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Bill : Am glad you are seeing some improvement with Dr. Dhawan. I know, at times, scar treatments test one's patience and perseverance. Fraxel at the last, sounds like the right way.
I wish you good luck in whatever coarse of treatment you choose in future.
Poloho : For draining and injecting overfilled graft, he used very tiny needle that didn't leave any additional scar after healing. For me, he took skin from behind both ears twice and alternatively. But probably, he might use another site if he thinks that is necessary. I would consider that as Doctor's problem ( how to get enough skin ) My best wishes for your future treatments.
has anyone had success with using fraxel on pores/pock marks on nose? please elaborate 🙂
Hi LaLa016 - I see you didn't get a response to your question. I think I read on the Australia fraxel posts about someone talking about her nurse who had performed fraxel on herself at 70mjs for a scar on her nose. The poster said it really improved. You could try search for the post.
Hi,
After a great deal of confusion regarding treatment levels, no. of passes and skin coverage, I have come up with the attached Excel document.
I have spoken to Relient and they inform me that there are two variations of the Fraxel Re:Store (SR-1500). The first one has 10 treatment levels followed by 3 resticted settings. The second has 12 treatment levels followed by 3 restricted settings.
If you know:
(1) Which version of the Fraxel re:store you used
(1) Your treatment level
(2) The no. of passes selected on the machine, and
(3) The no of passes you actually received
You can use the attached document to calculate the percentage of skin covered during your treatment. Have a go and let me know what you think!
Cheers,
Mark
Argh! It won't let me upload the file!
(This is copied from a response to Sanjoseskin's post - just wanted as many opinions as possible.)
I have had 4 Fraxel 1500 tx (40/level 10/8 passes) with what my dermatologist called "modest" visible improvements. He has now asked me to undergo a re:pair tx as part of a clinical trial for acne scars. He said he has done 15 patients so far and 14 of them have had substantial improvements. Although I have moderate scarring, it is not as severe as other people in the study so he thinks I will only need 1 tx. The study will do up to 3 tx. The biggest risk seemed to be redness that can last up to 3 months; no infections or scarring have been noted in studies thus far.
Has anyone actually had any experience with the new laser - not just speculation? My dr is in Minnesota. I spoke to him, his nurse, and the research coordinator but did not see any of the photos.
Thoughts?
(This is copied from a response to Sanjoseskin's post - just wanted as many opinions as possible.)I have had 4 Fraxel 1500 tx (40/level 10/8 passes) with what my dermatologist called "modest" visible improvements. He has now asked me to undergo a re:pair tx as part of a clinical trial for acne scars. He said he has done 15 patients so far and 14 of them have had substantial improvements. Although I have moderate scarring, it is not as severe as other people in the study so he thinks I will only need 1 tx. The study will do up to 3 tx. The biggest risk seemed to be redness that can last up to 3 months; no infections or scarring have been noted in studies thus far.
Has anyone actually had any experience with the new laser - not just speculation? My dr is in Minnesota. I spoke to him, his nurse, and the research coordinator but did not see any of the photos.
Thoughts?
did he say anything about skin tone, and other reasons why you're a candidate, etc.?
since it's a CO2, that would be the thing i'd be concerned about.
did his software only go to 40 on the SR1500? i'm wondering why he hasn't tried you at higher levels...
Experienced fraxellers, could you please advise whether it's harmless to gently wash your face or shower post-fraxel? More so to counteract weeping after treatment. Is cleansing necessary, or should the skin be left alone for the first day or two? Thanks 😉
i didn't have any weeping...? i assume that's since this is generally non-ablative (though it does make very very tiny ablative wounds).
also i guess since you can wash off the blue dye after treatment (and i washed my face about 10 times to get it off before i left the office), it's fine to continue to wash (and i did). that also helped me peel faster.
Bluemorpho ~ I don't think the fraxel was approved to go above 40 at the time of my last tx with the 1500. The level at which the dr started me was actually higher than he usually uses for the last tx for most patients. He's somewhat conservative, which is ok by me as I am a risk averse person. I cannot afford to go through more courses of the fraxel unless it would be part of the study and thus free. If I don't do the re:pair, I will just opt for fillers for now.
