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After reading several posts here, I finally decided to go for my first Fraxel treatment today....and let me tell you I did not expect it to hurt so much....I have had other treatments before ranging from a severe weird chemical peel, microdermabrasion, one punch excision, photofacials, smoothbeam and finally now fraxel....out of them all, the fraxel hurt the most. It wasn't the pain during the treatment that surprised me cuz it wasn't that bad, it was the pain AFTER. Hot, very hot, and not in a good way!
Anyhoo, after the treatment,(I only had my forehead and cheeks done), to lessen the reddening they put me infront of an LED light, I don't think it worked, as my face was still uber red after....better now though...I will try to post some pics soon. I am scheduled for three treatments, I don't have severe scarring but more like HUGE pores. You'd think after all the crap I've done that my skin would be like a baby's ass, but no, it's not.
I will tell you all that I don't expect my results to be perfect, but I do hope for some improvement. I can say that between the smoothbeam and the photofacials, I did have some improvement, but those are pricey too when you need to have several treatments. So I think, or rather hope, that after 3 treatments and within at least 6 months, some results will be seen. I will keep you all posted...
http://www.reliant-tech.com/newsdetails.cfm?NEWSID=64
they are marketing the re:fine to salons and spas. so i guess you don't have to have any kind of licensing at all to buy it? what's next, gas stations?
check this out. this doc has good pictures and results. he added another photo at the bottom of the page. shows terrific improvement in acne scars and PORE SIZE!
For anyone here who's currently doing Fraxel -- did the doctor recommend using Retin-A prior to starting Fraxel? That's what my doctor prescribed.My PS told me to NOT to use any kind of retinoids on my face 2 weeks prior to treatment. He made me sign a paper stating that I was aware that I shouldn't be using them with Fraxel. It's been a while since I spoke with him about it and I can't remember exactly why they shouldn't be used together but, I think it had to do with excessive peeling. Not sure though.
For anyone here who's currently doing Fraxel -- did the doctor recommend using Retin-A prior to starting Fraxel? That's what my doctor prescribed.My PS told me to NOT to use any kind of retinoids on my face 2 weeks prior to treatment. He made me sign a paper stating that I was aware that I shouldn't be using them with Fraxel. It's been a while since I spoke with him about it and I can't remember exactly why they shouldn't be used together but, I think it had to do with excessive peeling. Not sure though.
Retinoids inhibit heat shock protein 70, which is involved in wound healing/collagen formation.
Apologies for quoting older posts. I was browsing through this thread when I stumbled upon the above. My doctor prescribed me with depigmenting lotion - consiting of 2.5% Hydroquinone and incindentally, 0.05% Retinoic Acid. Albeit the considerable small percentage of the latter, should this be of concern? I was told to apply it ever second night within 7 days of getting fraxel done, and then every night thereafter for a maximum six weeks. I'm due for my second treatment Friday week, which, according to the instructions, means I should be applying the lotion on my treated areas right up to the day of treatment.
Should I be worried?
..anybody?
how spaced out are fraxel treatments? 1 month apart?the doc im going to told me he will treat me every 2 weeks. I am dark-skinned (indian) - about a 4-5 on fitzpartrick scale - and shallow scarring.
apparently 2 weeks is okay...that's what my doc is doing as well, and the fraxel rep i spoke with said it's okay, too.
you may want to gauge it according to how you heal, though -- if you have higher settings and your skin is swollen/red for longer, you may want to wait longer, etc., but definitely discuss it with your doctor.
http://www.reliant-tech.com/newsdetails.cfm?NEWSID=64they are marketing the re:fine to salons and spas. so i guess you don't have to have any kind of licensing at all to buy it? what's next, gas stations?
check this out. this doc has good pictures and results. he added another photo at the bottom of the page. shows terrific improvement in acne scars and PORE SIZE!
i think on those photos at the bottom of the page (the pre-fraxel photo of the guy) what you are seeing is scarred pores, and so the fraxel is improving those -- i used to think i just had large pores, but actually they are scarred. i am totally hoping my treatments improve them that much or more! 🙂
After reading several posts here, I finally decided to go for my first Fraxel treatment today....and let me tell you I did not expect it to hurt so much....I have had other treatments before ranging from a severe weird chemical peel, microdermabrasion, one punch excision, photofacials, smoothbeam and finally now fraxel....out of them all, the fraxel hurt the most. It wasn't the pain during the treatment that surprised me cuz it wasn't that bad, it was the pain AFTER. Hot, very hot, and not in a good way!
michie, is your treatment with the SR750 or SR1500 -- they say the 1500 doesn't hurt as much...so i'm wondering.
