HughB - I just looked at your before/after pics and I think I do see some improvement. As everybody else have said - wait for few more months for it to really show.

I have two questions -

 

1. Is it ok to use collagen boosting creams like Vitamin C Serum while getting Fraxel? Will it help?
2. My treatment full face minus nose/upper lips - 70MZ, Treatment Level 7, 6.04 KJ - How strong is it?

I'm thinking of asking my doctor to use more energy on my problem areas - cheeks and forehead. I'm 5 days post Fraxel, and only half of my face has peeled. The other half still has those tiny black dots. Any suggestion on how to expedite the peeling process? I can't be hiding my face all the time at work.

Umm, common sense maybe. If a 40 year old and a 20 year old both suffer a same level cut on the face (in the same place) the 20 year old will heal much faster due to faster healing properties and high collagen levels. And the fraxel pretty much"wounds" your face, that's why it's up to the individual's healing properties, collagen levels and health to fill the scar. Fraxel is only a stimulus, it's up to the person's body to do the rest in terms of filling the scar. And healthier people who eat a great diet (which consists of veggies, fruits, little fat) and do not smoke will have an upperhand (compared to a person of the same age but a poor diet) due to it being a link between the individual's healing properties and collagen production.

Common sense?? What bull .. common sense and science don't go hand-in-hand together all the time. While it may seem like it is obvious (your analogy is a good one), it isn't true for collagen growth. Check this Link [removed] out which tells you that collagen growth is more hampered by exposure to sun and your personal health rather than age.

Naitch said:

imjayhawk said:

HughB - I just looked at your before/after pics and I think I do see some improvement. As everybody else have said - wait for few more months for it to really show.

I have two questions -

1. Is it ok to use collagen boosting creams like Vitamin C Serum while getting Fraxel? Will it help?
2. My treatment full face minus nose/upper lips - 70MZ, Treatment Level 7, 6.04 KJ - How strong is it?

I'm thinking of asking my doctor to use more energy on my problem areas - cheeks and forehead. I'm 5 days post Fraxel, and only half of my face has peeled. The other half still has those tiny black dots. Any suggestion on how to expedite the peeling process? I can't be hiding my face all the time at work.

Umm, common sense maybe. If a 40 year old and a 20 year old both suffer a same level cut on the face (in the same place) the 20 year old will heal much faster due to faster healing properties and high collagen levels. And the fraxel pretty much"wounds" your face, that's why it's up to the individual's healing properties, collagen levels and health to fill the scar. Fraxel is only a stimulus, it's up to the person's body to do the rest in terms of filling the scar. And healthier people who eat a great diet (which consists of veggies, fruits, little fat) and do not smoke will have an upperhand (compared to a person of the same age but a poor diet) due to it being a link between the individual's healing properties and collagen production.

imjayhawk said:

Common sense?? What bull .. common sense and science don't go hand-in-hand together all the time. While it may seem like it is obvious (your analogy is a good one), it isn't true for collagen growth. Check this Link[removed] out which tells you that collagen growth is more hampered by exposure to sun and your personal health rather than age.

Naitch said:

imjayhawk said:

HughB - I just looked at your before/after pics and I think I do see some improvement. As everybody else have said - wait for few more months for it to really show.

I have two questions -

1. Is it ok to use collagen boosting creams like Vitamin C Serum while getting Fraxel? Will it help?
2. My treatment full face minus nose/upper lips - 70MZ, Treatment Level 7, 6.04 KJ - How strong is it?

I'm thinking of asking my doctor to use more energy on my problem areas - cheeks and forehead. I'm 5 days post Fraxel, and only half of my face has peeled. The other half still has those tiny black dots. Any suggestion on how to expedite the peeling process? I can't be hiding my face all the time at work.

Umm, common sense maybe. If a 40 year old and a 20 year old both suffer a same level cut on the face (in the same place) the 20 year old will heal much faster due to faster healing properties and high collagen levels. And the fraxel pretty much"wounds" your face, that's why it's up to the individual's healing properties, collagen levels and health to fill the scar. Fraxel is only a stimulus, it's up to the person's body to do the rest in terms of filling the scar. And healthier people who eat a great diet (which consists of veggies, fruits, little fat) and do not smoke will have an upperhand (compared to a person of the same age but a poor diet) due to it being a link between the individual's healing properties and collagen production.

My dermatologist also said that being young increases the chance of a successful fraxel treatment.

imjayhawk said:

Common sense?? What bull .. common sense and science don't go hand-in-hand together all the time. While it may seem like it is obvious (your analogy is a good one), it isn't true for collagen growth. Check thisLink[removed] out which tells you that collagen growth is more hampered by exposure to sun and your personal health rather than age.

