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I need some opinion on Fraxel treatment. I have had acne since I was teenager. As an adult now, I still get break out occasionally. I have noticeable acne scars on both my cheeks, mostly on right cheek. This causes me to have low self-esteem. I would like to get Fraxel treatment done on my scars so that my scar will be minimal noticeable. I got quotes from two places at my area (Minnesota).1. One clinic pricing is $3,500 for four Fraxel treatments; the pricing is just getting Fraxel done on my face and nothing else.
2. The second place pricing is $4,900 for four treatments as well; however, the pricing include cream for me to put on before first treatment so that I dont get skin pigmentation. It also includes first supply of sun screen protection. The clinician told me that if I cannot tolerance the pain, they will eject something like Novocain into my face so I wont get much pain.
Besides, since I am low in cash right now I am considering withdrawal money from my retirement account to get the treatments.
Is Fraxel treatment worth the money? Is it worth for me to withdrawal money from retirement account to get it done?
Is Fraxel treatment very painful? I am not very good at tolerance pain.
Thank you for your reply.
Prices vary from place to place, but usually around 600-800 per treatment.
is it worth the money? for some people yes, for some people no. depends on your scars and how your body reacts to it..
depending on the levels they use it could be painful at times, but usually with the numbing cream used you should be able to tolerate it, if you cant tolerate any pain at all then you might have some problems with this treatment
so far i have seen improvement, how much % i dont know, i will get a better idea once my 6 treatments are finished and i have waited 3-4 months to see the final outcome.
Does the numbing cream work for most people? Who had injections?
I had the cream applied a good hour before the procedure, and well over 10 injections across my face to numb it - and one inside my mouth either side. Inevitably, my face swelled incredibly. Since my first treatment took so long, the anaethetic in areas wore off, hence received more injections 
Does the numbing cream work for most people? Who had injections?I had the cream applied a good hour before the procedure, and well over 10 injections across my face to numb it - and one inside my mouth either side. Inevitably, my face swelled incredibly. Since my first treatment took so long, the anaethetic in areas wore off, hence received more injections :surprised:
Numbing cream makes things tolerable, but certainly doesn't make the experience pleasant.
Check out this clip
Aubrey De Gray is a scientist at Cambridge Univ. He says that metabolism ---> damage ---> pathology. So if you can treat the damage you can stop it from becoming pathogenic, hence stop disease and aging. He calls this the "engineering approach" instead of a geriatric or gerontological approach.
I thought this was interesting so I emailed him about Fraxel. He probably already knows about it since it's an anti-aging technology.
What is the deepest penetration anyone has gone with Fraxel SR1500? 40 mj seems to be the standard now and I remember someone recently doing 55mj on their cheeks. My doc just upgraded so I'm going to ask for the deepest possible for my next treatment. What does everyone think?
What is the deepest penetration anyone has gone with Fraxel SR1500? 40 mj seems to be the standard now and I remember someone recently doing 55mj on their cheeks. My doc just upgraded so I'm going to ask for the deepest possible for my next treatment. What does everyone think?
I went to 70 mjs with 7 passes. It was absolutely excruciating and the area still looks like I have a dermabrasion over a week later. Plan on the usual amount of downtime after an invasive procedure at this level, several weeks.
What is the deepest penetration anyone has gone with Fraxel SR1500? 40 mj seems to be the standard now and I remember someone recently doing 55mj on their cheeks. My doc just upgraded so I'm going to ask for the deepest possible for my next treatment. What does everyone think?
my derm just told me this time we are going to do 55mj, i didn't have to ask her what setting to do, she also told me that they decrease the level to do the higher setting. even with the higher setting my face looks fine for 5 days post fraxel, i'm just a little pinkish in the cheeks. i let my face heal naturally instead of rubbing the dead skin off, so i don't have the burned look this time around.
What level would you recommend for doing 55mj? Would level 8 be too much? I have a very deep forehead scar and doing 40 mj hasn't done a darn thing. I want to ask for 55mj or even higher for that particular scar.
my derm just told me this time we are going to do 55mj, i didn't have to ask her what setting to do, she also told me that they decrease the level to do the higher setting. even with the higher setting my face looks fine for 5 days post fraxel, i'm just a little pinkish in the cheeks. i let my face heal naturally instead of rubbing the dead skin off, so i don't have the burned look this time around.
