My doctor did the R 1 level on me for my last treatment. It was pretty painful. I am going to call on Monday and ask my doctor if he has the new head yet. He gets things pretty fast.

I'm still having problems with the milia and small red bumps. It's now two months after my 5th Fraxel and my skin seems pretty much the same. I only see improvment in two rolling scars on my cheeks. The red marks and all the other scars look pretty much exactly the same before I started.

I would only recommend this for shallow rolling or shallow boxcar type scars.

Yeah, that R-1 was no joke.. i'm redder and peeling much more than before. I'm really surprised you haven't gotten any improvement.. i'm guessing your skin is smooth everywhere else and just have a handful of scars you are targeting? maybe you should try saline injections or even silicone. None of my raises scars (i only have 2 small ones) have seen any improvement from fraxel either.. just a general softening of the scars overall.

My doctor did the R 1 level on me for my last treatment. It was pretty painful. I am going to call on Monday and ask my doctor if he has the new head yet. He gets things pretty fast.

I'm still having problems with the milia and small red bumps. It's now two months after my 5th Fraxel and my skin seems pretty much the same. I only see improvment in two rolling scars on my cheeks. The red marks and all the other scars look pretty much exactly the same before I started.

I would only recommend this for shallow rolling or shallow boxcar type scars.

Yeah, that R-1 was no joke.. i'm redder and peeling much more than before. I'm really surprised you haven't gotten any improvement.. i'm guessing your skin is smooth everywhere else and just have a handful of scars you are targeting? maybe you should try saline injections or even silicone. None of my raises scars (i only have 2 small ones) have seen any improvement from fraxel either.. just a general softening of the scars overall.

 

I have various different types of scars and red marks/ discolorations all over my face as well as milia and pastules (bumps) so no my skin isn't all the smooth. I have quite a few rolling scars under my check area where those marrionette lines form next to your mouth that my Fraxel treatment didn't improve at all and these are the ones that bother me the most. When I smile you can see quite a few scars that all run together to form these uneven lines...i have 3 of these lines on one side of my mouth and two on the other and that's frustrating. I thought the treatment helped the pores on my nose but they seem pretty much the same now. I'm still wearing tons of makeup to cover everything and this was one thing I thought it would help with, I hate wearing so much makeup.

The rolling scars on my temple might be slightly better but nothing that noticable. I hate saying this, I really do because I really wanted this to work for me. I don't think I had unreal expectations either but for the time spent and especially the money I expected some kind of noticible improvment. I have to look really hard at my face to notice any kind of improvment and it's very slight. In fact that is what makes me so upset it NO ONE has noticed any improvment. I haven't gotten any kind of compliments on my skin. My hair dresser just said nothing when I told her what I had done....her silence spoke volumes to me. I wanted to cry but oh well. Back to the drawing board. Again it saddens me to have to say this. Also keep in mind that I am a bit older then most people around here and have had these scars for a while.

Like I said, I think it will work for those who have very mild rolling type scars like keisha and anndes but everyone's skin reacts differently.

Sorry jjp007. Hopefully you'll see greater results with the new tip, if you decide to go for it.

DOES FRAXEL WORK ON RED MARKS LEFT AFTER ACNE???

This is probably on the thread somewhere but does anyone know a good derm in NY that does fraxel and fillers and is concerned about treating acne.

If anyone knows please let me know.

Hi all,

Just a quick update on an important side effect. I turned down Valtrex the day of my Fraxel, and I guess that was a mistake. I had never had a cold sore in my life, so I figured I was safe (as an aside, about 80% of people are infected w/ HSV 1, the cause of cold sores, but only a minority get cold sores). I had a small cold sore about an inch above the right corner of my lip right after the Fraxel. I actually had no idea it was a cold sore, since it wasn't on my mouth. I just thought that my skin had blistered a bit as a result of the fraxel. In retrospect, it was definitely a cold sore.

Now, I've gotten cold sores full blown since about a week ago. I had a huge one that was about an inch across above my upper lip (which has healed), and it has spread to my entire upper lip. I'd say about 30-40% of my upper lip right now is covered in cold sores.

Luckily, this is all temporary. The lesson learned: get on Valtrex before Fraxel whether or not you get cold sores. You never know!

