I hope someone more experienced will give you a definite answer, however, I have the GO but have only practiced with it a couple of times. My understanding is that the mat is not self-healing. The first two times I used mine I had a hard time turning the handle and had the deep cuts you mentioned. The next couple of times I used it it was much easier to turn and the cuts were hardly visible. Like I said, I hope others who have used it long will answer your question.