What level would you recommend for doing 55mj? Would level 8 be too much? I have a very deep forehead scar and doing 40 mj hasn't done a darn thing. I want to ask for 55mj or even higher for that particular scar.
my derm just told me this time we are going to do 55mj, i didn't have to ask her what setting to do, she also told me that they decrease the level to do the higher setting. even with the higher setting my face looks fine for 5 days post fraxel, i'm just a little pinkish in the cheeks. i let my face heal naturally instead of rubbing the dead skin off, so i don't have the burned look this time around.To be honest, I would not even bother with fraxel 1. I did fraxel 1 (SR750) and I am also Asian with light skin - I was doing anywhere from 12mj to 20mj but it didn't do much for scars at all, if any. It mostly improved my skin tone and brown spots. For scars, I started seeing some improvements when I started with the second generation fraxel, fraxel 2.
With the fraxel 1, what mjs level should I be going at for very shallow boxscars (this is for light asian skin).
i also have a scar on my forehead and feel like its getting smoothed out, my derm did level 6 55mj on my cheeks only and 40mj level 6 on my forehead. i wouldn't do the fraxel 1 if i had a choice. you'll have to ask the derm what level b/c it changes with the new upgrade.
I found this link on SR1500 to be pretty interesting. There is a before/after picture on the 2nd page of a woman with acne scars. I haven't seen this pic before.
[Removed]
I also uploaded a powerpoint presentation that I found while googling one day - I forgot what link it came from but it was a pretty good high-level discussion on the treatment levels.
tenntenn said:I found this link on SR1500 to be pretty interesting. There is a before/after picture on the 2nd page of a woman with acne scars. I haven't seen this pic before.[Removed]
I also uploaded a powerpoint presentation that I found while googling one day - I forgot what link it came from but it was a pretty good high-level discussion on the treatment levels.
good read thanks
tenntenn said:I found this link on SR1500 to be pretty interesting. There is a before/after picture on the 2nd page of a woman with acne scars. I haven't seen this pic before.[Removed]
I also uploaded a powerpoint presentation that I found while googling one day - I forgot what link it came from but it was a pretty good high-level discussion on the treatment levels.
hi tenntenn -- did you upload the powerpoint presentation somewhere on this site? or did you mean that you downloaded it to your computer from another site?
would love to read it!
hi tenntenn -- did you upload the powerpoint presentation somewhere on this site? or did you mean that you downloaded it to your computer from another site?would love to read it!
sorry - I was in the process of uploading it but the file is too big. I can email it to you if you want.
http://www.coherent-amt.com/imageBank/imageCat.asp?c=45 --straight on looks like no improvement. from side its dramatic.
--hard to believe its the same woman!
http://www.chemian.co.kr/sf_intro/hospital_04_06.html --scroll down
http://www.s-kyoritsu.com/fraxel.html --cool histology slide of the mends buttons
http://www.facecrafters.com/cgi-bin/cp-app...;aff=&pg=p5 --she looks like helen of troy after
http://www.lumenis.com.cn/news/ActiveFXnews.asp --is active fx stealing fraxel pics? interesting chart on 2100+ nm wavelength being better at targeting water
http://www.laservision.gr/plasticskin.htm --anyone read greek?
Hi all, when getting Fraxel done what exactly constitutes 'full face' and 'half face'? I ask as for the majority of people getting Fraxel to help scarring, I doubt they'd get their 'full face' done, which would include the nose, forehead, chin and other areas where scarring may not be an issue, right? Hence, for scar sufferers, 'full face' may apply to cheeks AND temples AND anywhere else, while 'half face' would apply to cheeks only. That's how I'm thinking anyway, hence my query (though I may be totally wrong - whether wanting to rid scars or just wanting to improve the skin in general, I guess this wouldn't make any difference to any particular individual whatsoever).
I only want to get my cheeks and temples done, with a spot treatment near my chin. I guess it varies from clinic to clinic, but I thought I'd pose the question anyway before I make further enquiries.
Hi all, when getting Fraxel done what exactly constitutes 'full face' and 'half face'? I ask as for the majority of people getting Fraxel to help scarring, I doubt they'd get their 'full face' done, which would include the nose, forehead, chin and other areas where scarring may not be an issue, right? Hence, for scar sufferers, 'full face' may apply to cheeks AND temples AND anywhere else, while 'half face' would apply to cheeks only. That's how I'm thinking anyway, hence my query (though I may be totally wrong - whether wanting to rid scars or just wanting to improve the skin in general, I guess this wouldn't make any difference to any particular individual whatsoever).I only want to get my cheeks and temples done, with a spot treatment near my chin. I guess it varies from clinic to clinic, but I thought I'd pose the question anyway before I make further enquiries.
😎
Full face includes nose, mouth area, etc., and most people get full face.
