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It has been 2 weeks after my 1st Fraxel 2. I see almost no improvement not only in the big icepicks but also in the very small enlarged pores. Is that normal? Anyone can share experience after your 1 st Fraxel? When did you really see some improvement in your scars? How many treatment did you have? How much is the improvement ? What did your scars look like?Also I am considering to have CO2 laser treatment or excision. Is Fraxel effective in improving excision scars? Any suggestion?
It's a FRACTIONAL treatment.
You treat less than 20 percent of your scars with each treatment. You won't see any improvement until after #3, even then it will only be a little. You will really see improvement after #5 and #6.
After 5-6 treatments is the only time when the laser has actually covered 100 percent of your scars. At that time it's also usually about 5-6 months from the first treatment so that the collagen from the first treatment is done regenerating. But you still have to wait 6 months from the last treatment to see the final result. Be patient!
Hey ya'll. It seems like I stop by this topic every time I get depressed about my scars. I've had 1 fraxel treatment by Dr. Rohksar in NYC (who's supposedly one of the best) 1.5 years ago, but stopped b/c I broke out. I went on accutane, cleared up beautifully, and now have waited the 6 months before starting scar treatment again. I'm temping for the next 4-5 months so it's the perfect time for me to get this done before getting back to a real job....I'm vacillating between whether it's worth it or not...Hummmmmmmdid you still have active acne when you got fraxel the first time? were you on accutane before?
I had moderate to severe acne since I was 12 years old (now 25) and was clear, I'd say, about 15% of that time. I was clear when I started Fraxel but my skin was still very prone to breakouts. I think I got fraxel knowing that I should have done accutane first just b/c I wanted to start dealing with the scars and felt that my acne was "not that bad" (ha!) and didn't want to wait another year. No, I was never on accutane before. When I broke out after fraxel it wasn't major cysts, just small bumps in places that I never really broke out at before.
It has been 2 weeks after my 1st Fraxel 2. I see almost no improvement not only in the big icepicks but also in the very small enlarged pores. Is that normal? Anyone can share experience after your 1 st Fraxel? When did you really see some improvement in your scars? How many treatment did you have? How much is the improvement ? What did your scars look like?Also I am considering to have CO2 laser treatment or excision. Is Fraxel effective in improving excision scars? Any suggestion?
It's a FRACTIONAL treatment.
You treat less than 20 percent of your scars with each treatment. You won't see any improvement until after #3, even then it will only be a little. You will really see improvement after #5 and #6.
After 5-6 treatments is the only time when the laser has actually covered 100 percent of your scars. At that time it's also usually about 5-6 months from the first treatment so that the collagen from the first treatment is done regenerating. But you still have to wait 6 months from the last treatment to see the final result. Be patient!
This is the key to Fraxel (probably any scar treatments) and is the best way to describe things. It takes a lot lot lot of patience and I for one failed at that a few times.
Finally after getting pretty depressed and thinking it was a total waste of time I now think it did 'some' good but my scars are plentiful and various that I will need at least one more round. My skin is softer looking and I don't worry about wearing waterproof makeup as much and even in the past year I have let a few of my friends see me without makeup. Something I had never done before. So these treatments must have done some good. I am not satisfied but I have to remember, once a scar always a scar (pretty much it will be there in some form or fashion) but I want to make them as small as possible. I'm also older then some (I will be 40 at the end of this year) so I really need an extra boost of collagen. I will be looking into fillers for the marionette lines around my mouth to fill in those and the scarring in that area as well. I didn't think you could have filler and then do Fraxel but I saw a show tonight where this lady had botox, fillers and then a fraxel so I will talk to my doctor about this too.
I think thats why a lot of people give up on Fraxel is not being patient enough combined with a doctor/nurse/laser operator who doesn't know the proper settings to use. I do believe you have to go as high as possible with acne scars and have at least 4 to 5 treatments and then wait at least 6 months after the last treatment to evaluate your results.
I called my doctor today to see if he would prescribe some antibiotic to help with any post Fraxel breakouts. My problem was millia and I have been having small breakouts lately, rosacea related I think. I didn't hear back from the office but I will call the pharmacy tomorrow to see if maybe he called it in for me.
Hey its been a while since i last posted here and i have done my 2nd Fraxel going for the 3rd. I can definitely see an improvement after my 2nd treatment. Been around 3-4 weeks after the 2nd treatment.
I also had a bit of a breakout after the 2nd treatment. Weirdly the 1st treatment was ok. Nevertheless those breakouts are in spots that don't scar so i didnt really care. Again weirdly i only seem to scar on my cheeks.
Regarding the pain, it is painful but bearable. I mean if I am paying $1000+ per treatment i better get my money's worth. my first treatment was 40mJ 10-12 passes and my 2nd treatment is 55mJ 12-14 passes. If it helps if your doctor finishes 1 area before going to the next. This is done so that the cream doesnt wear off too much before the treatment is finished. That was what my derm did anyway for the 2nd fraxel and it was LOADS less painful.
