You always see lots of negative reviews; but most people wont take the time to write a positive one. This works. I am in my late 30's and have suffered with severe acne since I was 13. When I was 23 I went through Accutane treatments. This brought my acne under control, but never got rid of it. In the last year i began having significant problems and needed to see the Dermatologist again. for the last 7 months i have been on a treatment of Minocin and Stievamycin. This has completely cleared up my skin and i have been "acne free" for 3-4 months. it was time to do something about the years of damage and my MD recommended Fraxel Re-Store. the procedure took approximately 2 1/2 hrs. it was 1 1/2 hrs for the numbing cream to work and then an hour for the procedure. I have heard several people compare the pain to being minor; like a shock. i will tell you it HURTS! perhaps this is because of the level of damage, but i had 8 passes over my entire face at a high level and by the end of it I was coming up off the chair with each pass. That being said, the results show. it has been 4 days and the swelling and redness are down significantly. i am able to go to work and it looks like i spent too much time out in the sun. It itches like crazy, but a good moisturizer helps with the itch. make sure moistureizer is hypo-allergenic and non comedogenic. I have read several others have problems with breaking out after the procedure. i also had a slight breakout of small whiteheads; but i think it was more to do with fluid under the dead top layer of skin. i have been using an antibiotic since the day of the procedure and have not had any more trouble with breakouts. I used pure all natural aloe all over my face constantly for the first two days. do not get an aloe that is green or blue or smells strong. you want a hypo-allergenic aloe with no colors or smell. natural aloe is very good for the skin and wont clog your por.

Pros:

• It works when done by a properly trained physician.

Cons:

• proceduce takes some time (2 1/2 - 3 hrs), 2-3 days that you are not the most presentable. expensive.