DOES FRAXEL WORK ON RED MARKS LEFT AFTER ACNE???

I am a week out from my fifth Fraxel and plan on having probably five more.

I have done fairly well, in terms of side effects and etc... , so I think I am going to just continue

on without a break between my last of five and the next series.

At that point, I will stop and reevaluate. It is getting expensive and I have other things

I'd like to do with my life.

I feel that the Fraxel has definitely improved and softened my scars. I can see it, but

no one else has commented me on my skin. I purposely decided not to tell anyone I was getting

it done, because I was hoping the improvements would be more drastic. No one seemed to notice,

(parents, close friends), and that kind of bummed me out. But I do notice a change. It is not

mind blowing, but it is there. I am still so critical of myself. Yesterday I went shopping for foundation at

Sephora, and had a bad moment where I felt my skin looked terrible, in the lighting and

I felt very self-conscious. But, I just have to remember that I am improving and I would like

to focus on other things in my life, like family and career for once and stop this obsession.

Well, I just thought I'd give an update.

Annde

I am a week out from my fifth Fraxel and plan on having probably five more.

I have done fairly well, in terms of side effects and etc... , so I think I am going to just continue

on without a break between my last of five and the next series.

At that point, I will stop and reevaluate. It is getting expensive and I have other things

I'd like to do with my life.

I feel that the Fraxel has definitely improved and softened my scars. I can see it, but

no one else has commented me on my skin. I purposely decided not to tell anyone I was getting

it done, because I was hoping the improvements would be more drastic. No one seemed to notice,

(parents, close friends), and that kind of bummed me out. But I do notice a change. It is not

mind blowing, but it is there. I am still so critical of myself. Yesterday I went shopping for foundation at

Sephora, and had a bad moment where I felt my skin looked terrible, in the lighting and

I felt very self-conscious. But, I just have to remember that I am improving and I would like

to focus on other things in my life, like family and career for once and stop this obsession.

Well, I just thought I'd give an update.

Annde

Hey Annde, did you decide to go with fraxel2 or stay with 1?

I am a week out from my fifth Fraxel and plan on having probably five more.

I have done fairly well, in terms of side effects and etc... , so I think I am going to just continue

on without a break between my last of five and the next series.

At that point, I will stop and reevaluate. It is getting expensive and I have other things

I'd like to do with my life.

I feel that the Fraxel has definitely improved and softened my scars. I can see it, but

no one else has commented me on my skin. I purposely decided not to tell anyone I was getting

it done, because I was hoping the improvements would be more drastic. No one seemed to notice,

(parents, close friends), and that kind of bummed me out. But I do notice a change. It is not

mind blowing, but it is there. I am still so critical of myself. Yesterday I went shopping for foundation at

Sephora, and had a bad moment where I felt my skin looked terrible, in the lighting and

I felt very self-conscious. But, I just have to remember that I am improving and I would like

to focus on other things in my life, like family and career for once and stop this obsession.

Well, I just thought I'd give an update.

Annde

Annde,

Sounds like you're doing quite well with Fraxel. I think you should definitely try the Fraxel 2.

Don't worry too much about people not saying anything about your skin. It probably means that your scars weren't particularly noticeable in the first place. I remember when I was breaking out badly, and I told my friends I was on antibiotics for acne, and they were baffled. They thought my skin was totally clear.

If you notice a difference, that's good enough!

I am now 16 days post-4th Fraxel treatment for isolated scars. I am 100 % positive that I am seeing improvement (especially on the box-car scar on my nose)...

I'd say that the box-car scar on my nose is showing about 30 - 40 % improvement (the edges are much smoother and the central pit is more level with the surrounding skin). The ice-pick scar on my right cheek is only showing about 5 % improvement (the edges are slighly less sharp, but the central portion has not filled in).

I am scheduled for a 5th fraxel in a few weeks. I think the 5th one will really augment the results on my box-car scar, but I am starting to doubt Fraxel's effectiveness on ice-pick scars.

-Ralphie

Thanks for the update Ralphie. I do have some questions for you if you don't mind:

1. Are you still using Retin-A?

2. Why isn't your doc more aggressive with the energy?

3. How old are you? (and you don't have to answer this one if you don't want to =) )

Thanks a lot and definitely continue with the updates! =)

DOES FRAXEL WORK ON RED MARKS LEFT AFTER ACNE???