Hope this will bring some hope to you guys and can clarify some of your doubts.
JJP007 makes a good point, about your fraxel operator (nurse, tech, doctor, pa).
Acne scar treatment requires different protocols than wrinkle or melasma treatment. Make sure to ask during your consultation if they have treated a lot of patients with acne scars and are aware of the higher settings and passes required.
A lot of doctors will fib and say they have more experience than they really do. A subtle indicator of their experience and honesty is how long they tell you your downtime will be. If during the interview the doctor tells you its a "no-downtime procedure" or that you will be back to normal in a day or two, then obviously s/he does not have experience treating acne scars at high levels.
Obviously, the British reporter went to a doctor who was not honest nor experienced with acne scars. She wasn't warned of the initial breakout, length of recovery, or pain of the procedure at higher levels.
Her doctor even incriminates himself by saying he never saw that reaction in a patient before. So then he's either lying or has never treated acne scars.
imjayhawk -
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. And hey you are right, maybe I am a little too self concious... I try really really hard not to be but its just not quite that easy. Im sure alot of you out there will agree. So glad someone can see a positive side to acne scarring though!
Heres an update of my skin: Went to the derm few days ago.. its been 3 months now since my last one and still havent seen one slight bit of improvement. I had a look at my 'before' photos and compared them to how my skin is now and it was like looking at a mirrored image. Nothing had changed. The only thing I noticed was that my pigmentation wasnt quite as red as it was before but was more like a pinky colour now. Still this result certainly was not worth the $4500 I have paid out for Fraxel...
Anyways, the derm tried to hang on to hope by saying I need to wait the full 6 months to see the full effect... so I guess its just a waiting game now. I can honestly say though that if I havent seen any improvement within 3 months - I highly doubt I will see any in 6.
Only time will tell I suppose..... I will give the derm the benefit of the doubt but promised him that I will be back in another 3 months if I still havent seen an improvement. Its funny how derms are so nice to you and so positive and reassuring but as soon as they get your money and the procedure is done its a totally different tune....
I was assured by my derm that I would at least see a 50% improvement to my skin. When I confronted him about this last week he turned around to me and said he never said that 😮 Even my mum was witness to it. Anyway its all hearsay so I cant do much about it now but say to you guys to just be careful that you dont get tricked into the same position that I did.
In closing, I still strongly believe that Fraxel is a waste of money and I do not recommend anyone having it done.
Amanda11 -
After going thru the posts here in this board, it seems like it may even take 6 months before you'll see any substantial improvements. I understand your frustration, but don't be discouraged soon. In the meantime, maybe you can try Vitamin C or EGF creams to enhance/expedite the collagen production.
I'm dark skinned and I just had my second test site done today. Right now, we are trying to gage how well my skin will take it - that is how bad the pigmentation will be from it. My first test site was really successful. I was given a bleach cream by the doctor and I didn't even use it. He was pretty encouraged by it and we tried a much larger area this time. As for hurting - it didn't hurt at all .. I could feel some warm sensation from the laser but it was negated quickly by the cool air blower that the doc used along with the laser. After the treatment, put on icepack to cool it .. in an hour, the burn sensation is completely gone.
As for the scars, I have bad scars too but I don't let it bring me down anytime. I have a successful job as customer support for a Fortune 100 company and do have to deal with people all the time - everyday. I don't care if they don't look into my face when they talk to me at all ... I know what value I bring to my company's customer and they appreciate my work. Even within my team, I have established enough credibility with my hard work and skills that the last thing my manager or colleagues talk about is my acne scarring. My experience is they don't - maybe you are too self-conscious.
You may ask why I'm going for Fraxel right now - its more for myself than anything else. I take good care of myself - eat healthy, exercise, socialize. Since I have the money - I thought I'd try to do something about it. I mean I do feel self-conscious sometimes - I wish I could look in the mirror and not see a face full of icepicks. While I was in college, it did bother me but I never pursued getting something done about it - one because I couldn't afford it, another my goal was to finish my degree so that I could get a nice-paying job. As for hooking up girls, I had a few flings here and there but nothing to boast about. The moral of my story is that I never let it bother me so in your case - it is your choice. I see from your post that you are too self-conscious, try to look beyond it, focus on some other aspect of your life that you are proud of and ride on it. I can't imagine people committing suicide because of acne scars - life is too precious for that.
Hi all, its been a while since I last posted. I guess I was hoping that if I gave it a while then I would be able to come on here and tell you all about my wonderful experience with Fraxel. Unfortunately it is the oppositeI have had 4 Fraxel Treatments. The last 2 were at the highest settings possible. It has been about a month since my last one and there has been not one slight difference to my skins texture. For the people out there who have had this treatment done will agree that for the first week after each treatment your skin looks great... only because its all swollen and the skin is stretched to a smooth texture but then sure as hell the scars slowly creep back up again. I have spent a total of $4500 on this procedure and strongly advise anyone who is contemplating it to NOT get it done. Not only is it a complete waste of time and money but the pain involved is horrendous. I almost had a panic attack whilst having the first one due to the severe discomfort. My derm promised me that my skin would get great results and continuosly boasted about how happy I would be with the final outcome. I only sigh now at his comments as I know they were all lies. Anyway I dont mean to be negative or burst anyones bubbles but the truth of the matter is Fraxel doesnt work for acne scarring so dont waste your money.