Naitch said:

imjayhawk said:

HughB - I just looked at your before/after pics and I think I do see some improvement. As everybody else have said - wait for few more months for it to really show.

I have two questions -

1. Is it ok to use collagen boosting creams like Vitamin C Serum while getting Fraxel? Will it help?
2. My treatment full face minus nose/upper lips - 70MZ, Treatment Level 7, 6.04 KJ - How strong is it?

I'm thinking of asking my doctor to use more energy on my problem areas - cheeks and forehead. I'm 5 days post Fraxel, and only half of my face has peeled. The other half still has those tiny black dots. Any suggestion on how to expedite the peeling process? I can't be hiding my face all the time at work.

Umm, common sense maybe. If a 40 year old and a 20 year old both suffer a same level cut on the face (in the same place) the 20 year old will heal much faster due to faster healing properties and high collagen levels. And the fraxel pretty much"wounds" your face, that's why it's up to the individual's healing properties, collagen levels and health to fill the scar. Fraxel is only a stimulus, it's up to the person's body to do the rest in terms of filling the scar. And healthier people who eat a great diet (which consists of veggies, fruits, little fat) and do not smoke will have an upperhand (compared to a person of the same age but a poor diet) due to it being a link between the individual's healing properties and collagen production.

My reasoning may have been incorrect but according to your link the same conclusion remains that a 20 year-old would fair better results than a 40 year-old due to less sun exposure in there lifetime and more collagen production.

UPDATE: after 11 fraxels and 3 months.........

my last fraxel was sometime around february 15th (approx. 3 months ago).....my opinion on Fraxel is that it improves about 50-60% and mostly in skin color only......the red marks definitely look lighter, and a couple of rolling scars i had are pretty filled in (but not totally)......

ice picks got smaller but are still there.....

my opinion: if u have severe or moderate-severe pock scarring or ice picks, i dont think fraxel will produce much results for u......

Effu,

Do you have any Before and After Pics?

How long is your downtime after each treatment? Basically, how long till you feel comfortable going out?

Thanks!

i dont have pics....

i am not fraxeling anymore but when i was, i always went out on the very next day. i looked completely fucked up but i had to work....i just put pressed powder on my face to neutralize the redness, and put a little brown eye shadow under my eyes to make my eyes look less swollen....i also used to wear sunglasses and a scarf when walking around outside.....luckily, big sunglasses are in style these days, and i fraxeled in winter so the scarf didnt look weird....

i dont have pics....

i am not fraxeling anymore but when i was, i always went out on the very next day. i looked completely fucked up but i had to work....i just put pressed powder on my face to neutralize the redness, and put a little brown eye shadow under my eyes to make my eyes look less swollen....i also used to wear sunglasses and a scarf when walking around outside.....luckily, big sunglasses are in style these days, and i fraxeled in winter so the scarf didnt look weird....

Hi Effu,are u totally disappointed in fraxel?Would u consider fraxel re:pair ?

i think it helped.....i just dont think that it is worth the high cost....and i think that there should be something better available....

i may try the fraxel re:pair.....will have to wait at least 6 months from my last regular fraxel....i want to see the complete result of what ive already done...

I'm 3 weeks out from my 3rd fraxel and I'm actually loving the results! I had many (about 5-7) deep saucer like scars on my right cheek and they're a bit softer and less noticeable now. But I never had my expectations up that high with fraxel (or any treatment at all) so seeing results is great! These scars were kinda big and stubborn so any improvement in them was worth the money for me. I can't give a percentage improvement but lets just say my scars are no longer the first thing that I see under harsh lighting anymore... they're still there but not as deep and shadowy. It has greatly improved my confident levels.

The smaller scars on my temple are greatly reduced in size and number, which is another awesome thing. I'd say fraxel did the best job in reducing the scars on my temple areas.

All over, my face looks much more vibrant and my scars are significantly less red, but that MAY have something to do with the redder surrounding skin I acquired from the laser itself. But I had someone comment on my skin the other day, but he was sitting on the left side of my face (the lesser scarred side) so that might've skewed his thoughts a little bit hahah! But even so, the left side of my face must look a lot nicer than it previously was (whiter, softer, less red areas) for him to say that as I never get complements about my skin!

My dermatologist suggested doing needling after my 5 courses of fraxel. It's something I'll probably look into to fix my right side.