I have very fair skin and did have some response to the fraxel 1500 tx. The dr thought that I would be a good candidate b/c of the light skin tone, lack of side effects or adverse reactions to prior fraxel, willingness to follow through w/tx protocol, and I think b/c he feels bad that I'm broke and trying to get improvement in my skin for my wedding at the end of September. I'll take his pity if it helps! I think it also helps that he has had a good response so far with other patients; they actually decided to expand the study from the original 15 at his site and I would be #16.
My biggest concern is the risk of adverse reaction or long term redness, since I would only have 7 weeks between the time of tx and my wedding. Any experiences or research would be much appreciated!
OMG THE PAIN!
The fraxel was seriously worse than getting myself waxed down there! I am NOT joking!
I had it done today with the newer machine, at 30/level9/8pass. This is my first time ever doing something to my face (other than one microderm i had a few weeks before)
I had anesthetic cream (i think lidocane at 23%) put on my face 1 hour before, and it really did numb my face BUT i think it did nothing for the pain! It was incrediably painful EVERYWHERE! The lady was even surprised i felt so much pain in my cheeks and stuff (usually she says ppl dont feel it there..). I was shaking all over the whole time and my eyes were so tearful. I think i may have reacted a bit ot the anesethic though, because my face got red and swelled slightly during the 1 hr wait.
After that, face is of course, all swollen and throbbed for about 3 hours. I have never had a sunburn before, so I have no idea what to expect.
Right now, 6 hrs later, i can move my face more, but the swelling hasnt subsided.
I will post pics of before and after when everything is ok again.
But be warned!! It is VERY painful. I doubt I will go and do another treatment. the lady suggested that if i decide to do another treatment, I take a tylenol before (NOT advil or aspirin cuz those can thin ur blood & cause bruising).
the procedure costed me 850$ canadian including tax. It also comes with a free microdermbrasion when my skin starts flaking like crazy. But I doubt I willt ake up that offer (the one microderm caused me to break out >< so i think i just have sensitive skin)
OMG THE PAIN!The fraxel was seriously worse than getting myself waxed down there! I am NOT joking!
I had it done today with the newer machine, at 30/level9/8pass. This is my first time ever doing something to my face (other than one microderm i had a few weeks before)
I had anesthetic cream (i think lidocane at 23%) put on my face 1 hour before, and it really did numb my face BUT i think it did nothing for the pain! It was incrediably painful EVERYWHERE! The lady was even surprised i felt so much pain in my cheeks and stuff (usually she says ppl dont feel it there..). I was shaking all over the whole time and my eyes were so tearful. I think i may have reacted a bit ot the anesethic though, because my face got red and swelled slightly during the 1 hr wait.
After that, face is of course, all swollen and throbbed for about 3 hours. I have never had a sunburn before, so I have no idea what to expect.
Right now, 6 hrs later, i can move my face more, but the swelling hasnt subsided.
I will post pics of before and after when everything is ok again.
But be warned!! It is VERY painful. I doubt I will go and do another treatment. the lady suggested that if i decide to do another treatment, I take a tylenol before (NOT advil or aspirin cuz those can thin ur blood & cause bruising).
the procedure costed me 850$ canadian including tax. It also comes with a free microdermbrasion when my skin starts flaking like crazy. But I doubt I willt ake up that offer (the one microderm caused me to break out >< so i think i just have sensitive skin)
yes, it's painful! i had numbing injections, however, in addition to the numbing gel/cream. does the place who did yours offer that? i had about five or six injections across my forehead that numbed most of my forehead, and also two inside my upper lip, that completely numbed my upper lip, nose, and into my cheeks. it helped A LOT. i can't imagine not having the injections, although the needle itself was pretty painful!
i'm going for my second fraxel2 today and am hoping to tolerate it more 🙂
regarding swelling, i would not ice on the second day. i iced WAY too much the first day, slept on my back (big mistake -- you have to sleep sitting up), and then kept icing all day the second day. i swelled MORE as a result. ice only helps swelling as a result of heat inflammation, which is the 3/4 hours afterwards when you FEEL like you're hot/sunburned. after that, you need blood flow in and out of the area for swelling to subside, and ice restricts blood flow.
good luck!