I am going to see my derm again in a few weeks. He wants to see my skin and compare photos to see if there is any difference whatsoever. I will also be speaking with him about another alternative too. Hopefully there is something else out there that actually works. Money isnt a problem, i just want to see results. Its not like I am rich or anything but to me I believe you cant put a price on having normal skin, not perfect, just normal. Acne is not just about scarring and pigmentation... its a disease. An emotional and physical disease and for all you people out there like me who are suffering just as much, my heart goes out to you all because I know EXACTLY how you feel. Ive read many stories of people commiting suicide over acne and I used to think how can a human being take their own life over having scars on their skin. Not that I would EVER consider doing something like that but after suffering myself I can so understand how they would have been feeling.
In my job I am constantly in the public eye and I wish just for one day people would look me in the eye when talking to me, not look everywhere else on my face. I can almost read their minds when i see their eyes flickering around from my cheeks to my forehead, down to my chin then back to my cheeks again. I would love for the day when I could just wake up and go out shopping without having to cake a gallon of makeup on my skin jsut to try and make myself feel normal and most of all accepted.
My journey of acne and the scarring it leaves has left a permanent emotional scar on the inside of me and I believe it is something that will never be erased no matter how perfect my skin becomes.
I know there are a million people out there dying and suffering 1000 times worse than me and I know your probably thinking to just be grateful that I am alive. Well I tried that. I tried to tell myself that for 5 years. It just gets a bit much after a certain amount of time. As long as there are mirrors in this world people like us will always feel this way.
On a more positive note, I am so grateful however to have a very loving, caring and understanding partner who tries to make me feel like a beautiful princess every day of his life „¥ This i will never be able to repay him for.
Well just wanted to get all that off my chest. Thanks for listening everyone. I hope you all find your happy ending one day „¥xo„¥
imjayhawk -Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. And hey you are right, maybe I am a little too self concious... I try really really hard not to be but its just not quite that easy. Im sure alot of you out there will agree. So glad someone can see a positive side to acne scarring though!
Heres an update of my skin: Went to the derm few days ago.. its been 3 months now since my last one and still havent seen one slight bit of improvement. I had a look at my 'before' photos and compared them to how my skin is now and it was like looking at a mirrored image. Nothing had changed. The only thing I noticed was that my pigmentation wasnt quite as red as it was before but was more like a pinky colour now. Still this result certainly was not worth the $4500 I have paid out for Fraxel...
Anyways, the derm tried to hang on to hope by saying I need to wait the full 6 months to see the full effect... so I guess its just a waiting game now. I can honestly say though that if I havent seen any improvement within 3 months - I highly doubt I will see any in 6.
Only time will tell I suppose..... I will give the derm the benefit of the doubt but promised him that I will be back in another 3 months if I still havent seen an improvement. Its funny how derms are so nice to you and so positive and reassuring but as soon as they get your money and the procedure is done its a totally different tune....
I was assured by my derm that I would at least see a 50% improvement to my skin. When I confronted him about this last week he turned around to me and said he never said that 😮 Even my mum was witness to it. Anyway its all hearsay so I cant do much about it now but say to you guys to just be careful that you dont get tricked into the same position that I did.
In closing, I still strongly believe that Fraxel is a waste of money and I do not recommend anyone having it done.
Amanda11 -After going thru the posts here in this board, it seems like it may even take 6 months before you'll see any substantial improvements. I understand your frustration, but don't be discouraged soon. In the meantime, maybe you can try Vitamin C or EGF creams to enhance/expedite the collagen production.
I'm dark skinned and I just had my second test site done today. Right now, we are trying to gage how well my skin will take it - that is how bad the pigmentation will be from it. My first test site was really successful. I was given a bleach cream by the doctor and I didn't even use it. He was pretty encouraged by it and we tried a much larger area this time. As for hurting - it didn't hurt at all .. I could feel some warm sensation from the laser but it was negated quickly by the cool air blower that the doc used along with the laser. After the treatment, put on icepack to cool it .. in an hour, the burn sensation is completely gone.
As for the scars, I have bad scars too but I don't let it bring me down anytime. I have a successful job as customer support for a Fortune 100 company and do have to deal with people all the time - everyday. I don't care if they don't look into my face when they talk to me at all ... I know what value I bring to my company's customer and they appreciate my work. Even within my team, I have established enough credibility with my hard work and skills that the last thing my manager or colleagues talk about is my acne scarring. My experience is they don't - maybe you are too self-conscious.