How safe is this procedure for dark skin people?
it may be one of the only procedures right now that's safe for people with dark pigmentation, given that you follow advice and don't go into the sun/wear sunscreen all the time when outside, etc., during the treatment course (otherwise you're risking hypopigmentation).
Looking to annie of miami picture although it surely improves her scar .... she mentioned that she think she looses weight looking at her face more elongated after her third treatment .... does anybody here experience that other people comments that they look thinner because they have less chubby face considering many months after their last treatment of fraxel .... i always being commented to loose weight because of my lesser chubby cheeks (although i haven't really loose weight) considering i've only had two session of fraxel around 5 months ago ....
i'm totally perplexed by this...it seems if you're building collagen your face isn't going to get thinner (you're plumping up the areas that were indented from scarring). it's like when people age they lose collagen -- fraxel is helping to rebuild that, thus why people get it for sagging/wrinkled skin (actually, look on the reliant/fraxel web site at the photos of people's necks if you want to see a big difference in that!).
perhaps this was coincidental and happened because of other reasons, and wasn't *causal*.
Retinoids inhibit heat shock protein 70, which is involved in wound healing/collagen formation.Apologies for quoting older posts. I was browsing through this thread when I stumbled upon the above. My doctor prescribed me with depigmenting lotion - consiting of 2.5% Hydroquinone and incindentally, 0.05% Retinoic Acid. Albeit the considerable small percentage of the latter, should this be of concern? I was told to apply it ever second night within 7 days of getting fraxel done, and then every night thereafter for a maximum six weeks. I'm due for my second treatment Friday week, which, according to the instructions, means I should be applying the lotion on my treated areas right up to the day of treatment.
Should I be worried?
..anybody?
in response to ronnie_bb,
i am not going to use hydroquinone after my treatments and even though i'm olive-toned, my doc said it's not necessary (i'm not asian at all, though i have some 'mixing' of other 'races' in my family history...).
Heartless told me about other products by Aloette Cosmetics called Lumitone Pigment Correcting Spot Treatment and Lumitone HP Pro for hypopigmentation that are natural (whereas hydroquinone has been banned in other countries because of the potential for skin damage/cancer). the thing is, i believe that you really will only have risk of hypopigmenting if you are exposed to sun after the treatment, so it doesn't seem necessary to use hydroquinone, i think.
and if you think it sounds dangerous to use it also because of the retinoic acid, i would trust your gut.
http://www.reliant-tech.com/newsdetails.cfm?NEWSID=64they are marketing the re:fine to salons and spas. so i guess you don't have to have any kind of licensing at all to buy it? what's next, gas stations?
check this out. this doc has good pictures and results. he added another photo at the bottom of the page. shows terrific improvement in acne scars and PORE SIZE!
i think on those photos at the bottom of the page (the pre-fraxel photo of the guy) what you are seeing is scarred pores, and so the fraxel is improving those -- i used to think i just had large pores, but actually they are scarred. i am totally hoping my treatments improve them that much or more! 🙂
After reading several posts here, I finally decided to go for my first Fraxel treatment today....and let me tell you I did not expect it to hurt so much....I have had other treatments before ranging from a severe weird chemical peel, microdermabrasion, one punch excision, photofacials, smoothbeam and finally now fraxel....out of them all, the fraxel hurt the most. It wasn't the pain during the treatment that surprised me cuz it wasn't that bad, it was the pain AFTER. Hot, very hot, and not in a good way!michie, is your treatment with the SR750 or SR1500 -- they say the 1500 doesn't hurt as much...so i'm wondering.
How safe is this procedure for dark skin people?it may be one of the only procedures right now that's safe for people with dark pigmentation, given that you follow advice and don't go into the sun/wear sunscreen all the time when outside, etc., during the treatment course (otherwise you're risking hypopigmentation).
Hey Bluemorpho, I am still new this posting thing....I will have to call the doctor who did it and ask him...I really have no idea....I just went in there, got it done and left...but a few hours later, the redness had subsided, and today I'm a little puffy in the eyes, but really you'd never know that I'd had it done!! I'm amazed...yesterday I kinda freaked out at the redness...I'll post back later....
