Acne.org Products
Howdy folks. Just a note, but Ive had smoothbeam, needling, hard micro, etc done on my nose scars. I also have had 4 fraxel treatments. My conclusion: this isnt a panacea, but it is pretty useful. As you may know, nose scars are very difficult to treat. Overall, the 4 treatments have probably improved my scars 20%. Most of the improvement has come from the outside edges, not from the deepest part of the scars. It seems to encourage growth into the scar area, but that also means that the time it takes to completely eliminate a scar will be longer, as you will have the indentation for a while, but the surface area that is scarred reduces. In order to create dramatic improvements, I would think that you would need about 10 treatments, and that will probably yield a smaller, less red, but still indented scar. At that point, I think microderm, retin A or something else would be a better option. Thats just speculation, but the results on my scars so far and some intuition about how skin and scars work, lead me to that conclusion. Additionally, the deeper the scars, the more you still have to contend with the scar being smaller, but equally deep.
Ive got some time to develop collagen still, but the effects have been noteworthy for their reduction of redness too. In my opinion, this is currently the best treatment for scarring on the face. Downtime: figure 5 days, if they go aggressively enough to make a difference. If your healing time is less than that, they werent aggressive enough. After that, the skin is plumped from being irritated, and you honestly need about 4 weeks before you can evaluate the long term results, with the knowlege that collagen formation will provide some minimal amount of additional filling in of the scar. Again, this is just my experience with my caucasian skin and some small, though deep, scars on my nose. CHECK AROUND FOR PRICES, THEY VARY WIDELY. 4 spot treatments only cost me $300 at a doc in AZ. Unless you had some negative effects, each treatment should be more aggressive, within reasonable limits of course. But, the first few should establish a baseline for what your skin can handle. Good luck!
$300 for 4 spot treatments> Sadly this is why you only recieved 20% improvement. Price does play a factor, but your results rely mainly on the operator of the laser and your own body's healing process. The lasers these clinics buy are very expensive and so they lease them. Some clinics drop the fees to get more customers in and make fast cash at your expense. Just like any other surgery, talk to the previous patients; most doctors should have a list that will give you a contact number. You might end up paying more, but it will be done right.
Howdy folks. Just a note, but Ive had smoothbeam, needling, hard micro, etc done on my nose scars. I also have had 4 fraxel treatments. My conclusion: this isnt a panacea, but it is pretty useful. As you may know, nose scars are very difficult to treat. Overall, the 4 treatments have probably improved my scars 20%. Most of the improvement has come from the outside edges, not from the deepest part of the scars. It seems to encourage growth into the scar area, but that also means that the time it takes to completely eliminate a scar will be longer, as you will have the indentation for a while, but the surface area that is scarred reduces. In order to create dramatic improvements, I would think that you would need about 10 treatments, and that will probably yield a smaller, less red, but still indented scar. At that point, I think microderm, retin A or something else would be a better option. Thats just speculation, but the results on my scars so far and some intuition about how skin and scars work, lead me to that conclusion. Additionally, the deeper the scars, the more you still have to contend with the scar being smaller, but equally deep.
Ive got some time to develop collagen still, but the effects have been noteworthy for their reduction of redness too. In my opinion, this is currently the best treatment for scarring on the face. Downtime: figure 5 days, if they go aggressively enough to make a difference. If your healing time is less than that, they werent aggressive enough. After that, the skin is plumped from being irritated, and you honestly need about 4 weeks before you can evaluate the long term results, with the knowlege that collagen formation will provide some minimal amount of additional filling in of the scar. Again, this is just my experience with my caucasian skin and some small, though deep, scars on my nose. CHECK AROUND FOR PRICES, THEY VARY WIDELY. 4 spot treatments only cost me $300 at a doc in AZ. Unless you had some negative effects, each treatment should be more aggressive, within reasonable limits of course. But, the first few should establish a baseline for what your skin can handle. Good luck!
Thanks for your opinion. I think selecting the right derm to do the job is equally as important... My derm had tried to squeeze the blue dye into the scars so as to direct the laser into the scars. I think it stimulate the growth of collagen inside, its very important. Personally I think fraxel does great with the texture (softer), color of the skin and works particularly on the shallow smaller scars with quite good effects (those in which I had co2 before) But does limited effects on the deeper and bigger scars which require a few more treatments I believe. One thing I see is the tightening effects on the skin. 10-15% improvement is expected I believe per treatment. Perhaps 50%-80% for an entire 5 treatment program.