You may ask why I'm going for Fraxel right now - its more for myself than anything else. I take good care of myself - eat healthy, exercise, socialize. Since I have the money - I thought I'd try to do something about it. I mean I do feel self-conscious sometimes - I wish I could look in the mirror and not see a face full of icepicks. While I was in college, it did bother me but I never pursued getting something done about it - one because I couldn't afford it, another my goal was to finish my degree so that I could get a nice-paying job. As for hooking up girls, I had a few flings here and there but nothing to boast about. The moral of my story is that I never let it bother me so in your case - it is your choice. I see from your post that you are too self-conscious, try to look beyond it, focus on some other aspect of your life that you are proud of and ride on it. I can't imagine people committing suicide because of acne scars - life is too precious for that.
Hi all, its been a while since I last posted. I guess I was hoping that if I gave it a while then I would be able to come on here and tell you all about my wonderful experience with Fraxel. Unfortunately it is the opposite 😥 I have had 4 Fraxel Treatments. The last 2 were at the highest settings possible. It has been about a month since my last one and there has been not one slight difference to my skins texture. For the people out there who have had this treatment done will agree that for the first week after each treatment your skin looks great... only because its all swollen and the skin is stretched to a smooth texture but then sure as hell the scars slowly creep back up again. I have spent a total of $4500 on this procedure and strongly advise anyone who is contemplating it to NOT get it done. Not only is it a complete waste of time and money but the pain involved is horrendous. I almost had a panic attack whilst having the first one due to the severe discomfort. My derm promised me that my skin would get great results and continuosly boasted about how happy I would be with the final outcome. I only sigh now at his comments as I know they were all lies. Anyway I dont mean to be negative or burst anyones bubbles but the truth of the matter is Fraxel doesnt work for acne scarring so dont waste your money.I am going to see my derm again in a few weeks. He wants to see my skin and compare photos to see if there is any difference whatsoever. I will also be speaking with him about another alternative too. Hopefully there is something else out there that actually works. Money isnt a problem, i just want to see results. Its not like I am rich or anything but to me I believe you cant put a price on having normal skin, not perfect, just normal. Acne is not just about scarring and pigmentation... its a disease. An emotional and physical disease and for all you people out there like me who are suffering just as much, my heart goes out to you all because I know EXACTLY how you feel. Ive read many stories of people commiting suicide over acne and I used to think how can a human being take their own life over having scars on their skin. Not that I would EVER consider doing something like that but after suffering myself I can so understand how they would have been feeling.
In my job I am constantly in the public eye and I wish just for one day people would look me in the eye when talking to me, not look everywhere else on my face. I can almost read their minds when i see their eyes flickering around from my cheeks to my forehead, down to my chin then back to my cheeks again. I would love for the day when I could just wake up and go out shopping without having to cake a gallon of makeup on my skin jsut to try and make myself feel normal and most of all accepted.
My journey of acne and the scarring it leaves has left a permanent emotional scar on the inside of me and I believe it is something that will never be erased no matter how perfect my skin becomes.
I know there are a million people out there dying and suffering 1000 times worse than me and I know your probably thinking to just be grateful that I am alive. Well I tried that. I tried to tell myself that for 5 years. It just gets a bit much after a certain amount of time. As long as there are mirrors in this world people like us will always feel this way.
On a more positive note, I am so grateful however to have a very loving, caring and understanding partner who tries to make me feel like a beautiful princess every day of his life This i will never be able to repay him for.
Well just wanted to get all that off my chest. Thanks for listening everyone. I hope you all find your happy ending one day xo
Hold on, did you see any results in your rolling scars? I don't understand how people see results and some don't really weird.
imjayhawk -Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. And hey you are right, maybe I am a little too self concious... I try really really hard not to be but its just not quite that easy. Im sure alot of you out there will agree. So glad someone can see a positive side to acne scarring though!
Heres an update of my skin: Went to the derm few days ago.. its been 3 months now since my last one and still havent seen one slight bit of improvement. I had a look at my 'before' photos and compared them to how my skin is now and it was like looking at a mirrored image. Nothing had changed. The only thing I noticed was that my pigmentation wasnt quite as red as it was before but was more like a pinky colour now. Still this result certainly was not worth the $4500 I have paid out for Fraxel...
Anyways, the derm tried to hang on to hope by saying I need to wait the full 6 months to see the full effect... so I guess its just a waiting game now. I can honestly say though that if I havent seen any improvement within 3 months - I highly doubt I will see any in 6.
Only time will tell I suppose..... I will give the derm the benefit of the doubt but promised him that I will be back in another 3 months if I still havent seen an improvement. Its funny how derms are so nice to you and so positive and reassuring but as soon as they get your money and the procedure is done its a totally different tune....
I was assured by my derm that I would at least see a 50% improvement to my skin. When I confronted him about this last week he turned around to me and said he never said that 😮 Even my mum was witness to it. Anyway its all hearsay so I cant do much about it now but say to you guys to just be careful that you dont get tricked into the same position that I did.
In closing, I still strongly believe that Fraxel is a waste of money and I do not recommend anyone having it done.
