I have had cystic acne since I was 13 and been on every antibiotic that they make. I currently have sun damage, acne, small pits, and acne scars. I can cover up most of it with makeup but am so tired of taking all the meds and spending money on the creams and gels that I have to apply twice a day. I am seeking out the IPL laser and Fraxel treatments. Two years ago I had two done and it was temporary but I did get some help but it was expensive and I could not continue the treatments. Now I can afford them and am going to persue them again.

HEllo, I never had acne untill into my early 20's and then my skin just blew up with acne. It got so bad one whole side of my face looked swollen. I ended up getting 2 laser peels and spent 6,000 dollars! At first while my face was still very red my skin looked great but after about a week I could start to see the scar's again. I was very upset! I have spent years trying to cover my face with my hair because of I felt so ugly! I went to one of the best doctors here in Indiana and afterwards I found out you are suppose to be on some kind of skin treatment before and after the laser. Well he did not put me on either one and after the second treatment I called him many times to tell him I was very upset about the results and of course he never called back. Now I have no more money to spend on treatments and am trying to find some kind of cream that works. Does anyone know of a treatment out there that wont break the bank?

Like many of the testmonials, I have tried many, many things over the years for my acne scarring. I had fraxel lasering, 4 treatments, about seven months ago. Was very painful and did not help in the least. In fact I noticed that I now have more scarring, really odd shaped, on my cheeks. I am noww out of three thousand dollars, and more scarred. I am very upset with results and I'm seeking at least reimbursment, if not more fore additional scarring. be careful out there. They are alot of Dermatologist who go to a couple of classes on a neww laser, and think that they are experts.

I don't have ice pick scars but lots of areas of damaged skin because I started getting pimples when I was 20 and picked at my skin all the time. i am now 21 and have managed to damage my skin in one year. 4 months ago I had a laser treatment at Scheibner Centre in sydney. Dr Scheibner is famous for her unique lasers, it is hard to explain but she users a needle around the edge of the scars and the goes over the skin with a laser. This treatment is not like Co2 laser as it is to help the scars heal themselves. I had a down time of three days however it can be up to 9 months before you see any improvements. I am going back to Sydney for another treatment soon.

I just got home from my first Fraxel treatment. I have deep lines on both the corners of my mouth, and have very untextured skin below my chin (from acne scarring). I feel like I am about to cry. I got home and the lines look deeper than they did before I got there. I made it a point to tell the doctor performing the procedure, that I wanted EXTREME focus on the corners of my mouth. It seemed like she passed More over all other places of my face, and only hit that area after me telling her "um, can you please do that area!!" Anyhow, I am so depressed and the lines are so much deeper. I don't know if this is normal and just a preparation to the lines healing and getting better. But right now, I am extremely pissed off and out $1000 !!!!

I had Vbeam treatment ($300) done on my face for broken veins and redness one month ago. It did improve the look of my skin very nicely after the initial red face. Encouraged by the result and wanted to target a persistent acne (i am 39 now and suffering from cystic acne since my early 20's) I did again a session combining Vbeam and levulan chemical ($400) to enhance the first result and deal with my acne. I had the whole work: microdermabrason before starting, acetone cleaning, levulan and numbing cream to avoid pain. I can tell this time it was deeper and stronger because after 2 days my face is so red and braking out. Did someone undergo the same protocol and can tell me about the results?
I am an experienced patient about acne, i tried all treatments except laser and improvements were minor (accutane and other topical treatments). My ultimate dream was to have a healthy "black head" free face requiring little make up...maybe this time it will come true.

I just had vbeam lazer treatment full face two days ago. It was slightly painful and face red, blotchy and a bit swollen afterward. Today I covered the dark red spots with concealor & went out to brunch. Are these scabby looking red marks lazer bruises or pre cancerous conditions being brought to the surface? My doctor recommends 2 more reatments 5 - 6 months apart. I hope that heals the broken blood vessels and redness I experienced before treatment. Does anyone know the difference between v-beam and Fraxel treatment? I paid $1,800 for the 3 treatments.

i had c02 resurfacing when i was 19 due to acne scarring and pits caused by acne only on the check area; the redness stayed for about 4-6 months and i had a line where the laser ended; the pits were completely gone and some milia took place temporarily after the procedure but disappeared; i was suprise how tight my skin was; my skin felt lighter, taught; new collagen formed; and after one year my skin was perfect; now that 11 years has passed i have been heavily exposed to the sun but wearing sunscreen; going to hawaii going swimming; laying out getting a tan; and my elasticity has decreased my skin is now sagging and i have sun spots all over my face; i've tried a new ipl treatment which is 5 sessions for 2,000 and no recovery period and it is fair; it helped with some elasticity increase but not as dramatically as the c02 laser resurfacing; i would totally recommend it on light skin people but do it on your whole face and make sure the line where it ends is not visible so it can heel and won't be obious. at the time i had it done it cost $1000 in 1994-5.

From my experience, it is obvious that there is not one universal "cure-all" for scarring, but I'd like to contribute my two cents anyway. I have tried EVERYTHING for cystic acne and the only thing that cleared my skin was four LEVULAN "blue light sessions". It was a miracle to me!As far as scarring, I am in the process of trying a series of micro laser peels. I had one done and it seemed to improve a bit, but with scarring as deep as mine is on my cheeks, it will take four or five treatments. Fortunately, I am a "test" patient and these treatments are free. If there is a drastic change, I'll let you know. For now, micro laser peels are a good option for those testing the waters with lasers and can't commit to the down time CO2 requires. Micro laser peels start at microns equal to ten micro dermabrasions all the way to full resurfacing. The doctor controls the strength in every area. It is wise to see how your skin reacts to less intense lasers before proceeding any further.

Worked great! It is surgery & there is down time so you need to take that into consideration. I had 2 full-face laser erbium treatments, one year apart. I had several skin treatments, such as Microdermabrasion, prior to, to attempt a non-surgical solution to the problem, but none improved my skin as well as this.