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Let’s start with choosing the right blades for dermaplaning men. The shaving blade is a thin, flexible blade that works best when there are 3-4 of them housed in a plastic frame and set at a 35-degree angle. This design works great on coarse beard hair. Try that with a dermaplaning blade and the results will be disappointing. Why? A dermaplaning blade is rigid and designed to remove vellus hair and perform an exfoliation. That’s why we’ve always said “no” to dermaplaning men.

Now for the “yes” part…

Men can be dermaplaned in areas of the face where there is no coarse facial hair growth. Men have vellus hair too and plenty of surface skin cells just lounging around on the face.

When dermaplaning men, remember that men’s skin is different from women’s skin. You knew that? Ok. But do you know what those differences are?

Answer/Explanation: Testosterone, the primary male androgen hormone, helps make men’s skin tougher and thicker—about 25% thicker than women’s, actually.

Answer/Explanation: The deeper layer of your skin called the dermis is about 20% thicker than a woman’s dermis. This is why men and women’s skin appear to age differently. Men’s skin doesn’t tend to develop the fine lines that women get; men are more likely to get the deeper facial expression wrinkles such as laugh and forehead lines.

Answer/Explanation: In all of my research (scholastic, personal, and professional), I have found that it is different for each person. Factors that can affect an individual’s pH include genetics, climate, pollution, products used, age, and stress. So, for now, skin pH isn’t something we can generalize as it is unique to each person.

Answer/Explanation: After puberty, sebum (oil) production in men’s skin is greater, roughly double, than that of women’s due to androgen secretions. In addition to a higher likelihood of having more and larger pores, men are more prone to having oilier skin and acne than women.

Answer/Explanation: Yes, men have a higher collagen density in their skin, again, thanks to androgen. Also, collagen loss for men happens at a fairly consistent rate, which adds to the appearance of slower-aging skin than women.

Answer/Explanation: Men have both terminal and vellus facial hair.

Answers below.

True 1, 4, 5

False 2, 3, 6

Do not dermaplane over coarse beard hair no matter how close he’s shaved. (We’ve tried. It was very uncomfortable for our models). I know you’ll do it anyway, just to prove me wrong. I’m ok with that – just make sure your model is, too.

In addition, you also have to consider other factors such as different facial hair/hairline patterns and how best to approach those.

You’ll need two forms of exfoliation. One for the lower half of the face (beard area) and dermaplaning for the upper half of the face. Options for the lower half include: microdermabrasion, scrub, enzyme, and HydraFacial.

Don’t dermaplane into the abyss of a deep expression line. Go across for safety; so your blade is never parallel to the expression line. Your angle will be off when coming up the other side increasing the risk of injury.

Men of all ages are increasingly getting more proactive with their skincare, including asking for dermaplaning treatments. This could be a new or growing source of clientele for you, so be sure you’re confident in how to modify your approach when dermaplaning men as well as advertising this service. This is a rapidly growing demographic in the skincare industry and should definitely be part of your bookings, especially in areas where skin treatments for men is an underserved market.

DermplanePro offers a course on dermaplaning men. Watch our demonstration video, get tips and techniques, and learn how to deal with facial hair and hairlines on the Norwood scale. You need to be DermaplanePro-certified to take this course, but you can easily add it to your cart if you are signing up for our main certification course as well.

Happy dermaplaning