9 Downsides of Popular Beauty Procedures We’d Better Be Aware of

Almost all modern beauty procedures have their downsides, which no one tells us about. So we may only realize the danger of advertised services through our own sad experience. If this is the case, it’s definitely better to learn from the mistakes of others than from our own. And nowadays it’s really easy to do: just open a browser and search for a beauty procedure you’re interested in.

At Bright Side, we decided to focus not on the optimistic promises of marketeers, but on the real experience of internet users from all over the world. We put together a list of procedures that have downsides beauty salons prefer to stay silent about.

Chemical peeling

The purpose of any peeling is to refresh and rejuvenate skin. This can be done with chemicals or with all kinds of brushes and scrubs. The procedure is painful and has a number of consequences.

• Excessive exfoliation can lead to redness, irritation, and an overall deterioration of the skin’s condition.
• Sebaceous glands in the skin secrete an oily or waxy matter, called sebum, which is necessary for hydration and protection. Without this protective layer, the skin is exposed to aggressive environmental influences. As a result, it can crack, peel off, or lose elasticity.
• Every skin type needs a different exfoliation method. Any violation of the recommendations can cause inflammation and rashes.

• A couple of weeks ago I over-exfoliated and all of my soothing products burned and hurt. I actually had to go without products for 2-3 days. After that, I was able to start using gentle serums and lotions. © bluishcatbag / Reddit
• I had a chemical peel on my face. I felt like my face was burnt for 2 hours. © country_mayor / Twitter

Laser hair removal

Laser hair removal technicians promise that you will completely get rid of unwanted hair and that your skin will become smooth and soft. In fact, the effect is often the opposite. Here’s what you should keep in mind before making an appointment at a salon.

• The laser destroys hair follicles that are in the active growth stage. In response, the body tries to replace them and stimulates the growth of new ones that were previously in a dormant state. So it’s impossible to get rid of all the hair with just one procedure.
• The bikini and upper lip areas require different laser settings. For example, thick hair can completely disappear after 4 to 5 visits, while thin hairs require more time: they are paradoxically harder to clear with laser hair removal. However, sometimes salon personnel deliberately ignore this fact to increase the number of sessions.
• In most cases, the best advice for those about to undergo laser hair treatment is to avoid sunbathing, before and after the treatment, and to limit their sun exposure as much as possible. Not only will this keep the hair removal as efficient as possible, but it will also protect you from getting burned. So, you shouldn’t get this procedure before vacation.

• I got 3 sessions of laser hair removal on my legs and armpits. My upper legs and armpits feel fine, but 4 weeks after my last session, my calves and shins felt itchy and irritated most of the day. I had huge welts right after the session but thankfully those went away. I can’t wear pants or long skirts anymore because they feel like sandpaper. © gottahavemorebarbell / Reddit

Lamination of eyebrows and eyelashes

Eyelash and eyebrow lamination is often described as a nourishing, restorative, or healing procedure. But in fact, its only function is long-term styling. And it won’t be suitable for everyone.

• It makes sense to do lamination if a person has unruly, flat, or downward growing hairs that require daily styling. In other cases, this procedure is almost useless.
• During lamination, chemical solutions are applied to the eyebrows. If you have sensitive skin prone to allergic reactions, it’s best to do a test first.
• At the time of lamination, hairs are at different stages of growth. After a few days, some of the old laminated hairs will fall out and new ones will grow in the previous direction. Sometimes this is not very noticeable, but in some cases it becomes visible.

• Eyebrow lamination is complete nonsense. The chemicals are gone, and my eyebrows are curly now. Is this even possible? They just stick out at right angles to my forehead. © _divuchenko / Twitter
• Oh, ladies, I did lamination of my eyebrows, and now they live their own life: every time I touch them, they begin to stick in different directions. Only fixing gel saves the situation, but not much. I don’t recommend this procedure. © skate_mos / Twitter
• About 2 years ago, I decided to have a fashionable brow lamination: they comb your eyebrows up, cover them with a chemical, so hairs remain in this state. I have thin eyebrows. I thought that they would comb them for me, give them a shape and that they would be beautiful. No. When the procedure was over and I saw myself in the mirror, I just laughed. They looked so strange and comical. Just eyebrows sticking upward. I was glad that it was nighttime and no one would see me with these wolf eyebrows.

Tattoo removal

The laser beam penetrates the skin and breaks down the pigment particles. This doesn’t happen immediately. The necessary number of sessions depends on many factors, like ink color, skin type, etc. Since the interval between procedures should be at least 1.5–2 months, complete laser tattoo removal can take a couple of years. It’s believed that the laser is the safest and most painless way to remove an annoying tattoo. But it’s actually not that simple.

• Toxic substances that are formed during the breakdown of pigments are not always completely eliminated from the body. They can accumulate and cause allergic reactions.
• If the laser settings don’t correspond to the type of skin and the type of pigments being removed (and very few of us know which pigments were used in our tattoo), there is a high risk of scars and even infection. Added to that, some colors might not be removed.
• After laser tattoo removal, lighter areas may remain on the skin, because the laser affects not only the paint but also the pigments of the skin.

