Dermaplaning vs Microdermabrasion: What's the Difference?

Both treatments exfoliate the skin's surface by physical means — a blade in one case, crystals or a diamond tip in the other — and Cleveland Clinic's descriptions of each separate them on exactly that: the tool.

Dermaplaning uses a blade: the clinic describes a dermatome — a small blade moving back and forth across the skin — that makes no cuts but gently shaves off the top layers of skin and the fine hair with them.

Microdermabrasion is a device treatment, which the same source calls a "power peel": a nonsurgical, nonchemical treatment for superficial problems — its examples are fine lines, dullness, brown spots, mild acne scars and sun damage.

Two device styles do the work: a spray of tiny crystals vacuumed back up, or a diamond-tipped wand that abrades the skin while suction clears the debris.

Hair is the clearest dividing line.

Fine-hair removal is part of Cleveland Clinic's description of dermaplaning, and any hair it removes grows back — the removal is temporary.

Hair is not part of what the clinic describes microdermabrasion doing; its description is exfoliation plus suction.

One namesake to keep straight: surgical dermabrasion.

Cleveland Clinic calls it a more aggressive sanding technique that bleeds, crusts and needs about 7 to 14 days before normal activities — microdermabrasion is the gentle version, with no bleeding and an immediate return to activities.

This page stays on the comparison; the dermaplaning and microdermabrasion guides carry each treatment's full profile, from uses to provider rules.

Dermaplaning's blade is drawn across the skin, moving back and forth, making no cuts and shaving off the top layers.

You may feel a scratching or stinging sensation, but Cleveland Clinic says dermaplaning usually isn't painful; numbing cream may be used, and a session can run from a few minutes to 90 minutes depending on the size of the area.

A lab study offers the closest look at what the blade takes off: researchers working on ex vivo skin in 2023 found dermaplaning removed the stratum corneum — the skin's outermost layer — and parts of the viable epidermis beneath it, and significantly increased how much of a test drug permeated through the treated skin, with results varying between operators.

Microdermabrasion needs no anesthetic.

Cleveland Clinic's list of sensations is scratching, stinging, suction and vibration, and it says the treatment usually isn't painful either; a session takes about 30 to 40 minutes, and skin may be a little red, swollen or sensitive for up to 24 hours.

On the regulatory side, the category FDA labels powered dermabrasion brushes — product code GFE (21 CFR 878.4820), Class I — covers powered dermabrasion and microdermabrasion devices and is exempt from the 510(k) process; that classification was not checked device by device, and an individual machine can carry a different code.

Calling a machine "FDA-approved" gets the regulatory picture wrong: this category sits outside that premarket-review process.

Start with the honest limitation: we found no study in this page's sources that compares dermaplaning and microdermabrasion head to head, and no source ranks one above the other.

What the sources describe is what each treatment is used for and where its ceiling sits.

• Dermaplaning's described uses: dull skin, fine lines, mild acne scars and peach fuzz, with any hair removal temporary because the hair grows back (Cleveland Clinic).
• Microdermabrasion's described targets: superficial problems — fine lines, dullness, brown spots, mild acne scars and sun damage — with results worded as making age spots, enlarged pores and blackheads, fine lines, mild scars, uneven tone, stretch marks and sun damage "less noticeable."
• Fine facial hair: of the two, only dermaplaning's description includes it, and the removal is temporary.

The acne-scar ceiling is worth reading closely, because the two sources this comparison draws on draw it differently.

The American Academy of Dermatology says microdermabrasion won't treat acne scars, though dermatologists use it to even out skin tone alongside other acne-scar treatments.

Cleveland Clinic includes mild — especially acne — scars among what microdermabrasion can make less noticeable, and says dermaplaning may not reduce the appearance of deep or raised acne scars, where more intensive treatments such as laser may be needed.

The evidence is thin on both sides.

A 2011 systematic review found the scientific data behind dermaplaning — studied there alongside topical oxygen and light therapy — was "scarce, anecdotal, and not well documented," despite patient satisfaction.

The sourced wording on microdermabrasion stays modest too: results build over multiple sessions, and the treatment does not stop skin aging.

