When I was asked to go under the knife in the name of beauty, I was quite simply, appalled.
"Surely at age 25 I'm not ready for all that jiggery pokery yet?" I raged internally. But it turns out 'going under the knife' doesn't always mean blood and defined Kardashian-esque cheekbones - enter Dermaplaning.
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Available in the clinical facial industry for some time now, the treatment is becoming more popular as a form of hair removal as it not only exfoliates; it also removes the fine vellus hair (peach fuzz) on your face many of us struggle with.
Hair removal disguised as a facial? Sign me up.
The treatment is meant to improve skincare absorption and create smoother makeup application, all in a quick half hour-ish treatment. You can even get it done in your lunch break - no recovery time required.
I was a bit nervous headed to my first even Dermaplaning appointment at OFF&ON in Newmarket. But these ladies had seen me thought a lot of firsts - including my first full Brazilian wax at the grand age of 24 - so I knew I was in safe hands.
The lovely, bubbly Claire took me through the prep, which included a safety checklist - no retinols in the last week, no active products, and no allergies to speak of. Tick, tick and tick.
"This is my favourite thing to do," Claire told me, revealing she Dermaplanes her own face in her bathroom (Don't do it at home readers - she's a professional.) That made me feel much better, and I settled into the facial part of it like a pig in muck. I even got the old hot flannel cleanse - as we all know, the best feeling in the world.
Before long, Claire was pulling out the scalpel, and it was business time.
"We probably shouldn't talk now. Raise your hand if you want to say something," she told me, which really hammered home the lethal nature of the tool in front of my nose.
The sensation was actually not unpleasant; little scratches at my face like a very soft fingernail. A baby scratching me, perhaps (weird).
All the while, Claire told me where she was going but it was ticklier than anything else. Afterwards she rubbed some tingly acid-formula in to get anything that might have collected on the surface. "Feel how the dead skin is kind of bobbling on top?" she asked me, and I've never felt more beautiful.
Afterwards, I couldn't stop touching my own smooth face, which was probably unhygienic, but felt amazing. My skin was actual butter - I think I'm a Dermaplaning convert.
And LOOK at all this crap that came off my skin!!
You can even step out to a drink or dinner afterwards; it's so non-invasive the team have some makeup they can pop on over the top.
It's all wins - but will my hair grow back thicker and darker than ever?
Apparently not, according to OFF&ON founder Nicky Shore.
"Your facial hair doesn't grow back thicker or darker which is a common dermaplaning misconception," she says.
"The hair is simply cut where it meets the surface of the skin and it will simply grow back as it was, you can undertake the treatment with confidence.
"For the best on-going results, we recommend it's repeated every 4-6 weeks but it's also great as a one-off ahead of special events."
If you feel self-conscious about your facial hair, I would implore you to give it a go. It's non-invasive, non-painful and solves the issue for those that are not candidates for other hair removal methods.
Get it girls! (And softly facial haired gentlemen I guess.)
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