Cheers for the info Zonk. Looking at the differing scars on the chart I'd say most of mine are actually shallow box scars which it says fraxel is a decent treatment for. Booking myself in for a consultation next week and hopefully the doctor will be able to tell me for sure and tell me honestly whether he thinks fraxel will be suitable or not.

Cheers for the info Zonk. Looking at the differing scars on the chart I'd say most of mine are actually shallow box scars which it says fraxel is a decent treatment for. Booking myself in for a consultation next week and hopefully the doctor will be able to tell me for sure and tell me honestly whether he thinks fraxel will be suitable or not.

Make sure you get a doctor w/ Fraxel SR1500 (fraxel 2). After watching the webinars, I'm pretty convinced that Fraxel 2 is much better.

I had a consultation for Fraxel in December. The aesthetician who did the consult said that for my scarring (which I think is mild/moderate), Fraxel should really be effective, esp. considering my age (28). She said that anything else would be a waste of my time. At the time, I was still nursing my son, so I had to wait, but I just scheduled my first treatment (with the dr., not the aesthetician) for April 6. I am going to do a series of 6 and you can do them 2 weeks apart. Does anyone have any thoughts/tips/etc? I hate to get my hopes up, but she really seemed to think this will get my skin into the shape I want (of course, she was trying to sell me something, I realize that). How much improvement can I expect?

Also, I am a runner. After a couple of days, can I slather on the sunscreen and a hat and resume running, or will I be in too much pain?

Any info is really appreciated. I don't mind spending the money, I am just worried that it won't help enough!

I had a consultation for Fraxel in December. The aesthetician who did the consult said that for my scarring (which I think is mild/moderate), Fraxel should really be effective, esp. considering my age (28). She said that anything else would be a waste of my time. At the time, I was still nursing my son, so I had to wait, but I just scheduled my first treatment (with the dr., not the aesthetician) for April 6. I am going to do a series of 6 and you can do them 2 weeks apart. Does anyone have any thoughts/tips/etc? I hate to get my hopes up, but she really seemed to think this will get my skin into the shape I want (of course, she was trying to sell me something, I realize that). How much improvement can I expect?

Also, I am a runner. After a couple of days, can I slather on the sunscreen and a hat and resume running, or will I be in too much pain?

Any info is really appreciated. I don't mind spending the money, I am just worried that it won't help enough!

Depending on how aggressive they get and the type of your scars, you should get 25-40% improvement. If you have ice picks, fraxel most likely won't do anything for you. Other scars, you should get a decent response.

You could potentially resume running the 0-2 days after, depending on how much you care about looking a little weird when you're outside and how you individually react. If you're running, people will probably just think that you went for an intense run.

My # 1 tip is to be treated by SR 1500 model. First treatment should be modest to see how you tolerate, then you should ramp up and be aggressive, provided you tolerate it ok.

No problem running. The pain is nothing. Besides, running activates endorphins, so exercise temporarily eliminates pain symptoms.

I would say that I have seen improvements of 0% to 40% reported on these boards. However, it seems that more recently reported results are more promising, probably due to wider spread use of SR 1500 and more aggressive treatments. Reliant has a rule of thumb of 50%, but I am far short of that personally.

Thank you for the info. Interestingly enough, the aesthetician told me I should see "at least" a 50% improvement in my scarring. I knew enough to be skeptical of that statement, but I guess I can live with 40%, if that is what I can achieve. At this point, anything would be a relief. This derm's office has been performing the procedure longer than anyone in the area. I guess I will take a shot and see what happens.

Any idea on the differences between having the procedure every two weeks versus every four? I expected every four for some reason, but when I called to schedule, the receptionist said they are doing it every two now.

Thanks again for your help.

Sailette,

1. Are you still using Retin-A?

Yes, but only every other day. And I can only use it during weeks 2 and 3. (my skin is too irritated during the first week, and I purposely stop it the week before my next treatment which is week 4).

2. Why isn't your doc more aggressive with the energy?

That is the setting that he gets the best results with. If he went any more aggressive, my skin would literally bleed. My skin looks raw and irritated for the first 3 - 5 days post treatment.

