Some things people bring to a med spa need a doctor rather than a treatment room. Some things people bring to a med spa are not aesthetic problems and need a doctor rather than a treatment room. See a physician or a dermatologist, not us, if you have a mole or a mark that has changed shape, colour or size, or that bleeds, itches or will not heal; a sore anywhere that has been there more than three weeks; a rash you cannot explain; a patch of skin that is newly numb, hard or ulcerated; sudden hair loss in patches, or hair loss alongside fatigue or weight change; or swelling, heat and spreading redness that could be an infection. And if you have had filler treatment anywhere and the area becomes white or mottled, severely painful, or your vision changes, that is an emergency — telephone us immediately if we treated you, and go to an emergency room if you cannot reach somebody within minutes. We would far rather you rang a doctor and never rang us at all.
The blade is drawn across taut skin at roughly a forty-five degree angle, shaving away the layer of dead cells at the surface along with the fine downy hair that grows on most faces. Nothing penetrates the skin and nothing is injected. The immediate effect is a noticeably smoother surface, a brighter appearance because light reflects evenly off skin without a fuzz of fine hair on it, and considerably better makeup application for a week or two.
It also improves how well everything else works. Products penetrate a surface that has just been exfoliated far better than one covered in dead cells, so dermaplaning is frequently done at the start of a facial or before a light peel rather than on its own. That is not an upsell — it is simply the sensible order to do things in, and the price on this page reflects it either way.
The persistent question deserves a direct answer. Shaving does not change a hair follicle, and it cannot: the follicle is beneath the skin and the blade only touches what is above it. What changes is the tip. An uncut hair tapers to a fine point; a cut one has a blunt end, which feels coarser for a few days as it regrows. The hair is the same colour, the same thickness and the same quantity as it was. This is one of the most durable myths in beauty and it is simply not true.
What it does and does not do
A modest treatment described accurately, which is unusual for this one.
Immediate brightness and smoothness
Real, immediate, and lasting two to three weeks. This is the treatment's genuine appeal and the reason it is booked before events more than anything else here except hydradermabrasion.
Better makeup and better product absorption
Foundation sits on skin rather than on fuzz, and actives penetrate a freshly exfoliated surface much more effectively. Combining it with a facial or a light peel makes both work better.
It does not reach pigment, scarring or lines
It is a surface treatment and it works at the surface. If pigment, texture at depth or scarring is what you want addressed, peels, microneedling or resurfacing are where the money should go, and we will say so rather than sell you a course of these.
It does not remove hair permanently
The hair regrows at its usual rate over two to four weeks, unchanged. Anybody wanting hair reduced rather than shaved is looking at /laser-hair-reduction.html, which is a different treatment with a different mechanism.
The appointment
Quick, comfortable and the easiest thing on this website to fit into a day.
Twenty minutes
Cleanse, dry the skin thoroughly — the skin must be completely dry for the blade to work correctly — then a series of short strokes across the face, avoiding the eyelids and the lips. A soothing treatment and sunscreen to finish.
It does not hurt
It feels like a soft scraping and most people find it oddly pleasant. There is no numbing, no heat and no stinging.
Afterwards
Skin may be slightly pink for an hour. Use sunscreen — freshly exfoliated skin is more sun-sensitive for a few days — and avoid strong acids and retinoids for two days.
Every four to six weeks
Which is the rate skin turns over. More often than that is exfoliating skin that has not yet replaced what was taken, and it can leave the barrier fragile.
Who should not have it
Short list, and one item on it is genuinely important.
Active acne
Drawing a blade across inflamed lesions spreads bacteria and can worsen a breakout. We will treat around a spot or two; we will decline where acne is active and inflamed, and treat the acne first.
Very reactive or compromised skin
Eczema, dermatitis or a barrier that is already damaged by over-exfoliation at home. Removing more surface from skin that has too little is exactly the wrong thing.
Recent treatment or sunburn
Not within two weeks of a peel, resurfacing or microneedling, and not on sunburned skin. Skin needs to have finished healing from one thing before another begins.
Anybody expecting hair reduction
Not a reason to decline, but a reason to have the conversation first. If your real goal is less facial hair rather than better skin, this is the wrong treatment and laser hair reduction is the right one.
Dermaplaning in western Queens
A sterile blade drawn across the skin at an angle removes dead surface cells and fine vellus hair. Skin looks brighter immediately and makeup sits better. It does not make hair grow back thicker.
Every treatment here starts the same way: a full hour at a table in a room with no treatment couch in it, a proper medical history, your skin looked at in daylight, and then a plain statement of what we think would achieve what you described. You are told what it costs, how many sessions it usually takes, how long it lasts, what the recovery looks like and what can go wrong — on paper, to take home and read somewhere other than a treatment room. If the honest answer is a different treatment, or nothing, or a dermatologist, that is what you get instead, and it costs exactly the same.