Looking to annie of miami picture although it surely improves her scar .... she mentioned that she think she looses weight looking at her face more elongated after her third treatment .... does anybody here experience that other people comments that they look thinner because they have less chubby face considering many months after their last treatment of fraxel .... i always being commented to loose weight because of my lesser chubby cheeks (although i haven't really loose weight) considering i've only had two session of fraxel around 5 months ago ....i'm totally perplexed by this...it seems if you're building collagen your face isn't going to get thinner (you're plumping up the areas that were indented from scarring). it's like when people age they lose collagen -- fraxel is helping to rebuild that, thus why people get it for sagging/wrinkled skin (actually, look on the reliant/fraxel web site at the photos of people's necks if you want to see a big difference in that!).
perhaps this was coincidental and happened because of other reasons, and wasn't *causal*.
People on other forums (more concerned w/aging skin) sometimes say they lost fat with Fraxel (& many other procedures, especially Thermage.)
doodlebug is a confused newbie. fraxel does NOT cause fat loss. there have been reports of thermage doing that, although that's what it is supposed to do. its used to treat jowls and turkey neck. people even get it under eyes and such. its like a non surgical face lift. but it goes wrong occasionally.
if anyone had fraxel and got fat loss it was a coincidence do to weight loss or wasting, not the fraxel treatment.
doodlebug is a confused newbie. fraxel does NOT cause fat loss. there have been reports of thermage doing that, although that's what it is supposed to do. its used to treat jowls and turkey neck. people even get it under eyes and such. its like a non surgical face lift. but it goes wrong occasionally.if anyone had fraxel and got fat loss it was a coincidence do to weight loss or wasting, not the fraxel treatment.
Looks like someone got their account hacked. Maybe for this post? Nice name, though!
i have scarred pores and rolling scars and uneven skin texture. the scars look much softer and scarred pores shrunk and uneven skin texture is much more even... my skin looks much softer and even then before.
hi magic dust, what fraxel are you using (1500 or 750?) and can you post info on settings/number of passes, etc.? (or add the info to your signature?)
thanks!
i am getting my first with the 1500 next wednesday! one more week...
🙂
I have a hypopigmented spot on my forehead from a prior v-beam laser treatment. The penny-sized spot is a little lighter than my surrounding skin on my forehead, and it does not flush red along with the rest of my skin. This bothers me incredibly. I read a study by pubmed that the fraxel laser corrects hypopigmentation by stimulating new melanocytes to reappear. Is this accurate? and would I just need spot treatments or full forehead treatments?
Has anyone had the fraxel laser for hypopigmentation?
Does it darken the skin and hypopigmented scars?
I finally found the liink to the fraxel presentation I talked about in an earlier post.
Hope this helps some of you.
http://www.iian.ibeam.com/events/reio001/2...mages/20883.pdf
A question for all of those who've had several fraxels already. Did your swelling/micro-swelling last longer as the treatments went on?
The reason I ask is that I'm 1 week post-my third fraxel, and usually by now, my swelling/micro-swelling has subsided to the point where most of my scars are clearly visible (~70% pre-fraxel).
After this one, either my skin has made a huge leap in improvement or the swelling is lasting much longer, because my scars have only reverted back about 10-20%.
I guess we'll see...
Looking to annie of miami picture although it surely improves her scar .... she mentioned that she think she looses weight looking at her face more elongated after her third treatment .... does anybody here experience that other people comments that they look thinner because they have less chubby face considering many months after their last treatment of fraxel .... i always being commented to loose weight because of my lesser chubby cheeks (although i haven't really loose weight) considering i've only had two session of fraxel around 5 months ago ....
I've been questioning this also.
has anyone recently had the fraxel treatments with dr. fitzpatrick in la jolla? im wondering how results are with the new fraxel he has compared to the first fraxel machine... please let me know 🙂
:dance: Yes, Fraxel helps with hypopigmentation. Here is the study link with photos:
Looking to annie of miami picture although it surely improves her scar .... she mentioned that she think she looses weight looking at her face more elongated after her third treatment .... does anybody here experience that other people comments that they look thinner because they have less chubby face considering many months after their last treatment of fraxel .... i always being commented to loose weight because of my lesser chubby cheeks (although i haven't really loose weight) considering i've only had two session of fraxel around 5 months ago ....I've been questioning this also.
I've had swelling with treatmnets last many weeks. I would give it 3 to 4 months to judge true results. I have seen some improvment in the depth of my temple scars treated, but it has only been 3 weeks. Usually scars return to their original appearance after several months. That has happened to me with everything I have tried/
Zonk I noticed you waited 8 weeks between your 1st fraxel and 2nd, I have to wait 7 weeks before my 4th b/c of timing issues. Did you doctor indicate whether it was good or bad to wait that long. I was told in the beginning to have them 4-6 weeks apart and I 've had my last 3 5 weeks apart.
Has anyone had them longer then 6 weeks and was told that there results will only improve. Thanks.