15 Possible Side Effects of Skin Dermabrasion

People, usually woman, are basically never pleased. Even sometimes who already has a beautiful, healthy skin that everyone would dream of having might be trying to improve their looks somehow.

This isn’t wrong at all, but it will become wrong, if we choose any ways that might even be dangerous for ourselves just to achieve something that we want. Skin dermabrasion, for example.

It’s not like it’s  something forbidden or useless, but it’s something we need to take a closer look before decided to give it a shot.

We need to know well what is that, how is it done, what will happen after it’s done, or you can say the benefits and side effects, something you would have to be concerned about.

This article will give you all those, from the definition of skin dermabrasion, how is it done, the benefits you can get, and especially, the side effects that might be waiting for you on the other side.

What is Skin Dermabrasion?

Dermabrasion is a technique or treatment which is done by dermatologist,physician or doctor to make our skin smoother and look younger, especially face. Using rotating device, it exfoliates our skin surface and get rid of any dead cells, discoloration, etc.

This treatment is popular among ladies, for it is affordable and could give solve our face problem quickly.

Why is it Done?

Every skin treatment have their own target, be it for people with oilu skin, people who have wrinkles, and so much more. So does skin dermabrasion. This procedure are great for :

  • Acne scarring
  • Wrinkles
  • Sun damage
  • Uneven skin tone
  • Uneven face surface
  • Skin cancer
  • Tattoos

Read also : Side Effects of Eyebrow Embroidery 

How is it Done?

Before the surgeon even touch your skin, you’ll of course accept a anesthesia first. You might be given an anesthesia that will not put you in your unconscious state, but just making the treated area numbs. You’ll also feel a bit drowsy, awake, but more relaxed. This way, you wouldn’t be able to feel the pain during the surgery.

The surgery itself, has quite a simple procedure. It depends on how big, how severe the scar is. The surgeon will scrape away your skin’s outermost layer, the one that’s need to be treated, of course.

They’ll use rough wire brush or motorized device, also known as dermabrader  to do this scraping process. Then, it’s considered enough once the scar become less visible.


After all the process is done, your scar area will be covered by a moist dressing that will be changed the next day.

Side Effects of Skin Dermabrasion

Just like most beauty treatments, there will be side effects, so do dermabrasion. There are long-term side effects and also short-term side effects. Here are 15 sides effects that can caused by dermabrasion procedure.

  1. Redness

Redness after dermabrasion are normal, usually it will faded in a few hours. To avoid any more damages and speed up your recovery, you need to quickly wash your face after treatments and don’t forget to apply moisturizer after it dries.

Read also : Bad Effects of Dehydration on Your Skin

2. Sensitive to sunlight

This side effect is temporary, but also can be a serious problem. It is recommended for the patient to apply sunscreen before going outside and decrease contact to direct sunlights. When your skin get really excessively sensitive to sunlight, you should go to see a doctor before it gets even worse.

3. Skin color changing

Dermabrasion treatment could even out our skin tone, but it could also get worse. In some cases, there will be brown marks on some parts of face. When it happens, applying tretinoin and hydroquinone cream could help bleach out those brown marks.

4. Enlarged pores

Pores will get bigger due to swollen after treatment, but it will get back to almost it’s normal size after some weeks. You should bear with it and still, treat it gently during the recovering time.

5. Acne breakouts

When it comes to dermabrasion, especially if it’s done around the face area, it will expose our inner skin layer which is more hydrated and sensitive to acne bacteria. This might leave you with tons of acne all around your face, which is something you wouldn’t want to have. Check these 10 Ways on How to Eliminate Acne with Garlic to treat your acne after your recovering phase is done.

6. Scarring

Dermabrasion could leave a scarring. It is rarely happened, but when the procedure done too deep exfoliate your skin, or maybe because it is done by the unprofessional, scarring could happened. In case if it happens, steroid treatments could help smoothen out the scars.

7. Infections

Risk of infections can be found not only in dermabrasion procedure but also in almost every surgery. It could be because of unsanitized surgical tools, unsanitized surgical room, etc. Dermabrasion has higher risk on infections, because this procedure involved our deeper skin layer which is more sensitive. When skin are infected, it will slow down the healing process.

8. Allergic Reactions

Allergic reactions usually happen because of the anesthetics which injected to the patients before the surgery occurred. Some patients may allergic to anesthetics. That’s why it is important to make sure whether patients allergic to anesthetic or not and dermatologist should know if the patients are capable to do this procedure or not.

9. Swelling

Swelling is a common effects which happens immediately after dermabrasion surgery. But don’t worry swelling in face will faded in 2 to 3 weeks. Avoid any activities that could harm your face, such as sports like football, basketball, etc.

Beside dermabrasion, there are also other things that might left you with swelling, such as tetanus shot. For that case, you might try these 20 Ways How to Treat Swelling after Tetanus Shot.

10. Breathing problems

Breathing problem can happen because of anesthesia side effect which injected before the surgery occurred. To prevent breathing problem, move around will help to reduce short-breathing problem risk, because by moving around, it will help you to practice taking a slow deep breath.

Other Effects (11-15)

Here are few other effects that you might be going through after a skin dermabrasio treatment :

  • Burning Feels : This might happen when dermabrasion crystals are rubbed why too hard, so that it will caused some redness and burning feels, or in worse case hyperpigmentation and scars.
  • Yellow liquid : After the treatment is done, there might be a thin layer of yellow liquid on the surface of your skin.
  • Keloid : This can occurs in a patients that has genetic predisposition to scar.
  • Sensitive skin : After doing a treatment, your skin might be easily harmed by the simplest cause. Make sure you didn’t do anything that can scar your skin.
  • Hyperthropic scar : This pinkish scar can develop on the area that’s being treated.

After every treatment is done, be it dermabrasion, or laser, you need to take good care of the treated area to avoid any bad side effects complications. Try out these 35 Proper Ways How to Treat Skin after Laser Treatment to get the maximum benefit after a treatment is done.

Skin is an important part of our body, that’s somehow sensitive and unique. It differs from one to another, even twins would have different types of skin, different skin problems, and also different treatment. Whenever we’re dealing with our skin, we need to be extra cautious.

Although sometimes it will requires our time and energy, or even money, the most important thing that we need to remember is to take a gentle care of our skin, whether naturally or by doing special treatments somewhere.

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Kategori : Skin Health