• I got a tattoo and almost immediately regretted it: the drawing turned out to be completely different from what I’d imagined it to be. As a result, I decided to remove it with a laser, but it turned out to be useless. Despite the fact that the tattoo had thin lines, it only became slightly lighter after a few sessions. I wasted money for nothing.

Microcurrent facial

They say a microcurrent facial can smooth out your wrinkles, tighten the skin of the face, remove puffiness, and eliminate bags under the eyes. Microcurrents penetrate deep into the skin, tone the facial muscles, and stimulate collagen production. After hearing this, all you want to do is immediately surrender into someone’s caring hands and doze off with a blissful smile to the quiet crackling of electrodes. These are the expectations. Now the reality.

• This procedure is quite expensive and has to be repeated every 4 weeks for the best effect.
• After applying microcurrents, you need to take special care of your skin: use only delicate products, and also constantly moisturize your face with serums and creams.

• I was scrolling down the feed on my social networks and accidentally stumbled upon one beautician. The photos of her work in her profile were just amazing, she had a lot of certificates and seemed trustworthy. I went to her to correct my jawline. She recommended that I do a course of microcurrent facials for the lymphatic drainage effect, meaning she would remove excess liquid from my face, and then would think about what to do further. Well, I agreed. The very first procedure made me doubt her qualifications. At first, she made me do some kind of a peel without asking if I needed one. She said that the effect would be more noticeable. Then she connected those microcurrents. It was unpleasant and sometimes painful. After I was already at home, I read about the procedure and realized that it shouldn’t be this way. In the evening, my skin began to burn, got covered with red spots, and became swollen around my eyes. By morning it only got worse. I immediately went to the hospital to see a dermatologist, where I was diagnosed with some kind of dermatitis. In fact, this lady just burned my skin in some places.

Keratin straightening

Keratin hair straightening has been very popular for several years now. This procedure allows you to make your hair perfectly smooth and forget about flat ironing for a long time. However, it also has its downsides.

• Multiple repetitions of this procedure can lead to allergic reactions, irritation, or flaking of the scalp.
• This procedure is recommended only for women with thick hair, since the components used in keratin straightening are quite aggressive. They can cause brittle hair and split ends.

• You should do keratin straightening at least once in a lifetime and then never do it again. © yourdreamproj / Twitter
• You should wash your hair with a special shampoo afterward. The effect only lasts for a couple of weeks. © kirilltitov_com / Twitter

Face gymnastics

Face gymnastics is a workout for facial muscles, which tones them up and, as a result, reduces wrinkles and all sorts of sagging. It sounds logical, but there are a few significant objections.

• It’s very important to do the exercises correctly because otherwise there is a risk that face gymnastics will only add more wrinkles to your face.
• Muscles need a long time to tone up, and, of course, the effect of the gymnastics will not be visible immediately.

• Following my beautician’s recommendation, I began to do face gymnastics. Wow! I didn’t know that there were muscles there and that they could ache. © love__uuu / Twitter

Multimasking

Multimasking has been in trend for several years now. In a way, this is really convenient. As you know, the skin on the face has areas with different problems, and applying different masks to each zone, as a rule, helps to improve the overall appearance of the facial skin. But don’t forget the following.

• Before experimenting, it’s necessary to diagnose the skin. The wrong choice of masks can cause dryness, clogged pores, and even pain.
• You need to keep track of how much time you spend with any mask on your face. This is especially true for masks with dry ingredients, like clay or acids. Leaving them on your face for too long can do more harm than good to your skin.

• I’ve tried it a couple of times with my large collection of clay masks, with mixed results. On the one hand, when I get it right, it’s awesome. My T-zone gets the benefits of an oil reducing mask, my chin enjoys a nice anti-inflammatory mask, and my cheeks get a comforting rose clay mask. However, I tend to run into issues with application — depending on the masks that I use, by the time that I’ve applied all 3 masks (which takes longer, because you have to be slower when you are careful), it tends to almost be time to wash one off. © OfSquidAndSteel / Reddit

Gua sha

Each person who has ever tried a real Gua sha at least once will never believe the beautiful pictures with jade and rose quartz scrapers again. “Gua sha” means “scrape” and “sand.” This explains the appearance of small red spots under the skin after the treatment.

• This procedure is quite harsh, since the scraper almost always damages the skin, leaving scratches on it.
• The negative side effects of Gua sha include dermatitis, abrasions, and other injuries.

• I went to a Gua sha treatment. My back was covered with bruises afterward as if I were beaten with a whip. In the process of the treatment, my masseur was saying in a low voice that I was doing great. © Veronika_asya / Twitter
• I decided to do a spa evening: hair masks, exfoliation, facials, Gua sha. 30 minutes later, I was sitting and crying. My face got swollen, and my skin burned from the salt. © tanyasamcova / Twitter
• It is more painful afterward, compared to when it is actually happening. It leaves ugly red scrapes down your back for a week or so. For that week or so, showering can be painful, you can’t apply sunscreen or any sort of cream to your back. Any contact other than your clothes is going to set your nerves tingling. © Chris Edwards / Quora

Have you ever had a bad experience at a spa or a beauty salon? Tell us about it in the comments below.