Aesthetic treatment is elective medicine, and this page is not medical advice for you. Aesthetic treatment is elective, it is medicine wherever it breaks the skin, and nothing on this website is medical advice for you in particular. We do not diagnose disease. Every treatment here begins with a consultation and a medical history, because your health, your medication, your skin type and what you have had done before all change what is safe and what is sensible. Some people are told no. Being told no is a normal outcome of a consultation here rather than a failure of one, and it costs exactly the same as being told yes.
No before-and-after photographs, and no promised outcome. There are no before-and-after photographs on this website and there never will be. Every set you have seen somewhere else was chosen from a much larger pile, and the second picture is usually taken in different light, at a different angle, at a different time of day, often with makeup and frequently after retouching. Even an entirely honest pair shows you what happened to somebody else's face. What we publish instead is what a treatment typically changes, by roughly how much, how long it lasts, how many sessions it usually takes and how often people are disappointed. We do not guarantee an outcome, we cannot, and anybody who does is either guessing or selling.
The risks, plainly. Every treatment on this site has side effects and some carry real risks. The common ones are minor and short-lived — redness, swelling, tenderness, bruising, a day or two of looking like you have had something done. The uncommon ones matter more: burns, blistering and long-lasting pigment change from light-based treatment, which is a greater risk on deeper skin tones and on recently tanned skin; infection anywhere the skin is broken; and lumps, asymmetry and, very rarely, a blocked blood vessel from injectable filler, which is the one true emergency in this field. We screen for what makes each of these more likely, we tell you your own risk rather than the average one, and we decline to treat when the answer should be no.
What a med spa does not treat. We treat the appearance of healthy skin, hair and body. We do not diagnose or treat disease. If you bring us a mole, a changing mark, an unexplained rash, a sore that will not heal, skin that has become hard or numb, psoriasis, eczema, an autoimmune skin condition, or hair loss that came on suddenly or in patches, what you will get is the name of a doctor rather than a treatment plan. Aesthetic treatment applied on top of an undiagnosed skin problem can mask it, delay the diagnosis and occasionally make it worse. We would rather lose the booking.
Questions
Dermaplaning — the questions we are asked most
Will my hair grow back thicker or darker?
No. This is the most persistent myth in beauty and it is not true. The follicle sits beneath the skin and a blade only touches what is above it, so nothing about the hair's colour, thickness or quantity is changed. What changes is the tip: an uncut hair tapers to a point, a cut one has a blunt end, and that feels coarser for a few days as it regrows.
Is it just shaving?
Mechanically it is similar, and the differences matter. A sterile single-use surgical blade is held at a specific angle against taut, completely dry skin by somebody trained to do it, and the aim is removing the layer of dead surface cells rather than removing hair. Doing this at home with a razor is not the same thing and is a good way to nick yourself.
How often can I have it?
Every four to six weeks, which is roughly the rate skin replaces its surface. More frequently than that and you are removing a layer that has not been replaced, which leaves the barrier fragile, sensitive and prone to redness.
Can I have it if I have acne?
Not where acne is active and inflamed — a blade drawn across lesions can spread bacteria and worsen things. Once acne is controlled, dermaplaning is fine and often helpful for the marks left behind. We will look and tell you which of those you are.
Does it hurt?
No. It feels like a soft scraping sensation and most people find it relaxing. There is no numbing, no heat, no stinging and no downtime whatsoever.
Can I have it before an event?
Yes — it is one of the best treatments here for exactly that, since makeup sits considerably better afterwards. Two or three days before is ideal. Do not have your first-ever session on the morning of something important, simply because nobody should have any first treatment on a day that matters.
Related
Often seen alongside this
Skin & Facial Treatments
Medical-Grade Facials
A facial performed by a licensed aesthetician using professional-strength actives, chosen for your skin rather than from a menu. It is treatment rather than pampering, and it is where most people should begin.
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Hydradermabrasion Facial
A device that exfoliates, extracts and applies a serum in the same pass, using water and gentle suction. Reliably good at congestion and dullness, and reliably oversold as something transformative.
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Skin & Facial Treatments
Chemical Peels
An acid applied for a controlled time to shed a controlled depth of skin. Depth is the whole game — a light peel is a lunchtime treatment you repeat, a medium peel is a genuinely peeling week and a real result.
Read moreA written plan and a written price before anything is booked
Book a consultation
Pick a clinician and an hour from the calendar — it shows only the times each of them genuinely has free. A consultation is a full hour at a table with no treatment couch in the room, and it costs $85, or $120 with the medical director. If you go ahead, that comes off your first treatment. If we tell you the answer is nothing, or a dermatologist, it costs exactly the same.