Which of the two fits a given face is a licensed-provider question — telling surface dullness from something deeper is exactly what an in-person examination is for.

If the peach-fuzz question is your main one, dermaplaning for peach fuzz and facial hair covers it in detail.

Neither treatment has a confirmed national price: our research found no tier-1 or tier-2 national figure for dermaplaning or for microdermabrasion, so the only real numbers are the quotes in front of you.

One number you may meet while comparing is ASPS's $1,829 average for skin resurfacing procedures like dermabrasion — a plastic-surgeon fee for a broad category that includes surgical dermabrasion, not a price for either of these treatments.

The session count is what turns a per-session quote into a total.

Cleveland Clinic describes a typical microdermabrasion course as five to 12 sessions spaced a week or two apart, with monthly treatments after that to help maintain results.

For dermaplaning, no tier-1 or tier-2 source we read states how often it should be repeated — so ask any provider quoting you what schedule they follow and why.

Two parts of the table deserve the longer look.

Cleveland Clinic's recovery window for microdermabrasion is skin that may be red, swollen or sensitive for up to 24 hours, with bruising that can last a few days on the longer downside list; its reasons to contact a provider afterward are treated skin that bleeds, that blisters, or that stays swollen longer than a day or two.

Dermaplaning's named risks are a different list: infection, scarring — including keloid or hypertrophic (raised) scars — and skin discoloration.

Cleveland Clinic also advises discussing the treatment with a provider first if you have active acne, cold sore outbreaks, eczema, psoriasis, moles or skin growths, skin burns or rashes.

Our sources give no rate for any of these risks, so this comparison quotes no percentage.

On combining the two — in one appointment or in a series — we found no published protocol, guideline or controlled study in this page's sources.

There is no sourced answer on what order to book them in, and any sequence a menu sells is that provider's own protocol — not one of the tested protocols in this page's sources.

What the sources do support is the layer both treatments work on.

Microdermabrasion removes only the top layer of skin, per Cleveland Clinic.

The dermaplaning lab study found the blade removes the stratum corneum and parts of the viable epidermis — and, in that study, significantly more of a test drug moved through treated skin afterward.

That is a lab result on one test drug, not a measured outcome in people, and it is one reason aftercare instructions deserve asking about.

Bundling does happen on menus under brand names: Hydrafacial says its Platinum treatment is seven therapies in one, including microdermabrasion-style exfoliation, a gentle peel and a hydration infusion.

When a facial bundles exfoliation steps, the question to ask is which step is doing what — and whether the "microdermabrasion" on the menu is the standalone treatment or a branded echo of it.

If you are weighing both, take three questions to a licensed provider: what each step adds for your skin, what stacking them in one visit involves, and what aftercare the combination requires.

Those are case-by-case calls this page's sources cannot make.

Nothing in the sources crowns a winner; the decision sits on the differences this page has covered.

Of the two, only dermaplaning's description includes fine facial hair.

Of the two, only microdermabrasion has a sourced course length — five to 12 sessions.

And the evidence is thin on both sides, with no head-to-head study.

Which one fits is a licensed-provider question.

Who may hold the blade or the wand has no single answer in this page's sources.

Cleveland Clinic's dermaplaning description lists plastic surgeons, dermatologists and cosmetologists among those who perform it.

The one scope ruling this page verified is a state's, and it reaches dermaplaning: North Carolina's Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners ruled, effective July 25, 2022, that estheticians and cosmetologists may perform dermaplaning and microneedling with a device no deeper than 1 mm.

The state's statutory definition of esthetics also lists devices such as microdermabrasion, microcurrent and LED-type esthetic devices among what estheticians may use, without penetrating beyond the epidermis.

That ruling reversed the board's own 2020 position, which had put dermaplaning outside estheticians' scope; other states' rules differ and were not verified for this page.

"Near you" is the right frame for the booking decision: the only prices this page could confirm are the quotes in front of you, and the one scope rule it verified is a single state's.

Before booking either treatment, the questions worth taking to the consultation:

Take the answers from two or three providers near you and compare them like for like — and when a quote or a claim doesn't match what the sources above say, ask the provider to explain the difference before you book.