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Does anyone know if these treatments have to be repeated after you go through all the reccomended 5 or 6 sessions??????
I was told that you have to do a maintenance appointment every 4-5 months, and maybe repeat the treatment every 2 years... that sounds freaking expensive!!!!!!!!!! 2 grand a year... crap
sounds similar to what I was told about smoohtbeam. I don't understand that if it's building collagen, why you would have to go back so often for maintenance? Isn't collagen growth permanent?
I asked my doctor that did my smoothbeam this, and she told me that the scar tissue will always be there, and as we age the collagen degrades and the scars become more noticeable again. So that's why maintenance is needed. That the collagen is just hiding the scar temporarily. At least, that's what I was told. But who knows, she was wrong about so many things.
Does anyone know if these treatments have to be repeated after you go through all the reccomended 5 or 6 sessions??????
I was told that you have to do a maintenance appointment every 4-5 months, and maybe repeat the treatment every 2 years... that sounds freaking expensive!!!!!!!!!! 2 grand a year... crap
sounds similar to what I was told about smoohtbeam. I don't understand that if it's building collagen, why you would have to go back so often for maintenance? Isn't collagen growth permanent?
I asked my doctor that did my smoothbeam this, and she told me that the scar tissue will always be there, and as we age the collagen degrades and the scars become more noticeable again. So that's why maintenance is needed. That the collagen is just hiding the scar temporarily. At least, that's what I was told. But who knows, she was wrong about so many things.
Right..
I was told this is the case, but the treatment is called Cool Touch laser. About $300 a pop. 5-6 initial treatments with maintenance treatments every now and then. That's an assload of money!
was thinking about having the fraxel laser done, but wanted to know if anyone who has done it before thinks it is worth the money?
i seen a doctor last week im gonna get 4 fraxels done. he siad nothing else will help me but there should be an improvement after a few fraxel sessions. still feel like shit
Had first Fraxel today 7 passes at 30 MJ / 1250 MTZ cm2 with cold air Zimmer machine and anesthetic cream. The 30 MJ penetrates to about 900 microns. No pain except slight sting, no bright flash in eyes, no smell of burning skin, some swelling, didnt even have to wear goggles though I would have felt safer with them, its a very tolerable procedure except for the inconvenience of having a blue dyed face which leaves you looking like a smurf for a day or two.
heya meetpete,
7 passes at 30 mj? wow! no blisters?? did the doctor go over the aquamid site? hope things work out! good luck and god bless.
well I guess the fraxel has been out long enough and some of these people getting treatments have done enough to be able to post before and after photos for reference.
There should be a section on this site that is for posting nothing but before and after photos categorized by treatment. That would be really helpful.
Had first Fraxel today 7 passes at 30 MJ / 1250 MTZ cm2 with cold air Zimmer machine and anesthetic cream. The 30 MJ penetrates to about 900 microns. No pain except slight sting, no bright flash in eyes, no smell of burning skin, some swelling, didnt even have to wear goggles though I would have felt safer with them, its a very tolerable procedure except for the inconvenience of having a blue dyed face which leaves you looking like a smurf for a day or two.
heya meetpete,
7 passes at 30 mj? wow! no blisters?? did the doctor go over the aquamid site? hope things work out! good luck and god bless.
Hi, all
Just got my very first fraxel treatment last Thu. and my doc was only willing to start with 15 mj. 😥 , but open to gradually increase it. The downtime was about 1 day and a half, so I went out of the house on Sat. afternoon just with some sunblock protection. I've seen some improvement on the overall skin texture and very minor improvement on some scars. I'm kinda happy with the result and hopefully I could get more promising result over the remaining 4 treatments with higher intensity.
JL
Had first Fraxel today 7 passes at 30 MJ / 1250 MTZ cm2 with cold air Zimmer machine and anesthetic cream. The 30 MJ penetrates to about 900 microns. No pain except slight sting, no bright flash in eyes, no smell of burning skin, some swelling, didnt even have to wear goggles though I would have felt safer with them, its a very tolerable procedure except for the inconvenience of having a blue dyed face which leaves you looking like a smurf for a day or two.
heya meetpete,
7 passes at 30 mj? wow! no blisters?? did the doctor go over the aquamid site? hope things work out! good luck and god bless.
Hi, all
Just got my very first fraxel treatment last Thu. and my doc was only willing to start with 15 mj. 😥 , but open to gradually increase it. The downtime was about 1 day and a half, so I went out of the house on Sat. afternoon just with some sunblock protection. I've seen some improvement on the overall skin texture and very minor improvement on some scars. I'm kinda happy with the result and hopefully to get more promising result over the remaining 4 treatments with higher intensity.
