Don't do it! it may seem like it works at first but after 6 months your face becomes a mess.

I only got it done on my cheeks and you can see the difference from my skin before fraxel and its SO much better. And its funny because I ONLY breakout where I got fraxel done..... I regret it. At first it seemed like it worked but after a month I started getting real bad cystic breakouts. PLEASE DON'T do it, its not worth it!

I highly reccommend it.

I had Sciton Profractional laser done to my cheeks for mild acne scarring. Before this I was just using lemon juice to take care of my scars and it worked so much better. If I could only turn back the hands of time.

Please really think about having this procedure done. A dermatologist performed this procedure and it ruined my skin. It is serious surgery. It destroys all your good collagen and replaces it with weaker scar tissue. I am 33 and am considering getting a fat graft. Before this I only had to worry about acne scars that only very few people notice. Now I am battling skin discoloration, more severe acne, scarring and textural changes, rapid aging and depression.

i had two pro fractional treatments. the first one went well, I was really happy with the results on near my temple where i had the most scarring (boxcar), shallow, less than 1 mm. I thought that I would do this 1x/ year to rebuild collagen and as anti aging precaution as well as a scar treatment - last time the doc was much more aggressive only this time i have track marks, my formerly healthy skin has permanent track marks and almost every big pimple leaves a bad indented scar probably because my collagen structure was altered. I had some breakouts when I did the treatment because the dermatologist said it was just slight, no problem - well - it was IMO more than slight and my advice to you is don't do it unless your skin is clear. also don't do it unless you plan for your skin to continue to be clear. In hindsight I regret going an almost uniform depth on my whole face including the perfect skin. I would say if possible only treat the areas that really require it and don't have a treatment that is too aggressive. Since i now have WAY MORE SCARS than before over more of my face, I'll probably do another laser treatment at some point - however I will prefer to only treat the scars, as lightly as possible and only when my skin is totally under control. Right now I'm still trying to get pregnant and I have PCOS which causes mild to moderate hormonal acne all the time so I can only use AHA and BHA - nothing else so... hence I have to tolerate these breakouts which are scarring my face..........I would not subject pretty nice, healthy skin to this treatment. It will stress that skin. It stands to reason, after pro fractional your face will be all bloody. I think also that age might matter. Probably younger skin with lots of collagen and or fat and that heals really well does better with this.

I had photosensitive reaction. I broke out badly and now have a scarred face

If I read these reviews before I had my Pro-Fractional laser operation - I don't think I ever would have gone through with it...

It is not THAT BAD you guys. It all depends on what the doctor is working with. I am a 21 year old female who has had a history of persistently light-moderate acne - depending on what time of the month it is. I had a problem with some superficial dents on my cheeks and really just wanted my skin to look like a 12 year olds. If I had baby skin and a few pimples I could live with that.

Procedure was PAINLESS ok.. PAINLESS!!!! My doctor performed at 11% and 200 microns with Licodine numbing cream before hand and the procedure lasted about 10-15min. It was uncomfortable around my eyes and chin but I would not say it was painful - more irritating than anything and I have NO tolerance to pain. If i get a papercut I will cry all day from my low pain tolerance and neurosis.

I did not bleed - I had about 10 dots of blood that you could not notice unless you were right up to my face.

48 hours later I washed my face and was mortified by my breakout and uneven skin texture/tone but the next morning it was 40% better with 70% of the new breakouts gone. This is a procedure you really have to wait on - be realistic. They are not burning off everything in sight - they are creating 1000's of microscopic pinholes in your skin. You wanted fast healing? Well your going to have to wait for the results.

In three weeks I am getting another one done at 300 microns. I definitely think everyone should stop reading all these negative comments and think for themselves. My choice was a very fast one, I had read about the laser, and in 48 hours I was at the dermatologists. Best choice I have made for my skin in a long time

I am quite surprised to see that so many people have negative experiences with this.

I have done this 3 times now. I have acne scars but no fresh acne. About 3 years ago, I did one round of FCO followed by a lighter round about 2 months later to further stimulate the collagen growth. I definitely saw improvements over the next few months/years. Smaller scars has disappeared while the larger/deeper ones looked shallower. I did not realise how much my skin had improved until I saw my "before" photos from 3 years ago. That was enough for me to go ahead and do it again a 3rd time.

So far, it has been 1.5 weeks since I had my 3rd round. The effect it has had on my remaining scars was above my expectations. I am still a little pink from it but the healing seems to be complete. With a bit of light makeup, it is almost as though I have never had any scars.

The first time around, I did my research based on the procedure itself (how it works, what to expect, how to take care, etc) but not so much on reviews and feedback. I have only just seen these reviews so it is a little surprising. If I had seen this earlier, I might never have dared to attempt the procedure.