You scars! You blew up my face! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!

i dont have pics....

i am not fraxeling anymore but when i was, i always went out on the very next day. i looked completely fucked up but i had to work....i just put pressed powder on my face to neutralize the redness, and put a little brown eye shadow under my eyes to make my eyes look less swollen....i also used to wear sunglasses and a scarf when walking around outside.....luckily, big sunglasses are in style these days, and i fraxeled in winter so the scarf didnt look weird....

Did you have the highest settings for all those 11 treatments? I could never leave my apartment until 4 days after fraxelling because my face is so swollen I look like I've been in an accident.

I think FRAXEL is a waste of money. I had 3 sessions and I'm doind my 4th for free soon and it hasn't really done shit. Its only good if you have very light scarring. Any severe deep scarring isn't going to be smoothened at most you will see 10-20% improvement.

I know it seems tempting to get it because people with acne scars are very desparate and easily sucked into paying $$$ for treatments. In my opinion only injections will work, permanent ones like silicone. Thats my 2 cents.

I've had 4 sessions and can't really see much of an improvement, but my skin is definitely healthier than before. I have a feeling that you need to get 10 or more treatments with the highest settings to get decent improvements. I've read posts where people who thought it was pointless only did 3-5 treatments and there are others who have done 6 or more who seem to be happier with their results.

I'll probably give it another 3 treatments and assess the results at the end of summer.

Oh well another summer hiding indoors while its sunny outside :/

Hi Guys,

I was wondering if anyone has tried or have some information about the newer fraxel treatment. It is called Fraxel repair, and it combines CO2 laser.

I am from Sydney, and I am not too sure if anyone has the machine here.

xox Tan

I'm almost 57, which may have adversely affect my results.

That said, I tend to agree with others that fraxel does not visibly improve significant scars. It helped to even out tone, pigment and superficial scars. For deeper scars, it appears that fillers are the answer, not fraxel. While not a waste of time and money, fraxel did not come close to meeting my expectations. My improvement was no where near 50%. It is over hyped in my opinion.

Unfortunately, I can't find a NorCal doc that does silcone micro, which seems to get the best reviews.

Hope this helps.

I'm almost 57, which may have adversely affect my results.

That said, I tend to agree with others that fraxel does not visibly improve significant scars. It helped to even out tone, pigment and superficial scars. For deeper scars, it appears that fillers are the answer, not fraxel. While not a waste of time and money, fraxel did not come close to meeting my expectations. My improvement was no where near 50%. It is over hyped in my opinion.

Unfortunately, I can't find a NorCal doc that does silcone micro, which seems to get the best reviews.

Hope this helps.

Hey Billy boy,

Thanks for your reply. What a bummer. I know that not everyone has gotten the results from the fraxel restore. But, there is a newer fraxel combining co2 laser, which goes deeper. There is a longer recovery, but apparently, you only need to do it once. They say (on the net) that it is suitable for acne scars.

When people are talking about how Fraxel doesn't work for deeper scars, how deep are we talking?

I'm almost 57, which may have adversely affect my results.

That said, I tend to agree with others that fraxel does not visibly improve significant scars. It helped to even out tone, pigment and superficial scars. For deeper scars, it appears that fillers are the answer, not fraxel. While not a waste of time and money, fraxel did not come close to meeting my expectations. My improvement was no where near 50%. It is over hyped in my opinion.

Unfortunately, I can't find a NorCal doc that does silcone micro, which seems to get the best reviews.

Hope this helps.

Well let's not forget the fact that you're 57 years old, you're body's collagen properties suck.

hello havent been here for awhile i had fraxel 6 sessions awhile ago maybe almost a year ago and my face has def improved i dont have pictures or % of improvement but there is def improvement and many people close to me noticed it as well. i will do a few small subcisions for the left overs and have a nother sesssion of fraxel it worked for me atleast so ihope it works for u guys as well

anyone know if you can still get a 80% medicare rebate in Australia for fraxel?

i had the highest setting for the last 6....and believe me, i looked totally fucked up for a few days too but i went out anyway.....but i had to go out to work and buy groceries ( i live by myself)......and i figured that all the embarassment was worth it becuase the fraxel was going to make my skin beautiful (or at least normal)

I AGREE.......fraxel is a bust.....

a bust? wow. i remember when effu first came on here and was insulting people who said fraxel didn't work. she was singing praises of it and recommending multiple treatments.

not the first time this has happened with a member on here. maybe you guys can't see your scars improve cause its so gradual and u don't have photos. you see it at first, then forget as you get used to it. maybe?

I think it CAN work, but you have to invest alot of time and ALOT of money to get considerable results. I had 4 done myself, and I def feel that my face has improved as a result, but not to the degree I was hoping....