JL
I'm crossing my fingers for you 🙂
Does Fraxel cause acne breakouts after the procedure or make active acne worse?
Meet Pete:
You may want to do some research about the effects of going so high. 30mJ sounds dangerous to me as I have never heard of a doctor going past 20mJ because of the risk of the laser damaging adjacent tissue in addition to the micro-thermal zones.
My suggestion would be to call one of the well known doctors i.e. Fitzpatrick in CA or Rokshar in NY. You can find their numbers doing a doctor's name search at Fraxel's website. You can call in and ask about what settings they use and how they would feel about going to 30mJ.
anyone have mild to moderate rolling scars that were treated with fraxel? and if so, how are the results of the laser? many thanks in advance
has anyone had fraxel on back acne scars? today was the first I ever heard of it and i want to know if it will work on back acne scars. The local laser clinic i went to just got it in so the docter counldn't show me any before and after photo's as he has only had it since the end of august. The price he quoted me was $200.00 Canadian for the part of my back that was really scarred per treatment and he said I would need 5-6 treatments. As I am a student this is alot of money but if it works then it is worth it.
Are you in Canada? Please let me know who this doctor is? i live in Toronto and am thinking about giving Fraxel a try. Thanks.
Does Fraxel cause acne breakouts after the procedure or make active acne worse?
Meet Pete:
You may want to do some research about the effects of going so high. 30mJ sounds dangerous to me as I have never heard of a doctor going past 20mJ because of the risk of the laser damaging adjacent tissue in addition to the micro-thermal zones.
My suggestion would be to call one of the well known doctors i.e. Fitzpatrick in CA or Rokshar in NY. You can find their numbers doing a doctor's name search at Fraxel's website. You can call in and ask about what settings they use and how they would feel about going to 30mJ.
If 20mj was the optimum setting then they wouldnt have bothered including higher settings on the machine would they. :wacko: Damage what adjacent tissues? Higher mj is compensated by a lower density. In any case skin regenerates from the pilosebaceous unit ie vertically via structures deep in the dermis as well as horizontally via adjoining adnexual structures. My dermaroller needles have also gone deeper than the 900 microns fraxel at 30 mj goes.
Even the fraxels microscopic wounds produce some swelling so you have to remember not to jump for joy when your scars seem to be gone soon after surgery.
Christ Pete your skin does not look bad at all. I would have figured since u are on a lot that u would ahve real bad skin. I guess u have ahd lots of shit done to improve the skin though
Hi everyone
I had my 1st Fraxel done on 29 Oct and its been 10 days. The doc only did 8 mjs 
despite my telling him I'd want him to go higher. He did 4 passes for a total of 1000 mtz/cm and I think reduced it to 6mjs (the lowest u can go!!) for the last coupla passes. He insisted that he wanted to do some general re-surfacing before cranking it up next time. I'm going to have to sign up for 5 Fraxels.
They gave me 30% hydroquinone cream, a moisturising mist spray and some Noni gel for the healing. Had to spray and apply gel 4 times a day making it difficult to leave the house.
I don't know how Pete can take 30mjs...for me even with the anesthetic cream and the zimmer, I felt like my face was being burned! It was hot! I had goggles even tho' the doc said technically the machine won't target anything without the blue dye.
I had it done on a Sat afternoon but even on Sat night, my face was still kinda swollen and I still had the burning sensation. The doctor said swelling in the 1st 24-48 hrs is good.
I only started peeling on day 4 on my cheeks mostly. Didn't peel on my forehead at all. But compared to the peeling from chemical peels, the peeling here is pretty light and I noticed that only the skin over my acne scars seemed to peel. My cheeks are still a little pink but I can't see any visible improvements to my scars altho' my skin does look a little clearer (I have pigmentation too!).
And Andrew, I've noticed a coupla pimples since Fraxel but no real breakout. I'm gonna ask the doctor abt it the next time.
Keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of the Fraxels. At more than US$700/- per session, it better be worth something!
If 20mj was the optimum setting then they wouldnt have bothered including higher settings on the machine would they. :wacko: Damage what adjacent tissues? Higher mj is compensated by a lower density. In any case skin regenerates from the pilosebaceous unit ie vertically via structures deep in the dermis as well as horizontally via adjoining adnexual structures. My dermaroller needles have also gone deeper than the 900 microns fraxel at 30 mj goes.
Even the fraxels microscopic wounds produce some swelling so you have to remember not to jump for joy when your scars seem to be gone soon after surgery.
