is extensive enough to cover all health and safety information. A course accredited by the Beauty Guild is a good sign.
Do You Need a Dermaplaning Consent Form?
You will need to ask clients to sign a consent form before having their treatment done. This ensures they have all the information they need about what is involved during the treatment, the side effects they might experience and what aftercare process they should follow.
Not only does this manage your clientโs expectations and ensure they get the best results, but also gives you some cover if a client does experience a side effect.
Here are some important points to include on your dermaplaning consent form:
- Client name and date of the treatment
- Information on what dermaplaning is
- A guide on what to expect during the treatment
- A list of conditions that the client should disclose before the treatment
- Information on possible side effects
- Recommended aftercare procedure for the client to follow
- Client signature to state they understand the risks and have been fully informed about the procedure
Whatever dermaplaning consent form template you use, make sure it demonstrates that you are following professional guidelines and fully advises the client of everything they need to know about the treatment.
Dermaplaning before and after…
More Advice on Dermaplaning from Model Standards
To help you out even more when it comes to offering dermaplaning at your salon, we spoke to Kirsty Schuman, the owner of Model Standards in Liverpool, about how she trained in dermaplaning, established herself as an expert in her salon and even set up her own training coursesโฆ
Hi Kirsty! Can you give us an introduction to yourself and Model Standards?
Hey! My name is Kirsty Schumann and I am the owner of Model Standards Cosmetics Clinic & Training Academy. Weโre based in Childwall in Liverpool – and everything we do is focused on helping women of the world to discover, build and live out their true inner confidence. There is me and ten amazing girls working there now – and we love it!
How did you gain your expertise in semi-permanent makeup and dermaplaning? What training or qualifications did you carry out?
So I actually started my career as a general beauty therapist. I did Level 2 & 3 Beauty Therapy in college and got a job in a beauty salon in Crosby – which is where I first began doing standard facials, along with other general beauty treatments like nails and eyelashes.
After a little while, I really wanted to begin building my own brand in the industry. I wanted to become a specialist in something that I loved; semi-permanent makeup was the treatment I was initially drawn to.
I saved up as much as I could and trained initially with Dermace, and then did multiple advanced 1-2-1 treatment courses with a handful of other professionals that were doing great things in the industry. I loved doing semi-permanent makeup, and I still do! But I wanted to begin building out the Model Standards offering – and I saw a bubbling demand for advanced skincare treatments, such as dermaplaning. Plus, I have always been obsessed with skincare! So I began my skincare training with Jane Bryan Beauty Training.
Iโve been on a crazy journey of skincare treatment discovery ever since. Iโm always looking at new treatments which might benefit my clients and to this day, I still go on courses every time I think I can learn something new about the skin.
What advice would you give to beauticians who want to be able to offer dermaplaning to their clients?
My advice would be this: start really trying to research dermaplaning and the benefits of the treatment. Really try to understand which clients it is great for and which clients it isnโt great for!
Once youโve done that, find a dermaplaning course which teaches you more than just the treatment. You really want to be somebody knowledgeable that people can trust – so youโll want to find a course which goes deep into the details of how dermaplaning works and where it fits into the ecosystem of skincare. After that, find yourself a trustworthy supplier of dermaplaning products – and get going!
What would you say your most requested beauty treatment is and why do you think this is?
This is a tough one! We get lots and lots of requests – but I think the most requested is our โUltimate Dermaplaningโ treatment. I think the main reason that this is the most requested is because of the amazing immediate result. People can quite literally have dull, dry looking skin with a lot of annoying peach fuzz – then 75 minutes later they have bright, glowy and smooth skin. Makeup application straight after is a breeze!
It is worth saying, however, that quite often the requested treatment isnโt necessarily the treatment that is going to help them most. I think people are sometimes wowed by the instant transformation photos of dermaplaning that they see on Instagram, and so they think that that treatment is going to work best for them.
For example, a client with aggressive, painful acne all over their face probably shouldnโt have a dermaplaning treatment, as this can aggravate the issue. But, they could benefit from a peel of some kind. This is why I think it is very important to really try to understand skin as a whole if youโre looking to further your career in the skincare niche.
How do you make sure you maintain the highest standards for your beauty treatments in your salon?
It is hard at times to keep on top of everything that is going on in the salon whilst Iโm doing my own treatments and training courses. Quality control is obviously a challenge for all business owners, but I just try to keep it simple. I try to only let girls who really love their profession into the business and I try to help them develop their career wherever possible.
Girls who are GENUINELY passionate about building their career will always go the extra mile to make sure theyโre doing a great job. They quality control their own work of every single treatment, every single day, because they want to find success doing what theyโre doing.
What made you want to offer a dermaplaning training programme to help others learn new skills in the beauty industry?
It kind of happened by accident. I didnโt set out to become a training academy, but after a while I was just getting so many requests for 1-2-1 training that I thought it would be silly not to help out where I can.
I also had this burning sensation to create a course which I would have loved to go on. All the courses Iโve been on in the past were missing one thing or another. So, I just thought it would be fun and actually beneficial to the industry if I could create a course which wasnโt missing anything! And so I did it.
Plus, Iโve realised how much I absolutely love training. Itโs so fulfilling to be able to actually help beauticians to change their lives!
How do you think beauty trends have changed over the years?
I think the great thing about the beauty industry is that it is an ever changing landscape.
I do think that one thing that is becoming more and more popular, though, is enhancing our natural features. For example, people are definitely focusing more on improving their natural skin so that they donโt need to cover up as much with makeup, which is where dermaplaning fits in.
I think people today just like the idea of waking up looking & feeling great – so treatments which can help them do that are flourishing!
What is next for your career through 2020 and beyond?
We try not to get too far ahead of ourselves – and we just focus on doing what we can each day.
That being said, I would love to continue building out our training academy so that we can help more & more people to progress their careers in the beauty industry.
This, mixed with a few new treatment creations, sounds like a fun few years for us.
Are you looking for professional dermaplaning supplies for your salon? Shop our full range of beauty products online at Salons Direct for everything you need!
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