Personally I am expectingly only making the scars look no longer that visible or at least remove most of the shallow ones and reducing the few deeper ones. Maybe about 5 or 10 treatments to greatly reduced the dept and softness of the scars before going for some peel (probably laser or chemical) to remove the left overs. Hopefully the entire treatment through a period of 1-2 years I'll removed my scars by 90 - 95 improvements. (I had really bad scars and orange like skin) Presently I still have faith in fraxel but of course in my opinion I think fraxel will not remove the scars completely perhaps only to some point of depth. I taken some photo to document the whole thing maybe when I had finished the 5 fraxel, I'll post it in the forum.
I was surprised at your swelling and redness - ouch. It seems to approach dermabrasion levels, but I guess you went aggressive and I understand the partial resurfacing lends to a much faster healing process compared to a derm.
Were you able to drive home? How long must you wear sunblock? I know the pigment risks are less than with derm, but they are not 0? Keep us posted on your progress. Best wishes
! I was hoping to start my Fraxel treatments soon .. but my acne came back so i'll have to wait a little while longer.
Annie,
It's two and a half days since my 2nd procedure at level 18... I started getting flaky today, and I'm sure that will last for another day or so.. I'm still a bit red, but just looks like I got too much sun.. I never had any detectable swelling this time, although I know there was some because my scars all looked great... I'm not sure if that's because I iced my face every 30 minutes for 6 hours after the treatment or because my skin has adjusted to the treatment now..
I've healed much quicker this time, I hope that's a good thing and not a bad thing.. I see some of you are swollen for several days.. Do you know how much total energy you guys are getting during your treatments?? Maybe I'm not getting as much energy or maybe my skin handles it better, not sure..
Sean..
Good luck to you Annie! You're so pretty :D! I was hoping to start my Fraxel treatments soon .. but my acne came back so i'll have to wait a little while longer.
Hi Kanmi and all those out there thinking of fraxel... An advise, if you are treating ice pick scar and box scars. Do go for 3-5 times of subcision on the same scar first to level up the scars fairly well first. You'll have better results. I think I hadn't done enough the previous times. I only done twice, which some of the scars is still deep. Fraxel like any other resurfacing works better and easier on shallow scars.
Annie,
It's two and a half days since my 2nd procedure at level 18... I started getting flaky today, and I'm sure that will last for another day or so.. I'm still a bit red, but just looks like I got too much sun.. I never had any detectable swelling this time, although I know there was some because my scars all looked great... I'm not sure if that's because I iced my face every 30 minutes for 6 hours after the treatment or because my skin has adjusted to the treatment now..
I've healed much quicker this time, I hope that's a good thing and not a bad thing.. I see some of you are swollen for several days.. Do you know how much total energy you guys are getting during your treatments?? Maybe I'm not getting as much energy or maybe my skin handles it better, not sure..
Sean..
Hey Sean, Thanks for the updates..I was curious to know what you are using to keep the swelling down on your face. I'm starting treatments soon and want to keep my swelling to a minimum..Any help would be appreciated, thanks..
40A looks just like me! I think I might consider it. I have seen many treatments claim that deep enlarged pores will be repaired, but I have never seen before and after shots. That is freaking awesome. I want that! I'm supposed to be getting married at the end of the year. I want to get that done by then. How much down time? Is she wearing makeup? I can't tell.
hey guys i just has my consultation with a dermatologic surgeon in aventura in fl. He said that he reccommends either cooltouch or fraxel. He said Fraxel does more for scarring whereas cooltouch is for acne and scarring, but the fraxel gives better results on the scarring. He said i have rolling scars and that i should do 5 treatments. He said i didnt need any subcision or anything because my scars werent deep enough, and the fraxel had an up to 80% improvement rate.
i am going to do my first fraxel on feb 10th so hopefully this will be worth it.
I posted a pic of my scarring on one side of my cheek on this forum, it has a clip next to it, its called acne scarring, and i think its on the second page right now if anyone wants to check it out.
Good luck to you Annie! You're so pretty :D! I was hoping to start my Fraxel treatments soon .. but my acne came back so i'll have to wait a little while longer.
Hi Kanmi and all those out there thinking of fraxel... An advise, if you are treating ice pick scar and box scars. Do go for 3-5 times of subcision on the same scar first to level up the scars fairly well first. You'll have better results. I think I hadn't done enough the previous times. I only done twice, which some of the scars is still deep. Fraxel like any other resurfacing works better and easier on shallow scars.