The place I go applies numbing cream occluded with plastic wrap 2 hours before. (I take my laptop to work on during the wait). I only take two Panadeine (strong Paracetamol) because I drive myself home. Other people who get a taxi ride home take Panadeine Forte with codeine. No injections. So long as the Zimmer cool air machine is focussed where the Fraxel head is I'm fine during the treatment. Afterwards I ice at the clinic for about 10 minutes then direct the air conditioner on my face intermittently during the drive home. I find the post treatment heat suddenly disappears after an hour or so. My swelling is less with each treatment but the period for bronzing/exfoliation remains the same. 
tabula-rasa have you had any improvement on scarring as of yet? also have you seen any difference in your hypopigmented spots?
I also have a question for you, since you seem to know your stuff when it comes to fraxel, due to my botched dermabrasion i have thickened skin especially on my lower left cheek which also happens to be hypopigmented, would fraxel help the thickened raised skin at all? As i really want to get this thickened skin flater so it's more level with the surrounding skin.
Thanks.
i had my second fraxel2 treatment this morning, and so far am experiencing less swelling than i did last time (yay!). i started drinking a ton of green tea almost right when i got home, and am going to take the chinese herbs i did last time starting tonight ("yunnan paiyao") to also help with blood flow/swelling reduction.
the treatment actually did not hurt as much this time. i only had the numbing cream on for about 30 minutes prior (i think it is called bidocaine?) and then was given numbing injections again. the cooling machine obviously does help a lot as someone else said, and i brought my own gel cold packs for the ride home.
my treatment levels were:
40 mJ
level 8
5.91 kJ output
8 passes to full face
4 extra passes to temples
i asked the the nurse aesthetician who performed the treatment about the kJ output number, and she said that the kJ actually goes down the higher the setting. i had initially thought the opposite until she explained.
it's nice to have finished another treatment and to just have 3 more of these left!
oh, i also did have the blue dye still, though they just got the new tips. since i didn't have the numbing cream on for long enough (i got there a little late), she used one of the old blue dye tips they had left so that i could keep the cream on.
with the new tips (no blue dye) you have to wash the numbing cream off before doing the procedure, because otherwise it clogs the tip.
so next time, no blue dye...yay!
tabula-rasa have you had any improvement on scarring as of yet? also have you seen any difference in your hypopigmented spots?I also have a question for you, since you seem to know your stuff when it comes to fraxel, due to my botched dermabrasion i have thickened skin especially on my lower left cheek which also happens to be hypopigmented, would fraxel help the thickened raised skin at all? As i really want to get this thickened skin flater so it's more level with the surrounding skin.
Thanks.
Heya Monkey Girl
(I only just learned the Arctic Monkeys are a band. Yes, I am very unhip 🙁 )
Still too early to comment on my results, and now my sessions are only 2 weeks apart so still subject to swelling. My hypo spots are quite small - only 1 or 2mm diameter. I'm hoping Fraxel will blend them. I have a raised lumpy area also. I'll give a progress report at 3 months.
I really can't answer your question re Fraxel on raised scarring. Dr Geronomous on the Fraxel webinar ( https://reliant.webex.com/ec0507l/eventcenter/recording/recordAction.do?theAction=poprecord&path=pop_program_info&confViewID=300509920&siteurl=reliant ) commented on improvements to certain hypertrophic scars. They showed the amazing image below of a 'previous resurfacing patient' (they didn't say what - dermabrasion maybe?). I suspect there was other treatment used here, like fillers.
In theory the micropscopic wounding by Fraxel can gradually replace 'dumped' scar collagen with more organised collagen and vascular tissue. This might flatten raised scars and improve texture and colour variations. The study on Fraxel for hypopigmentation claimed improvement, but at 4 weeks it was too early to draw reliable conclusions. It might be worth writing to Reliant and ask them about Fraxel on previous dermabrasion / burn scars etc.
Fraxelface reported early improvement on raised hypo TCA scarring. Maybe contact her for an update.
Cortisone and / or silicone sheet can reduce scar elevation and smooth lumpiness / fibrosis but need to be used for several months. Have a chat to your derm about these.