I guess the effect really depends on your skin type, the care taken by the dermatologist and also the after-care. All I can say is make sure you have a qualified and creditable dermatologist to carry out the procedure. If you happen to have extremely sensitive skin, you may want to reconsider going through with it as it may not be suitable for your skin. If you are still having active acne, you may want to ask for oral antibiotics to suppress it as the laser treatment stimulates the skin and may cause fresh breakouts. From days 1 - 5, it is quite normal to see "additional" scars, redness, peeling, crusting (you name it!). I will admit that it is really scary. I call it the "toast bread" look. But it is only temporary. It will get better when your skin heals.

I think it is def

I just wish to share my experience on the Co2 Fractional Laser (SmartXide). Was initially very afraid because of all the negative reviews I saw here, but decided to go ahead anyway because if you never try, you never know.

It's been a week and a half since my treatment and I am so happy I went for this.

A little background - I am 23, Chinese, fair skin and have mild scarring (about 10 small ice-pick scars and a few boxcar scars).

I asked my doctor before treatment what are the possible risks and he told me the main risk is hyperpigmentation. This doesn't happen to all people, just some. I shared with him about what some people say here about more scars, visible pin-pricks and grid marks from the laser even weeks after their treatment. He said this is because the settings of the laser were set too high by the doctor.

If you are really concerned, just ask your doctor for possible risks, and ask him to give you a light setting for your first treatment. A 9-12mj will give you downtime for 3-5 days. I did a 17mj treatment which was enough for me. I think some doctors will agree to doing a test patch behind your ear, you can try it.

Anyway I think I healed well because I really avoided the sun and makeup completely for 7 days. I just remained indoors and took a lot of water, vitamins, fruits, and rested a great deal.

The pain is also bearable, as long as the doctor gives you numbing cream during the treatment. After that, just stay in a cold room and you will be pretty comfortable. On the night of treatment, it stung a bit when I washed my face before bed. Day 2 onwards, there was no pain, just a rough skin texture from the laser damage. I started peeling on the 4-5 day by little small dots.

I think the key is to find a doctor you trust and who understands your concerns. I'm happy I did.

Don't be afraid to try especially if scars have been affecting your life and confidence!!!

Fractional Erbium Laser:

I'm not going to write a review bashing or blaming lasers like a lot of people on here have done. It's my own fault for not taking care of my acne before it caused damage to my skin. However, I will say that I haven't seen too much improvement. I underwent a free trial on a new prototype laser and was very optimistic since my doctor seemed very high on it. I'm suppose to have another free treatment shortly but I'm going to pass.

I heard that Co2 lasers are the only ones that will give improvement to scars but this was suppose to penetrate as deep while being safer. I took about a million before and after pictures and I'm not quite sure if the laser caused any new damage, I am positive though that it didn't help and I do regret receiving treatment. I definitely have blotches of red patches that were not there before. So I don't think I would fare too well with a Co2 laser like Fraxel Repair.

I just would advise anyone to do research and be 100% sure this or any procedure is what they truly want. I scoured the internet non stop for about two weeks but did feel rushed into it since it was free. I still do trust my doctor and the practice since they are very kind and only want to help. I just haven't seen the benefits. Who knows, I was told collagen production takes awhile and it would take 3 months to see it's full effect.

Just hoping that one day they will perfect stem cells or some treatment so we can all fix our damaged skin. Good luck to anyone who undergoes any treatment and sorry about the lengthy review.

I, too, became a sucker.

I had read the negative reviews and was worried about this procedure but I trusted the dermatologist when she said "how can you believe people on the internet more than me, a board certified doctor?"

Well, what I should've realized was that, wherever there is money involved, you have to be suspicious. The people writing the bad reviews online are brave enough to share their stories and caring enough to want to warn others of the risks that doctors will not tell you.

After this, I can never trust any doctor again because the truth is, their clinics and practices have become money-making machines and they don't really care about their patients anymore.

Anyways, I had one treatment of CO2 fractional laser over 21 months ago and the damage is still surfacing more and more. My skin looked ok for the first 2-3 months but that's when the redness and hyperpigmentation showed up and never went away.

Then the fat loss (this may not seem like a big deal but it is, trust me, I took the fat in my face for granted. Losing it has altered the structure of my face so that I don't even recognize the person I see in the mirror anymore). It is severely depressing to lose your face. I know this sounds outrageous, but others out there who had this procedure can attest to what I'm talking about.

The skin texture has become dry, leathery and has so many shallow pits in it, it resembles the skin of an orange. To get a good idea of what your skin will look like, long term, go find an orange and consider whether you'd like that as your skin.

Also, my skin's become so sensitive, I can't go outside without a hat, staying in the shade and SPF 70 sunscreen. Also, being only 25, but with the laser induced wrinkles and lines, I look like I'm at least 40. My 60 year old mother and father have better skin than I do.

The bottom line is, don't put any kind of lasers to your face. No matter the condition of