I am a 24 yr old white female. I had 4 sessions of fraxel restore at $500 each (gradual intensity). A few years ago I did accutane and it really cleared up my face, however, I still have rolling acne scars on my cheeks. I decided to try the fraxel restore. The pain was pretty bad but bearable and it only took the doctor about 15 minutes to complete the procedure (I only got my cheeks done). My cheeks are puffy and red and little to no discomfort is felt after the procedure. They stay red for about 4-5 days and in that time my skin looks and feels great!! However, a couple weeks later and it looks exactly the same. I am pretty frustrated. My doctor thinks I should have two more sessions but I am not convinced. Thinking about trying the fraxel repair but after reading some of the reviews on here, yikes!! Bottom Line: I would not recommend the fraxel restore for acne scarring

Going to the "best" meant nothing for me and other patients of the same practice/doctors. These are permanent consequences. This is more risky than effective. I have more damage than when I went in and I would trade those mild acne scars in a second to prevent the devastation this laser caused. It was the only face/skin "procedure" I'd ever done or will do again. Once (on moderate settings) was enough to destroy my skin's elasticity, integrity, volume, color, texture, health and luminosity, etc. Be careful of reviews that rave about this when they are only a few weeks/months out. When they are 1-2 years post-procedure, then their reviews have more validity. Try deep fillers to spread out and stretch your skin if you have acne scars before trying lasers. This is what they'll recommend when the laser does not work anyway. And fillers done correctly ARE effective at reducing the look of acne scars. They'll create volume under the skin and smooth out the surface similar to if you were to pull your skin in opposite directions to stretch the skin. Lasers can and frequently do have permanent consequences. Temporary benefits are not worth the risks.

I had one session of fraxel repair plus CO2 laser on deeper indented areas.I read alot of reviews and did my research for a few months before deciding on this.So Do your research and choose a doctor who has proven results and that you are confident with. I did and it made all the difference. I thought id share my review as ive benefited so much reading reviews. some built my confidence and some reviews really scared me. I feel when it comes to our face and we have practically tried everything we are desperate for hope (i was) that we become so weary and careful its almost a phobia when we hear neg reviews on laser. i justkept in mind every case is diff and everyone responds differently to any treatment. thats what prompted me do my research for an experienced doctor i trusted. So heres my share of fraxel!

im asian and I have fair skin , was on accutane for 5 months and a year and 2 months later i did fraxel to rid the acne scars from the cystic acne i had.

During procedure

1) Numbing cream for an hour. I also had anesthethics injected on the areas that were to be treated with CO2 , these were the indented areas.

started with fraxel all over my face and then C02 for the deeper areas.

everyones pain threshold is diff and I read alot reviews rating it from 2 to 3/5 and i think my rating too is the same. its bearable and i kept my mind positive cos what is more painful is living my life so self conscious lookin at the pavement to avoid glances with prominent scars.

Post fraxel treatment :

1) always stay positive

2)stay hydrated

3)stock up on some soup cause when you are swollen and your skin is tight on the first 2-3 days,stretching your mouth wide open is not as comfortable for me personally.

4) Gently Ice your swelled areas with an ice pack wrapped in a towel.

5) Take a couple of days off work. I took a total of 10 days to be able to go out scab free.

Results

I am still red on certain areas , iv

I don't understand why people dont say it works... maybe you need to ask to put it on the highest setting. Well I had two done so far and she said by the third my red marks will be completely gone and then I will prolly need two more for my indented scars. They will never be back to normal but the improvement will be worth it. Maybe people with darker skin it won't work as well for cause they can't put it on too high of a setting?? I'm extremely pale & I have a ton of sun damage living in FL since 16 ...now 23. The cost is $850 full face & $450 just cheeks

Hi Guys,

I have a lot of scars on my face some are small, some deep. I can confidentially say I have almost every type of acne scar on my face and my scarring is severe. Also, I am a Indian from India and have Brown skin color.

I read the post from anonymous from Washington here and felt a little confident about this treatment even though everyone else says only Repair would work for Acne Scars, but still I got FRAXEL RESTORE done. Anonymous from Washington is right in a way it looks like the treatment has worked on the fourth day but 2 weeks later your face looks exactly like it was before without any changes. I had taken note of the lightest scars on my face to see if this treatment made nay change on any of them and the answer is absolutely no. It made no changes to any part of my face. I have taken photos of my face using iPhone from different angles before and after the treatment and believe me there is no difference. I know they recommend 5 treatments but I was expecting to see some change even if it was 5% but sadly it is 0% change.

I am not trying to discourage you but it is the truth this treatment is just not effective for Acne Scars. For those of you are Caucasians you are lucky that you can get FRAXEL REPAIR done which I have heard can be effective for Acne Scars but only after 4 Treatments yes even for REPAIR (ablative CO2) you can need 4 treatments.

Bottom line this treatment is completely and absolutely a waste of money. The doctor only recommended I go with it to see how my skin reacts to it. Now that he knows it has healed well we may proceed with REPAIR.

I wish you all good luck and hope only people who have had this particular treatment FRAXEL RESTORE post their comments here.

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

I suffered from heavy acne as a teenager. I used Proactiv which did nothing and also I picked at my acne which probably resulted in the scarring I have now. Eventually I went on Doxyciline and traditional creams prescribed by a dermatologist but the damage was done. While the scarring is light, it is noticeable around my cheeks, nose and lower forehead (in which I also have big pores and oily skin).

I paid for a treatment of four procedures which is heavy ($3900 with a free hydrating peel & some travel exfoliating kit), but I've always been a little self-conscious about my scarring and wanted to get something done. The laser is virtually painless, especially if you have a a good pain tolerance and the doctor gets to you right at the peak of the numbing cream. Getting a tattoo feels worst. My doctor was very attentive and took her time. She did do several passes in certain areas as designated by the laser guide (which I read a little about) so I do not know why one of the reviewer's treatments took 5 minutes.

Afterwards, my face was red for approximately a week...however, it did get better as each day went by. About three days after the procedure my skin was flaking off like a sunburn and by one week after the procedure it was done and I noticed a difference already. I'm so happy I'm getting this done as the results are amazing!

While I want to go for the next 2 treatments, I am wondering if it'd be worth spending the add'l $1200+. The clinic, for some odd reason, won't let me talk to the doctor over the phone to get my questions answered. They wouldn't explain why the first procedure was barely 5 minutes long and insist on me making another appointment, so that makes me wonder.

Again...I am very optimistic. I am glad I went through the procedure, at this point. My face is starting to itch, so I know the healing process is well on its way. I will be sure to log back on in about a week to give an update.

NO PAIN, NO BEAUTY. If you are searching for major improvements on your skin, then you will go for at least three fraxel laser treatments. Not only it will requires you to be fiancially flexible but there is also downtime to recover from the treatment. Make sure to search for a clinic that gives you some pills to tolerate the pain.