To me Recell shows impressive results on broad raised scar texture and colour. ( http://www.recell.info/document/casestudy/...nd%20colour.pdf ) But they resurface with dermabrasion which I guess is the last thing you would want to repeat. Whether they can resurface with C02 or Fraxel Repair instead, and how much it costs, where it is available, etc - I don't know. It just makes sense to me: Scar tissue does not have cells to regenerate, so bring the regenerative cells to the scar.
🙂
Ok it's been now 3 months i did have my last fraxel with a SR 1500 at 40 -8-8 pass.
the result is positive on some part and other less. my big problem now is , i been for the first time on the beach after 3 months and i came back with white spots all over my face like i i did peeling in some part , i never have that before, im' a little worry. did some one experience the same after taking sun ?
Peoples,
Had my 3rd fraxel2 yesterday,
Thing you might want to know:
- 40MJ - 8 passes
- Hurt more than usual as my last was at 30MJ (but i managed)
- I am pretty red, though not as deep red as i usually am
- I have started to dry up already.. semi scaley skin already which is 1 day sooner than usual
- Swelling was about the same as usual (still semi swolen)
- I have seen improvments already on the left side of my face, though not on the right side yet before yesterdays treatment.
- Blue dye was still usued (i dont mind, its more for the clinic to save time and materials anyway)
- I iced 15 minutes per hours for 7 hours after the treatment and for 15 minutes when i woke up this morning.
hi i went for a fraxel2 consultation today and the nurse told me that she is going to start at 9MJ and work up to 15MJ over 5 treatments going over 4 passes maximum. Does this seem right to you? She almost laughed when i asked can she go higher and that this is extremely powerful but i have read people are going up to 70MJ.
Alsoo she will not spot treat scarred areas in order to keep the skin blended in she said and avoid uneven skin tone.
I dojn't want to pay so much money to not see results have i got this wrong or smething? 9MJ to 15MJ isn't going to make much difference if 30Mj and 40MJ with 8 passes doesn't!
Oh and she still uses dye and uses anasthetic cream for fase first.
hi i went for a fraxel2 consultation today and the nurse told me that she is going to start at 9MJ and work up to 15MJ over 5 treatments going over 4 passes maximum. Does this seem right to you? She almost laughed when i asked can she go higher and that this is extremely powerful but i have read people are going up to 70MJ.Alsoo she will not spot treat scarred areas in order to keep the skin blended in she said and avoid uneven skin tone.
I dojn't want to pay so much money to not see results have i got this wrong or smething? 9MJ to 15MJ isn't going to make much difference if 30Mj and 40MJ with 8 passes doesn't!
Oh and she still uses dye and uses anasthetic cream for fase first.
those levels sound to me like they are for a fraxel 1 (750) machine -- or else they are RIDICULOUSLY low for fraxel 2 and she doesn't know what she is talking about!
the levels actually sound like they are low for a fraxel 1 -- people were starting around 12 and working up to around 20 or higher, i believe. when i went to a doc for consult on fraxel 1 and she said she was only comfortable with level 8, i decided she was not the practitioner for me. scar improvement requires more aggressive treatment than what people are getting for wrinkles.
considering the money you'll be spending on this, i would find someone else to do it. i called and talked to about a dozen places and consulted in person with 3 before i decided who to go to. what area do you live in? maybe someone on the board could make a suggestion as to a practitioner...
OMG THE PAIN!The fraxel was seriously worse than getting myself waxed down there! I am NOT joking!
I had it done today with the newer machine, at 30/level9/8pass. This is my first time ever doing something to my face (other than one microderm i had a few weeks before)
I had anesthetic cream (i think lidocane at 23%) put on my face 1 hour before, and it really did numb my face BUT i think it did nothing for the pain! It was incrediably painful EVERYWHERE! The lady was even surprised i felt so much pain in my cheeks and stuff (usually she says ppl dont feel it there..). I was shaking all over the whole time and my eyes were so tearful. I think i may have reacted a bit ot the anesethic though, because my face got red and swelled slightly during the 1 hr wait.
After that, face is of course, all swollen and throbbed for about 3 hours. I have never had a sunburn before, so I have no idea what to expect.
Right now, 6 hrs later, i can move my face more, but the swelling hasnt subsided.
I will post pics of before and after when everything is ok again.