Thank you holeyface 😀 luckilly for me, my scars are shallow.
I don't know how sad this is, but I have read the entire thread here. I am wondering where lightgirl has gone. I am curious about her progress. Floridaguy seems a staple and pops up, so. Anywho, I am desperately wanting the fraxel treatment, just hope it works on orange peel type skin. It probably doesn't. Nothing does.... 
OK, but it's not as bad as being a burn victim. So God has blessed me.
hey guys i just has my consultation with a dermatologic surgeon in aventura in fl. He said that he reccommends either cooltouch or fraxel. He said Fraxel does more for scarring whereas cooltouch is for acne and scarring, but the fraxel gives better results on the scarring. He said i have rolling scars and that i should do 5 treatments. He said i didnt need any subcision or anything because my scars werent deep enough, and the fraxel had an up to 80% improvement rate.
i am going to do my first fraxel on feb 10th so hopefully this will be worth it.
I posted a pic of my scarring on one side of my cheek on this forum, it has a clip next to it, its called acne scarring, and i think its on the second page right now if anyone wants to check it out.
Your scars ar similar to mine. I've had over 10 cooltouch treatments with very little to no improvement at all. My first Fraxel is on Friday. I think you're making a good choice. Congratulations!!!!
sugagal: I asked my derm about fraxel for different skin types for you and she told me it can be done on ALL skin types but the intensity might be different. It just takes more number of sessions to see improvement I was told.
Thanks sweetie! That is awesome! I really appreciate you asking!
hey guys i just has my consultation with a dermatologic surgeon in aventura in fl. He said that he reccommends either cooltouch or fraxel. He said Fraxel does more for scarring whereas cooltouch is for acne and scarring, but the fraxel gives better results on the scarring. He said i have rolling scars and that i should do 5 treatments. He said i didnt need any subcision or anything because my scars werent deep enough, and the fraxel had an up to 80% improvement rate.
i am going to do my first fraxel on feb 10th so hopefully this will be worth it.
I posted a pic of my scarring on one side of my cheek on this forum, it has a clip next to it, its called acne scarring, and i think its on the second page right now if anyone wants to check it out.
Your scars ar similar to mine. I've had over 10 cooltouch treatments with very little to no improvement at all. My first Fraxel is on Friday. I think you're making a good choice. Congratulations!!!!
thanks, im really excited and nervous at the same time- dont want to get my hopes up too much but from what i hear this is the best thing out there right now. Thanks for letting me know about the cooltouch, it just makes me feel better knowing i didnt choose that one, lol. well anyways good luck with yours, hopefully we will see some good before and afters!
I don't know how sad this is, but I have read the entire thread here. I am wondering where lightgirl has gone. I am curious about her progress. Floridaguy seems a staple and pops up, so. Anywho, I am desperately wanting the fraxel treatment, just hope it works on orange peel type skin. It probably doesn't. Nothing does.... 😥 OK, but it's not as bad as being a burn victim. So God has blessed me.
Hi Sugargal,
I too have a problem like 40A case on Fraxel website. I have around quarter size patches on both of my cheeks. In addition to scarred pores, I have 3-4 very shallow scars. After trying microderm ( 18 sessions ) and IPL/Photofacial ( 10 session ), I have opted for Fraxel. With IPL and micro, I saw a great improvement in my skin tone and smoothness, but it didn't make much difference to scars and pores ( 10-15% after so many sessions and money )
I have 2 treatments for far and have definitely seen some progress ( around 12 % ). I plan to do 3 more treatments. Am doing it only on selected areas.
By the way, am asian Indian and have fair olive skin. So, Fraxel does work for non white skin.
I don't know how sad this is, but I have read the entire thread here. I am wondering where lightgirl has gone. I am curious about her progress. Floridaguy seems a staple and pops up, so. Anywho, I am desperately wanting the fraxel treatment, just hope it works on orange peel type skin. It probably doesn't. Nothing does.... 😥 OK, but it's not as bad as being a burn victim. So God has blessed me.
Hi Sugargal,
I too have a problem like 40A case on Fraxel website. I have around quarter size patches on both of my cheeks. In addition to scarred pores, I have 3-4 very shallow scars. After trying microderm ( 18 sessions ) and IPL/Photofacial ( 10 session ), I have opted for Fraxel. With IPL and micro, I saw a great improvement in my skin tone and smoothness, but it didn't make much difference to scars and pores ( 10-15% after so many sessions and money )
I have 2 treatments for far and have definitely seen some progress ( around 12 % ). I plan to do 3 more treatments. Am doing it only on selected areas.