Amanda11 -After going thru the posts here in this board, it seems like it may even take 6 months before you'll see any substantial improvements. I understand your frustration, but don't be discouraged soon. In the meantime, maybe you can try Vitamin C or EGF creams to enhance/expedite the collagen production.
I'm dark skinned and I just had my second test site done today. Right now, we are trying to gage how well my skin will take it - that is how bad the pigmentation will be from it. My first test site was really successful. I was given a bleach cream by the doctor and I didn't even use it. He was pretty encouraged by it and we tried a much larger area this time. As for hurting - it didn't hurt at all .. I could feel some warm sensation from the laser but it was negated quickly by the cool air blower that the doc used along with the laser. After the treatment, put on icepack to cool it .. in an hour, the burn sensation is completely gone.
As for the scars, I have bad scars too but I don't let it bring me down anytime. I have a successful job as customer support for a Fortune 100 company and do have to deal with people all the time - everyday. I don't care if they don't look into my face when they talk to me at all ... I know what value I bring to my company's customer and they appreciate my work. Even within my team, I have established enough credibility with my hard work and skills that the last thing my manager or colleagues talk about is my acne scarring. My experience is they don't - maybe you are too self-conscious.
You may ask why I'm going for Fraxel right now - its more for myself than anything else. I take good care of myself - eat healthy, exercise, socialize. Since I have the money - I thought I'd try to do something about it. I mean I do feel self-conscious sometimes - I wish I could look in the mirror and not see a face full of icepicks. While I was in college, it did bother me but I never pursued getting something done about it - one because I couldn't afford it, another my goal was to finish my degree so that I could get a nice-paying job. As for hooking up girls, I had a few flings here and there but nothing to boast about. The moral of my story is that I never let it bother me so in your case - it is your choice. I see from your post that you are too self-conscious, try to look beyond it, focus on some other aspect of your life that you are proud of and ride on it. I can't imagine people committing suicide because of acne scars - life is too precious for that.
Hi all, its been a while since I last posted. I guess I was hoping that if I gave it a while then I would be able to come on here and tell you all about my wonderful experience with Fraxel. Unfortunately it is the opposite 😥 I have had 4 Fraxel Treatments. The last 2 were at the highest settings possible. It has been about a month since my last one and there has been not one slight difference to my skins texture. For the people out there who have had this treatment done will agree that for the first week after each treatment your skin looks great... only because its all swollen and the skin is stretched to a smooth texture but then sure as hell the scars slowly creep back up again. I have spent a total of $4500 on this procedure and strongly advise anyone who is contemplating it to NOT get it done. Not only is it a complete waste of time and money but the pain involved is horrendous. I almost had a panic attack whilst having the first one due to the severe discomfort. My derm promised me that my skin would get great results and continuosly boasted about how happy I would be with the final outcome. I only sigh now at his comments as I know they were all lies. Anyway I dont mean to be negative or burst anyones bubbles but the truth of the matter is Fraxel doesnt work for acne scarring so dont waste your money.I am going to see my derm again in a few weeks. He wants to see my skin and compare photos to see if there is any difference whatsoever. I will also be speaking with him about another alternative too. Hopefully there is something else out there that actually works. Money isnt a problem, i just want to see results. Its not like I am rich or anything but to me I believe you cant put a price on having normal skin, not perfect, just normal. Acne is not just about scarring and pigmentation... its a disease. An emotional and physical disease and for all you people out there like me who are suffering just as much, my heart goes out to you all because I know EXACTLY how you feel. Ive read many stories of people commiting suicide over acne and I used to think how can a human being take their own life over having scars on their skin. Not that I would EVER consider doing something like that but after suffering myself I can so understand how they would have been feeling.
In my job I am constantly in the public eye and I wish just for one day people would look me in the eye when talking to me, not look everywhere else on my face. I can almost read their minds when i see their eyes flickering around from my cheeks to my forehead, down to my chin then back to my cheeks again. I would love for the day when I could just wake up and go out shopping without having to cake a gallon of makeup on my skin jsut to try and make myself feel normal and most of all accepted.
My journey of acne and the scarring it leaves has left a permanent emotional scar on the inside of me and I believe it is something that will never be erased no matter how perfect my skin becomes.
I know there are a million people out there dying and suffering 1000 times worse than me and I know your probably thinking to just be grateful that I am alive. Well I tried that. I tried to tell myself that for 5 years. It just gets a bit much after a certain amount of time. As long as there are mirrors in this world people like us will always feel this way.
On a more positive note, I am so grateful however to have a very loving, caring and understanding partner who tries to make me feel like a beautiful princess every day of his life This i will never be able to repay him for.
Well just wanted to get all that off my chest. Thanks for listening everyone. I hope you all find your happy ending one day xo
Hold on, did you see any results in your rolling scars? I don't understand how people see results and some don't really weird.
Also how severe was her scarring? what kind of scars does she have?
imjayhawk -Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. And hey you are right, maybe I am a little too self concious... I try really really hard not to be but its just not quite that easy. Im sure alot of you out there will agree. So glad someone can see a positive side to acne scarring though!