But be warned!! It is VERY painful. I doubt I will go and do another treatment. the lady suggested that if i decide to do another treatment, I take a tylenol before (NOT advil or aspirin cuz those can thin ur blood & cause bruising).
the procedure costed me 850$ canadian including tax. It also comes with a free microdermbrasion when my skin starts flaking like crazy. But I doubt I willt ake up that offer (the one microderm caused me to break out >< so i think i just have sensitive skin)
yes, it's painful! i had numbing injections, however, in addition to the numbing gel/cream. does the place who did yours offer that? i had about five or six injections across my forehead that numbed most of my forehead, and also two inside my upper lip, that completely numbed my upper lip, nose, and into my cheeks. it helped A LOT. i can't imagine not having the injections, although the needle itself was pretty painful!
i'm going for my second fraxel2 today and am hoping to tolerate it more 🙂
regarding swelling, i would not ice on the second day. i iced WAY too much the first day, slept on my back (big mistake -- you have to sleep sitting up), and then kept icing all day the second day. i swelled MORE as a result. ice only helps swelling as a result of heat inflammation, which is the 3/4 hours afterwards when you FEEL like you're hot/sunburned. after that, you need blood flow in and out of the area for swelling to subside, and ice restricts blood flow.
good luck!
No they didnt offer that. 🙁 I dont think I will go for it again so it doesnt matter. My scars are really not that bad.
Just a few things..
My face is still swollen but not as bad anymore. (today is the 2/3rd day) I did not bother icing my face at all because it actually hurt when i even use a cold damp cloth. Since I work from home, i dont care about how I currently look, I am just worried about it not healing properly.
In some parts, it has started to shed skin. However the healed skin underneath is really sad looking. It looks exactly like what happens to my skin after i accidently burn myself cooking -- reddish brown and sensitive looking.
I am guessing this is normal and it will fade away in a week?? I am worried about this part because discolorations on me take forever to disappear (maybe because I am chinese?). For example, I get brown marks from pimples that takes anywhere from 1/2 to 1 year to go away.
Thanks!
Hi all,
It's now been around 2 weeks after I had my last fraxel. Unforunately, my face is still moderately pinkish, and looks kind of pale ish on top of that. As it is right now, my face is about 2-3 shades lighter than the surrounding skin on my neck/body and looks pretty weird. Anyone else experience lingering red/pinkness for this long? I have asian skin by the way.
hi i went for a fraxel2 consultation today and the nurse told me that she is going to start at 9MJ and work up to 15MJ over 5 treatments going over 4 passes maximum. Does this seem right to you? She almost laughed when i asked can she go higher and that this is extremely powerful but i have read people are going up to 70MJ.Alsoo she will not spot treat scarred areas in order to keep the skin blended in she said and avoid uneven skin tone.
I dojn't want to pay so much money to not see results have i got this wrong or smething? 9MJ to 15MJ isn't going to make much difference if 30Mj and 40MJ with 8 passes doesn't!
Oh and she still uses dye and uses anasthetic cream for fase first.
those levels sound to me like they are for a fraxel 1 (750) machine -- or else they are RIDICULOUSLY low for fraxel 2 and she doesn't know what she is talking about!
the levels actually sound like they are low for a fraxel 1 -- people were starting around 12 and working up to around 20 or higher, i believe. when i went to a doc for consult on fraxel 1 and she said she was only comfortable with level 8, i decided she was not the practitioner for me. scar improvement requires more aggressive treatment than what people are getting for wrinkles.
considering the money you'll be spending on this, i would find someone else to do it. i called and talked to about a dozen places and consulted in person with 3 before i decided who to go to. what area do you live in? maybe someone on the board could make a suggestion as to a practitioner...
Thank you blue morpho. I called her up to tell her this she was very insistent and said the pain would be literally intolerable at those levels and burn the face off. She said something about she is doing 4 passes so i times the level by 4 and that is the overall energy i'll be getting and is what the people on here are talking about? i.e. 10MJ would equal 40MJ with 4 passes. So maybe I was wrong? It's definately fraxel 2 though i waited untill they had th new machine. She hasn't heard of a a new tip that doesn't need blue dye (i think this is only out in us right now) and feels you need blue dye in order to help, even though very annoying.
This is the nearest place i can reach with fraxel. 🙁