Hi, I am trying to understand what settings there are with fraxel treatment and what they mean. Am I right, that the mJ expresses the depth -and thus possibly efficacy- of the treatment? How is that associated with the levels (8,9,10 up to 20, 25 etc.) that I see people writing about? And how important are the passes and how many are usually done? I will have my first fraxel treatment next Friday and have no idea so far about all this and if I can/should ask the doctor to do a certain level/energy/passes. What if he just will not do high levels? I have fair to slightly olive skin with lots of brown and red marks from acne, not too bad though, and scars. None of them deep, but there are just so many. Also I have big pores and oily skin in general. I hope that my acne -which I only have during about 1 week in a month, it's hormonal- will get better, too, as I have seen other people write in this thread. If not I might get smoothbeam, too, to help with the breakouts.
Hi, I am trying to understand what settings there are with fraxel treatment and what they mean. Am I right, that the mJ expresses the depth -and thus possibly efficacy- of the treatment? How is that associated with the levels (8,9,10 up to 20, 25 etc.) that I see people writing about? And how important are the passes and how many are usually done? I will have my first fraxel treatment next Friday and have no idea so far about all this and if I can/should ask the doctor to do a certain level/energy/passes. What if he just will not do high levels? I have fair to slightly olive skin with lots of brown and red marks from acne, not too bad though, and scars. None of them deep, but there are just so many. Also I have big pores and oily skin in general. I hope that my acne -which I only have during about 1 week in a month, it's hormonal- will get better, too, as I have seen other people write in this thread. If not I might get smoothbeam, too, to help with the breakouts.
mJ is depth. Treatment level is density (how many pinpoint wounds are created). Coverage will vary depending on mJ and density, since higher mJs create larger wounds. Treatment levels do not go up to 20 or 25. I think it goes up to 12, then R-1 and R-2. Efficacy will depend on both.
You should trust your doctor to adjust your treatment to the right levels, but somewhere in the 35-40 mJ and 6-8 treatment level should be a good start.
Hi, I am trying to understand what settings there are with fraxel treatment and what they mean. Am I right, that the mJ expresses the depth -and thus possibly efficacy- of the treatment? How is that associated with the levels (8,9,10 up to 20, 25 etc.) that I see people writing about? And how important are the passes and how many are usually done? I will have my first fraxel treatment next Friday and have no idea so far about all this and if I can/should ask the doctor to do a certain level/energy/passes. What if he just will not do high levels? I have fair to slightly olive skin with lots of brown and red marks from acne, not too bad though, and scars. None of them deep, but there are just so many. Also I have big pores and oily skin in general. I hope that my acne -which I only have during about 1 week in a month, it's hormonal- will get better, too, as I have seen other people write in this thread. If not I might get smoothbeam, too, to help with the breakouts.mJ is depth. Treatment level is density (how many pinpoint wounds are created). Coverage will vary depending on mJ and density, since higher mJs create larger wounds. Treatment levels do not go up to 20 or 25. I think it goes up to 12, then R-1 and R-2. Efficacy will depend on both.
You should trust your doctor to adjust your treatment to the right levels, but somewhere in the 35-40 mJ and 6-8 treatment level should be a good start.
at 35-40 mj and 6-8 level how much downtime are we looking at, or should I say how long before you are 'presentable to the public without looking like you tried to have something done?
Hi, I am trying to understand what settings there are with fraxel treatment and what they mean. Am I right, that the mJ expresses the depth -and thus possibly efficacy- of the treatment? How is that associated with the levels (8,9,10 up to 20, 25 etc.) that I see people writing about? And how important are the passes and how many are usually done? I will have my first fraxel treatment next Friday and have no idea so far about all this and if I can/should ask the doctor to do a certain level/energy/passes. What if he just will not do high levels? I have fair to slightly olive skin with lots of brown and red marks from acne, not too bad though, and scars. None of them deep, but there are just so many. Also I have big pores and oily skin in general. I hope that my acne -which I only have during about 1 week in a month, it's hormonal- will get better, too, as I have seen other people write in this thread. If not I might get smoothbeam, too, to help with the breakouts.mJ is depth. Treatment level is density (how many pinpoint wounds are created). Coverage will vary depending on mJ and density, since higher mJs create larger wounds. Treatment levels do not go up to 20 or 25. I think it goes up to 12, then R-1 and R-2. Efficacy will depend on both.
You should trust your doctor to adjust your treatment to the right levels, but somewhere in the 35-40 mJ and 6-8 treatment level should be a good start.
at 35-40 mj and 6-8 level how much downtime are we looking at, or should I say how long before you are 'presentable to the public without looking like you tried to have something done?
My first treatment @ 40/6, I probably could've gone out the next day. At 35/8, I went to work looking weirder than the next day at 40/6. Everyone just thought I was sunburned and peeling, so no big deal.