They make lasers that go in the mega-Joule range that doesn't mean you should use it on your face. Deeper/more powerful doesn't always mean better results - what I was refered to is called "splaying" and it results from the scattering of the beam into adjacent tissues outside of the column shaped MTZ. At high energy levels, the wound is no longer cynlidrical it's shape could rather be desribed almost like a lightning strike - tethering off in random directions outside of the center.
Besides, you're scars definately don't look to be 900 microns deep (the epidermis is barely thicker than that, and thinner in some areas).
It sounds like you have had no-ill effects though, and if there are no long-term ones, higher energy levels might be okay for people with deep scars.
Pinky:
Are those few pimples normal for you, or did you have a pretty clear complexion going into it?
I am kind of worried about having any active acne going into the procedure because of the idea of putting microscropic holes under my skin for the bacteria to spread through seems like it could produce a breakout.
Also, if you have it set on 30mJ it wouldn't go 900 microns from the level of your normal skin, it would go 900 microns below the level of your scar which is going to be indented and at a lower level than the rest of your skin. So that 900 micron value gets offset by the scar depth, which could take you past the dermis on thin skin such as your face which can't be good i'd imagine.
Also, if you have it set on 30mJ it wouldn't go 900 microns from the level of your normal skin, it would go 900 microns below the level of your scar which is going to be indented and at a lower level than the rest of your skin. So that 900 micron value gets offset by the scar depth, which could take you past the dermis on thin skin such as your face which can't be good i'd imagine.
Andrew, I don't want to get into technicals on how deep Dr's should go in regards to using Fraxel, you both seem to have more info than I do but how do you know MeetPete has thin skin from the Pic's he has shown? Just curious..
Hi everyone
I had my 1st Fraxel done on 29 Oct and its been 10 days. The doc only did 8 mjs 🙁 despite my telling him I'd want him to go higher. He did 4 passes for a total of 1000 mtz/cm and I think reduced it to 6mjs (the lowest u can go!!) for the last coupla passes. He insisted that he wanted to do some general re-surfacing before cranking it up next time. I'm going to have to sign up for 5 Fraxels.
They gave me 30% hydroquinone cream, a moisturising mist spray and some Noni gel for the healing. Had to spray and apply gel 4 times a day making it difficult to leave the house.
I don't know how Pete can take 30mjs...for me even with the anesthetic cream and the zimmer, I felt like my face was being burned! It was hot! I had goggles even tho' the doc said technically the machine won't target anything without the blue dye.
I had it done on a Sat afternoon but even on Sat night, my face was still kinda swollen and I still had the burning sensation. The doctor said swelling in the 1st 24-48 hrs is good.
I only started peeling on day 4 on my cheeks mostly. Didn't peel on my forehead at all. But compared to the peeling from chemical peels, the peeling here is pretty light and I noticed that only the skin over my acne scars seemed to peel. My cheeks are still a little pink but I can't see any visible improvements to my scars altho' my skin does look a little clearer (I have pigmentation too!).
And Andrew, I've noticed a coupla pimples since Fraxel but no real breakout. I'm gonna ask the doctor abt it the next time.
Keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of the Fraxels. At more than US$700/- per session, it better be worth something!
heya pinky,
Thanks for updating. Did you have to pay for the extra creams and sprays? Is it necessary? Sometimes i get a feeling that these doctors are more concern with making money than helping us oout. Anyway, good luck!
If 20mj was the optimum setting then they wouldnt have bothered including higher settings on the machine would they. :wacko: Damage what adjacent tissues? Higher mj is compensated by a lower density. In any case skin regenerates from the pilosebaceous unit ie vertically via structures deep in the dermis as well as horizontally via adjoining adnexual structures. My dermaroller needles have also gone deeper than the 900 microns fraxel at 30 mj goes.
Even the fraxels microscopic wounds produce some swelling so you have to remember not to jump for joy when your scars seem to be gone soon after surgery.
They make lasers that go in the mega-Joule range that doesn't mean you should use it on your face. Deeper/more powerful doesn't always mean better results - what I was refered to is called "splaying" and it results from the scattering of the beam into adjacent tissues outside of the column shaped MTZ. At high energy levels, the wound is no longer cynlidrical it's shape could rather be desribed almost like a lightning strike - tethering off in random directions outside of the center.
Besides, you're scars definately don't look to be 900 microns deep (the epidermis is barely thicker than that, and thinner in some areas).
It sounds like you have had no-ill effects though, and if there are no long-term ones, higher energy levels might be okay for people with deep scars.