By the way, am asian Indian and have fair olive skin. So, Fraxel does work for non white skin.
Sweet! That gives me so much hope! I am supposed to get married at the end of the year. I could only dream that I would have close to normal skin for my wedding. IM SUCH A WUSS! I have been tearing up reading all this. I hope and said a little prayer for you that it will go how you want it to. I know how it feels!
sugagal: I asked my derm about fraxel for different skin types for you and she told me it can be done on ALL skin types but the intensity might be different. It just takes more number of sessions to see improvement I was told.
Generally the fraxel can be used at higher level on type 1 & 2 skin... Level above 15<.
I'm type 4 but my derm did suggest doing like 20mj on me. Was in fact thrill as normally he would stop at 15mj. Guess I'll be the first asian to do this at least in Asia. At 15mj it reap some reasonable results. Excited that hope it'll be much much better at 20mj as my scarring is quite bad. Dispite the risk, I'm eager for it as the derm did display his professionalism, trying his capability to improvement my condition within the first 5 treatment so that I wouldn't need to go to the 6-10th although I did express I'm ready for that. The clinical references did suggest high powered at low density for acne scar would be better. Can't wait for the next treatment.
I'm happy to find a website where other people are going through the Fraxel procedure. I had my 2nd procedure on Monday. I have pretty severe acne scars, and my doctor says I should have it done 6 times. Last week my face was swollen for 5 days, and I think it's going to take longer than that this time. He did it on 18 both times, and wants to go up to 20 next. I've previously had peels, microdermabrasion, and cool touch done. I think the cool touch has worked the best so far. I'm having my whole face done except for my forehead. I am very nervous about going up to 20 because the pain was so severe the first time, and barely tolerable the 2nd. He gave me a numbing cream to put on an hour before I came in, and he injected shots in my face about 6 places. It helped some, but it was still pretty bad on my cheeks. I am also concerned about how bad the swelling will be if he goes up some more. Has anybody else had the swelling for this long? Also, how am I going to deal with staying in my house for 6 weeks total?!?
I learned today that FDA clinical trials for efficacy for Fraxel on acne scarring was completed 4 months ago (at least the treatments were done by then) but perhaps followup scoring and compilation of data is still going on. Apparently, the results will be published/presented in March at the American Society for Laser Surgery. Source refused, for obvious reasons, to give me a hint as to primary findings. Anyway, this info may not be accurate or complete, but I thought I would share it.
6 weeks? I thought you were only down for 5 days at a time even if aggressive. From what I have read, many docs have an every 4 week protocol for acne scarring, not weekly. Am I wrong? Best wishes
I'm happy to find a website where other people are going through the Fraxel procedure. I had my 2nd procedure on Monday. I have pretty severe acne scars, and my doctor says I should have it done 6 times. Last week my face was swollen for 5 days, and I think it's going to take longer than that this time. He did it on 18 both times, and wants to go up to 20 next. I've previously had peels, microdermabrasion, and cool touch done. I think the cool touch has worked the best so far. I'm having my whole face done except for my forehead. I am very nervous about going up to 20 because the pain was so severe the first time, and barely tolerable the 2nd. He gave me a numbing cream to put on an hour before I came in, and he injected shots in my face about 6 places. It helped some, but it was still pretty bad on my cheeks. I am also concerned about how bad the swelling will be if he goes up some more. Has anybody else had the swelling for this long? Also, how am I going to deal with staying in my house for 6 weeks total?!?
I'm happy to find a website where other people are going through the Fraxel procedure. I had my 2nd procedure on Monday. I have pretty severe acne scars, and my doctor says I should have it done 6 times. Last week my face was swollen for 5 days, and I think it's going to take longer than that this time. He did it on 18 both times, and wants to go up to 20 next. I've previously had peels, microdermabrasion, and cool touch done. I think the cool touch has worked the best so far. I'm having my whole face done except for my forehead. I am very nervous about going up to 20 because the pain was so severe the first time, and barely tolerable the 2nd. He gave me a numbing cream to put on an hour before I came in, and he injected shots in my face about 6 places. It helped some, but it was still pretty bad on my cheeks. I am also concerned about how bad the swelling will be if he goes up some more. Has anybody else had the swelling for this long? Also, how am I going to deal with staying in my house for 6 weeks total?!?
I meant that I have to stay in for a week aat a time. I'm having the treatments every other week for 12 weeks!