Heres an update of my skin: Went to the derm few days ago.. its been 3 months now since my last one and still havent seen one slight bit of improvement. I had a look at my 'before' photos and compared them to how my skin is now and it was like looking at a mirrored image. Nothing had changed. The only thing I noticed was that my pigmentation wasnt quite as red as it was before but was more like a pinky colour now. Still this result certainly was not worth the $4500 I have paid out for Fraxel...
Anyways, the derm tried to hang on to hope by saying I need to wait the full 6 months to see the full effect... so I guess its just a waiting game now. I can honestly say though that if I havent seen any improvement within 3 months - I highly doubt I will see any in 6.
Only time will tell I suppose..... I will give the derm the benefit of the doubt but promised him that I will be back in another 3 months if I still havent seen an improvement. Its funny how derms are so nice to you and so positive and reassuring but as soon as they get your money and the procedure is done its a totally different tune....
I was assured by my derm that I would at least see a 50% improvement to my skin. When I confronted him about this last week he turned around to me and said he never said that 😮 Even my mum was witness to it. Anyway its all hearsay so I cant do much about it now but say to you guys to just be careful that you dont get tricked into the same position that I did.
In closing, I still strongly believe that Fraxel is a waste of money and I do not recommend anyone having it done.
Hi Amanda
Here comes a very confusing (because I'm confused) post about using two different types of treatment in quick succession.
I'm about eight weeks post my 5th fraxel and I too am waiting for the admiring glances and compliments from friends and strangers about the new me 😉 . I have had a few of those, but it's only from people seeing me in the 'glory' period which we all know about - a little stretched and smooth and glowing a week after being zapped.
I was initially going to have spot treatments for enlarged pores and some icepick scars in my nose crease and some shallow scars on my forehead, but opted for the full face, just to see what would happen to texture and tone etc. I hate to say this, but thus far it doesn't seem to have helped my icepick scars and the jury is still out on my pores - I say this because this part's complicated... problem is I've also been using retin a for nearly 6 weeks and the pores are changing from one day to the next (there was one hot day last week where they looked so bad..sort of pitted..that I was cursing both fraxel and retin a, not knowing which one to blame; luckily that situation's improved over the last seven days probably through leaving the retin a on for less time at night; 8 hours max) - my girlfriend has noticed the daily forward and back changes too; I think my pores are slowly shrinking overall but it's impossible to tell if it's from the fraxel or retin a.
What about texture etc...? I've compared photos of myself taken with the same camera, lens and flash and my skin looks identical to how it looked a year ago :redface: But it's not all bad news... Photos, even good ones, will only tell you so much. I think my skin overall is a bit smoother now and some fine wrinkles are disappearing. Also for the last twenty years I wouldn't leave the house without tinted moisturiser on my cheeks and nose because of redness and uneven texture caused by mild dermatitis. Well, I don't feel the need to use that stuff anymore - it looks presentable without it now, so something must have changed.
But, once again, I couldn't say if the fraxel or the retin a is responsible for these improvements. Same goes for the 6 to 12 month 'full benefit' deal...if my skin looks noticeably nicer in a year I'll never know which treatment caused it unless I stop using retin a and I'm not prepared to do that - reason is, and here is the point of my lengthy post at last, I've got a fairly strong feeling it'd be the retin a. My evidence..? Well, about 6 months ago I had a brief introduction to retin a leading up to my fraxel treatments; I didn't use it at all for the whole time I was doing fraxel - my derm told me not to. Anyway, I seemed to be one of those lucky ones whose skin loves retin a. Two weeks on it and I and others noticed improvements in texture and tone. I only did fraxel because of it potentially fixing my scars and pores and to generally see what magic it could weave in addition to my retin a improvements.
Knowing what I know now, I would have postponed the fraxel for six months to a year to see how far I could have got using just retin a. I think it has just as much chance of shrinking my pores as fraxel, it seems to work really well for texture and, as for my scars, I would have had excisions for the nastier ones (I'm going to do this anyway in a few weeks...). Plus, I would have saved a tonne of money :eh:
Sorry once again for the confusing and seemingly pointless nature of this post (I've just read it over and, yes, it is a bit rambling :confused: ) but many other people seem to undergo more than one treatment at a time and I'm just sharing my experiences.
Hi Jay7, dont worry you werent rambling at least to me it made sense. my question to you is when you mean it helped your texture, what kind of textural problems did you have? almost like very very shallow scars that have no depth to it just a slight difference in skin levels? did you have any very shallow scarring that the fraxel did help reduce or remove? i just dont see how it wouldnt? sorry for all the questions just curious to know what your skin condition was before you had the treatments.
Hi Jay7, dont worry you werent rambling at least to me it made sense. my question to you is when you mean it helped your texture, what kind of textural problems did you have? almost like very very shallow scars that have no depth to it just a slight difference in skin levels? did you have any very shallow scarring that the fraxel did help reduce or remove? i just dont see how it wouldnt? sorry for all the questions just curious to know what your skin condition was before you had the treatments.