Pinky:
Are those few pimples normal for you, or did you have a pretty clear complexion going into it?
I am kind of worried about having any active acne going into the procedure because of the idea of putting microscropic holes under my skin for the bacteria to spread through seems like it could produce a breakout.
Hey Andrew
A coupla pimples now and then for me is pretty normal altho my complexion is quite clear generally. I've been on Roccutane abt 5 or 6 times in the past. I have noticed these last few days that my T-zone seems oilier and I have what looks like milia on my forehead which didn't peel at all.
I did ask the doctor abt treating those with active acne and he claimed that it actually helps altho' I don't see how since he also described Fraxel as FRACTIONAL ABLATION. CO2 is still the gold standard but he described Fraxel as a sub for those who don't want the risk or downtime of CO2.
I don't know if you want to risk it with Fraxel and active acne. There are other lasers better suited for that like the Aramis or even Smoothbeam which retards your sebaceous glands. But you can't be on Roccutane before you start anything I think. Also, you might want to note that if you are prone to cold sores, Fraxel could trigger an attack.
Good luck!
Dino - yes you have to pay extra for the Epicurean gel and stuff. After spending all that $$ on Fraxel, you'll want to do whatever they tell you is neccessary!
Awww Pete - are you just going to leave us in a hissy fit? 😛 Sure gonna miss your educational posts. Good luck with the 30mj!
Thing is, this is a community here and like the real world, it takes all sorts doesn't it? Can't we all just learn to get along? 😀
i am coming back for more fraxel, this time with a much better doctor. apparently the laser will not accomplish much in the wrong hands. i had five treatments with less than desirable collagen production. i am going back for just my cheeks and temples. should i expect those areas to look obviously 'bronze' and the rest of my face the usual white [fitzpatrick II ] that is is now? i had full face down before and it all kind of faded gradually so i couldnt tell much of a different after 2-3 days. i also am going for much higher energy levels.
if i get treated on monday will I be completely normal looking by saturday?? [ for those who have had high energy levels on the cheeks only ]
thanks
-eric
anyone have mild to moderate rolling scars that were treated with fraxel? and if so, how are the results of the laser? many thanks in advance
has anyone had fraxel on back acne scars? today was the first I ever heard of it and i want to know if it will work on back acne scars. The local laser clinic i went to just got it in so the docter counldn't show me any before and after photo's as he has only had it since the end of august. The price he quoted me was $200.00 Canadian for the part of my back that was really scarred per treatment and he said I would need 5-6 treatments. As I am a student this is alot of money but if it works then it is worth it.
Are you in Canada? Please let me know who this doctor is? i live in Toronto and am thinking about giving Fraxel a try. Thanks.
I'm from Toronto as well and as far as I know only Oakville's icls (www.icls.ca) is offering Fraxel. I'll be going to my first consultation with them tomorrow but won't have anything done in the mean time - the nurse told me over the phone that the machine will be arriving "in a couple months" and for now they're only doing consultations for it. I'm only getting a small area of my left cheek done (scars left by ingrown hairs), and since multiple treatments are probably needed, I'm hoping for a cost of each to be less than $300 CAD.
I'll post more after the consultation. I have been seeing another dermatologist for a while and she suggested either Smoothbeam or light Erbium peels, but from my own research Fraxel does seem to be a much more effective treatment and should be well worth the higher cost.
i am coming back for more fraxel, this time with a much better doctor. apparently the laser will not accomplish much in the wrong hands. i had five treatments with less than desirable collagen production. i am going back for just my cheeks and temples. should i expect those areas to look obviously 'bronze' and the rest of my face the usual white [fitzpatrick II ] that is is now? i had full face down before and it all kind of faded gradually so i couldnt tell much of a different after 2-3 days. i also am going for much higher energy levels.
if i get treated on monday will I be completely normal looking by saturday?? [ for those who have had high energy levels on the cheeks only ]
thanks
-eric
hi,
At what level did your doctor treat you last time out? And what did you mean by 'faded gradually'? Is there any real improvment in your scars/tones/etc? Did they fade? Also, during your first time going thru this treatment, did you turn bronze? Enough questions from me 😀
Good luck!
Well, the consultation turned out to be a complete surprise. The doctor, who's of Indian descent, is apparently unwilling to treat Asians with the Fraxel because of possible pigmentation changes. This despite the prevalant success cases of Asian skin treated with the laser already published on the web. And my complexion is actually on the lighter side of Asian skin. In a way I respect his integrity as a professional - I'm sure he's telling me what he honestly feels - but this was nonetheless a huge dissappointment for me.