3. How old are you? (and you don't have to answer this one if you don't want to =) )

31.

-Ralphie

Thanks Ralphie!

My doctor will get the new tip in June, but she said "if I were you, I wouldn't wait for the new tip". She said it's just new technology, but the old tip works just as well.

I don't know though -- the new tip will allow you to go to levels higher than 40 mj. That sounds like something worth waiting for, in my opinion, unless the doctor thinks you don't need to go higher than 40 mj. So confused.

Thanks Ralphie!

My doctor will get the new tip in June, but she said "if I were you, I wouldn't wait for the new tip". She said it's just new technology, but the old tip works just as well.

I don't know though -- the new tip will allow you to go to levels higher than 40 mj. That sounds like something worth waiting for, in my opinion, unless the doctor thinks you don't need to go higher than 40 mj. So confused.

You can already go to 70mj with the current tip. The new tip just eliminates the blue dye.

Sailette,

I think the difference in energy levels is that your doctor is using the Fraxel 2, while my doctor is using the Fraxel 1. Maybe 20 mj on the Fraxel 1 is equal to 40 mj on Fraxel 2?

And my doctor does 8 passes. With each pass, the cumulative effect of the energy increases.

-Ralph

Ohhh...guess I don't know as much about the new tip as I thought. That's interesting -- I'm going to double-check with my doc tomorrow. Maybe I'll start Fraxel sooner than I had originally decided!

My doctor did the R 1 level on me for my last treatment. It was pretty painful. I am going to call on Monday and ask my doctor if he has the new head yet. He gets things pretty fast.

I'm still having problems with the milia and small red bumps. It's now two months after my 5th Fraxel and my skin seems pretty much the same. I only see improvment in two rolling scars on my cheeks. The red marks and all the other scars look pretty much exactly the same before I started.

I would only recommend this for shallow rolling or shallow boxcar type scars.

Yeah, that R-1 was no joke.. i'm redder and peeling much more than before. I'm really surprised you haven't gotten any improvement.. i'm guessing your skin is smooth everywhere else and just have a handful of scars you are targeting? maybe you should try saline injections or even silicone. None of my raises scars (i only have 2 small ones) have seen any improvement from fraxel either.. just a general softening of the scars overall.

 

I have various different types of scars and red marks/ discolorations all over my face as well as milia and pastules (bumps) so no my skin isn't all the smooth. I have quite a few rolling scars under my check area where those marrionette lines form next to your mouth that my Fraxel treatment didn't improve at all and these are the ones that bother me the most. When I smile you can see quite a few scars that all run together to form these uneven lines...i have 3 of these lines on one side of my mouth and two on the other and that's frustrating. I thought the treatment helped the pores on my nose but they seem pretty much the same now. I'm still wearing tons of makeup to cover everything and this was one thing I thought it would help with, I hate wearing so much makeup.

The rolling scars on my temple might be slightly better but nothing that noticable. I hate saying this, I really do because I really wanted this to work for me. I don't think I had unreal expectations either but for the time spent and especially the money I expected some kind of noticible improvment. I have to look really hard at my face to notice any kind of improvment and it's very slight. In fact that is what makes me so upset it NO ONE has noticed any improvment. I haven't gotten any kind of compliments on my skin. My hair dresser just said nothing when I told her what I had done....her silence spoke volumes to me. I wanted to cry but oh well. Back to the drawing board. Again it saddens me to have to say this. Also keep in mind that I am a bit older then most people around here and have had these scars for a while.

Like I said, I think it will work for those who have very mild rolling type scars like keisha and anndes but everyone's skin reacts differently.

 

jjp007:

Sorry to hear about your results. We have a few things in common. I am now about 6 weeks post 5th treatment. My first 3 were with the 750 and my last 2 with the 1500 at settings just below yours. I too have an uneven marionette line which zig zags around 3 or 4 slighlty raised scars. Fraxel has had had minimal impact, if any, on these or my other two seriously raised scars. Most of these are old scars (20 + years). I have however had some improvement on a couple of newer boxcars on my cheek (1 seems to have filled completely), and some softening of older boxcars on my temples.

I wonder if your post care could have affected your results?