Hi Mary23
Thanks for reading and 'getting' my post 😎 I take fraxelwaxel's comment on board and am not offended by it - I knew and stated that it was rambling but it's hard to neatly describe changing skin etc while being treated not to mention trying to work out what's causing the changes...
My skin texture was/still is smooth in parts such as my cheekbones, temples and jaw (fraxel has made the 'smooth' even smoother - it wasn't necessary but it's cool I guess); then the t-zone gets a little nasty with sebaceous hyperplasia on my forehead (nearly gone probably thanks to retin a), some rather shallow scars in my forehead (maybe a little better from fraxel), some shallow wrinkles (maybe fraxel smoothed them out, maybe it's the retin a doing it) and last but not least, my 'orange peel' areas on forehead, nose and areas just next to my nose. That's where the skin is upraised a little next to pores highlighting the pores themselves which are larger than normal. This changes from day to day - smoothed out 1 week post fraxel, then came back as the fraxel swelling totally subsided. I personally don't think fraxel has helped this condition - maybe the opposite, I'm sure it never looked 'pitted' before, but now it does sometimes - but I think that careful use of retin a is gradually improving it. Time will tell...
jay7 -- what were your Fraxel settings?
Ok, this is where I can and can't help... 😉 I didn't ask for those sorts of details because I wasn't as curious about it all as I am now - I just put my faith in it. My derm told me things like "we're starting on 45 with 4 passes" without giving me complete details. No blue dye was used so I'd say it was one of the more recent machines. That was on my first session and I ended up very swollen and sore and red. I don't really know what '45' refers to but by my fourth treatment she had ramped it up to '60' because I can take a lot of pain. Weirdly, this hurt and swelled a bit less less than my first session. Maybe skin gets used to this sort of punisment...? To put this in perspective, she said that '70' was as high as she goes, and that's for people with deep scarring.
I found that no matter what settings were used and how red and swollen my face was it always took about a week to return to looking fairly normal with mild but nice-looking slight swelling and two or three weeks to look like it did pre-fraxel to any but the super-observant.
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?
Hi trident
At the moment, 8 weeks after my 5th and final, I'd say no way - small changes but nothing drastic that warrants my $$$; maybe I was hoping for too much, but by the same token I had been led to expect quite a lot... BUT if improvements really do keep happening 6 months to a year after treatment then that will be a different story 🙂 I'd love to know too - is anyone (past the 1 year on mark) really satisfied and pleased they did it??
was thinking about having the fraxel laser done, but wanted to know if anyone who has done it before thinks it is worth the money?Hi trident
At the moment, 8 weeks after my 5th and final, I'd say no way - small changes but nothing drastic that warrants my $$$; maybe I was hoping for too much, but by the same token I had been led to expect quite a lot... BUT if improvements really do keep happening 6 months to a year after treatment then that will be a different story 🙂 I'd love to know too - is anyone (past the 1 year on mark) really satisfied and pleased they did it??
Jay, do you mind if I ask what sort of scars you have?
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?Hi trident
At the moment, 8 weeks after my 5th and final, I'd say no way - small changes but nothing drastic that warrants my $$$; maybe I was hoping for too much, but by the same token I had been led to expect quite a lot... BUT if improvements really do keep happening 6 months to a year after treatment then that will be a different story 🙂 I'd love to know too - is anyone (past the 1 year on mark) really satisfied and pleased they did it??
Jay, do you mind if I ask what sort of scars you have?
Sure Naitch (hey, this is live and real time 😀 )
I have some rather shallow scarring on my forehead from large blind pimples that I foolishly attacked mercilessly several years ago - pretty much only noticeable in unkind lighting; they hardly show up in photos. More noticeable though are some icepick scars in my nose creases and at the tip of my nose, again from years of unfortunate squeezing (I was young and didn't know better...) They're not terrible but combined with my other skin flaws they're not terrific either.
was thinking about having the fraxel laser done, but wanted to know if anyone who has done it before thinks it is worth the money?Hi trident
At the moment, 8 weeks after my 5th and final, I'd say no way - small changes but nothing drastic that warrants my $$$; maybe I was hoping for too much, but by the same token I had been led to expect quite a lot... BUT if improvements really do keep happening 6 months to a year after treatment then that will be a different story 🙂 I'd love to know too - is anyone (past the 1 year on mark) really satisfied and pleased they did it??
We all ramble on here. Dealing with acne scars does that to ya 🙂 😛 No worries.
I'm over a year past my last Fraxel. I did use the blue dye and my doc ended on the highest settings (which I think should be used for any kind of acne scarring). Informed doctors will tell you that Fraxel works the best on shallow scars and can improve deeper ones but works best on shallow rolling type scars. I was under the impression Fraxel didn't really work for icepick type scarring or I haven't seen it mentioned as being for that type of scars but I could be wrong since I only have a few of those types of scars. I have a lot of scarring all over, all different kinds too plus I deal with redness from roseaca and dry flakey area around my nose. My skin is a mess!