Reliant's own website has a study conducted by a Hong Kong dermatologist on how to properly treat Asian skins with the machine, which leads me to believe that it CAN be done and possibly hugely effective on me.
http://www.fraxel.com/insider/test2.html
I'll have to look into going to other doctors near my area (the closest of which will be a 2-hr drive) or even Hong Kong where I'm going to be staying for the summer for another consultation.
Well, the consultation turned out to be a complete surprise. The doctor, who's of Indian descent, is apparently unwilling to treat Asians with the Fraxel because of possible pigmentation changes. This despite the prevalant success cases of Asian skin treated with the laser already published on the web. And my complexion is actually on the lighter side of Asian skin. In a way I respect his integrity as a professional - I'm sure he's telling me what he honestly feels - but this was nonetheless a huge dissappointment for me.
Reliant's own website has a study conducted by a Hong Kong dermatologist on how to properly treat Asian skins with the machine, which leads me to believe that it CAN be done and possibly hugely effective on me.
http://www.fraxel.com/insider/test2.html
I'll have to look into going to other doctors near my area (the closest of which will be a 2-hr drive) or even Hong Kong where I'm going to be staying for the summer for another consultation.
Hi Orochian
The thing is, for Asians, the risk of pigmentation is almost always there for anything slightly ablative and that includes Erbium and chemical peels.
My doctor who has treated over 150 patients in Singapore (mostly Asian) for Fraxel mentioned that pigmentation is not a problem so long as patients practice some common sense, i.e. always wear sunblock of at least SPF30 and keep out of direct sunlight as much as possible so forget about going to the beach or hanging out at the pool for a few months! (This is really difficult when you live in the tropics and a 5 min walk from the beach like me! :rolleyes: ) He also gave me a hydroquinone cream to be applied twice a day.
I'd suggest you find another doctor who's had some experience treating Asians with Fraxel and mebbe treated over 100 patients overall. With doctors new to Fraxel, my guess is they may not even know as much abt Fraxel as some pple on this board!
Good luck!
anyone have mild to moderate rolling scars that were treated with fraxel? and if so, how are the results of the laser? many thanks in advance
has anyone had fraxel on back acne scars? today was the first I ever heard of it and i want to know if it will work on back acne scars. The local laser clinic i went to just got it in so the docter counldn't show me any before and after photo's as he has only had it since the end of august. The price he quoted me was $200.00 Canadian for the part of my back that was really scarred per treatment and he said I would need 5-6 treatments. As I am a student this is alot of money but if it works then it is worth it.
Are you in Canada? Please let me know who this doctor is? i live in Toronto and am thinking about giving Fraxel a try. Thanks.
I'm from Toronto as well and as far as I know only Oakville's icls (www.icls.ca) is offering Fraxel. I'll be going to my first consultation with them tomorrow but won't have anything done in the mean time - the nurse told me over the phone that the machine will be arriving "in a couple months" and for now they're only doing consultations for it. I'm only getting a small area of my left cheek done (scars left by ingrown hairs), and since multiple treatments are probably needed, I'm hoping for a cost of each to be less than $300 CAD.
I'll post more after the consultation. I have been seeing another dermatologist for a while and she suggested either Smoothbeam or light Erbium peels, but from my own research Fraxel does seem to be a much more effective treatment and should be well worth the higher cost.
I'm in Vancouver and the dr I went to see is a Dr Boey at the Arbutus Laser Clinic. I've actually booked in to have Fraxel, my first treatment is in mid Dec. I'm pretty sure that they are the most advanced and experienced laser clinic in Western Canada, so I'm hopeful to see some improvement.
http://health.blogharbor.com/blog/_archive.../19/954030.html
I think for us asians it's best to go to hong kong or Singapore, places where they have experience with asian skins. It is still quite new so the chance is big that Western doctors are not willing to perform it on non whites because they rather play it safe and don't wanna get sued.. I can Imagine!
I don't know where you are from. Doctors in the USA will do the procedure. I am Asian Male (Type IV) skin tone. I just had Dermabrasion some time ago. But I had a bad break out on my neck which left some dark scars. So I had "Fraxel" It's about two weeks ago. I am going for my second treatment Monday, Hopefully the scars will appear less apparent after the second one. If things go good I will get a full face fraxel , When my Dermabrasion heals.
http://health.blogharbor.com/blog/_archive.../19/954030.html
I think for us asians it's best to go to hong kong or Singapore, places where they have experience with asian skins. It is still quite new so the chance is big that Western doctors are not willing to perform it on non whites because they rather play it safe and don't wanna get sued.. I can Imagine!