I went back and forth after finishing my treatments. I did get pretty depressed for a while but then when I calmed down and tried to be more rational. Yes, I do see improvement. Am I satisfied? With my level of scarring I dont know if I will ever be completely satisfied but I will continue to try to improve.
I have a general softening of all of my rolling shallow scars especially on my checks and a bit of improvement on my other random scars. I don't wear quite as much makeup where as I still have to cover my redness and bumps from the roseaca but I wear my hair back a lot more often without feeling as self conscious so yes, there is improvement but I am going next week (probably) to talk to my doctor about another round of treatments. Fraxel is a very slow process and if you are only 2 months past your last treatment you still have a way to go. I wouldn't even start to compare until at least 6 months past your first treatment and even then you will only start to see the results of the first Fraxel (that effected only 20% of you face) This is why it's such a tedious process to see results and you might have to have multiple series at very high levels. Yes it is expensive and this is the one reason why I don't think Fraxel is good for everyone. The expense and the slight improvement works best of very shallow scarring. If it were cheaper I would tell more people to give it a try but expect to have to have a lot of treatments over probably a 2 year period. I've done a lot of lasers to help my skin. I've been a member here since 2003! I still get depressed but at least I'm trying.
You are lucky your skin likes Retin A. I can't use many topicals without it making my face red and irritated. I bet the combination of Retin A and Fraxel will help your skin a lot and every month will be better and better and while it won't be a dramatic change all at once. In about a year you will notice that you just look better. Which is good in the end.
I think a lot of people who are unhappy have unrealistic expectations (myself included at first) or the doctor didn't use the highest settings with enough passes or some didn't even have enough treatments. Time, it takes a lot of time to see a softening of scars. They won't disappear, it's more like the will get filled up and get pushed closer to the surface.
I haven't experienced any fat loss at all.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
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?Hi trident
At the moment, 8 weeks after my 5th and final, I'd say no way - small changes but nothing drastic that warrants my $$$; maybe I was hoping for too much, but by the same token I had been led to expect quite a lot... BUT if improvements really do keep happening 6 months to a year after treatment then that will be a different story 🙂 I'd love to know too - is anyone (past the 1 year on mark) really satisfied and pleased they did it??
We all ramble on here. Dealing with acne scars does that to ya 🙂 😛 No worries.
I'm over a year past my last Fraxel. I did use the blue dye and my doc ended on the highest settings (which I think should be used for any kind of acne scarring). Informed doctors will tell you that Fraxel works the best on shallow scars and can improve deeper ones but works best on shallow rolling type scars. I was under the impression Fraxel didn't really work for icepick type scarring or I haven't seen it mentioned as being for that type of scars but I could be wrong since I only have a few of those types of scars. I have a lot of scarring all over, all different kinds too plus I deal with redness from roseaca and dry flakey area around my nose. My skin is a mess!
I went back and forth after finishing my treatments. I did get pretty depressed for a while but then when I calmed down and tried to be more rational. Yes, I do see improvement. Am I satisfied? With my level of scarring I dont know if I will ever be completely satisfied but I will continue to try to improve.
I have a general softening of all of my rolling shallow scars especially on my checks and a bit of improvement on my other random scars. I don't wear quite as much makeup where as I still have to cover my redness and bumps from the roseaca but I wear my hair back a lot more often without feeling as self conscious so yes, there is improvement but I am going next week (probably) to talk to my doctor about another round of treatments. Fraxel is a very slow process and if you are only 2 months past your last treatment you still have a way to go. I wouldn't even start to compare until at least 6 months past your first treatment and even then you will only start to see the results of the first Fraxel (that effected only 20% of you face) This is why it's such a tedious process to see results and you might have to have multiple series at very high levels. Yes it is expensive and this is the one reason why I don't think Fraxel is good for everyone. The expense and the slight improvement works best of very shallow scarring. If it were cheaper I would tell more people to give it a try but expect to have to have a lot of treatments over probably a 2 year period. I've done a lot of lasers to help my skin. I've been a member here since 2003! I still get depressed but at least I'm trying.
You are lucky your skin likes Retin A. I can't use many topicals without it making my face red and irritated. I bet the combination of Retin A and Fraxel will help your skin a lot and every month will be better and better and while it won't be a dramatic change all at once. In about a year you will notice that you just look better. Which is good in the end.
I think a lot of people who are unhappy have unrealistic expectations (myself included at first) or the doctor didn't use the highest settings with enough passes or some didn't even have enough treatments. Time, it takes a lot of time to see a softening of scars. They won't disappear, it's more like the will get filled up and get pushed closer to the surface.
I haven't experienced any fat loss at all.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Cool reply jjp007, just what I've been hoping to hear 😎
It's so easy to get stressed with this stuff and it's nice to know that my patience could well pay off (ok, sometimes I do get a little impatient, mainly on the days when things seem to have gone backwards). Here's my plan - I'll keep using retin a, get my icepick scars excised (probably punch elevation) and then see how things look at the end of the year. Then maybe another round of fraxel treatments...