any more success stories?

 

I think it takes time to judge success. I had 5 fraxels to both cheeks between May and November 2005. In November, I was fairly happy, but not thrilled, with improvement in texture and some filling in of small pock marks, but I hadn't seen some of my roughest textured skin smooth out or any softening of 2 pretty shallow rolling scars and assumed I never would. In the past month (so about 2-3 months after last fraxel) I have been noticing more and more improvement in those areas. My shallow rolling scars are less noticeable in normal light, and my rough textured cheek finally looks like it is made of normal human skin! I did get some discoloration after one fraxel on one cheek, which seems to be fading but has not faded all the way. I can sort of make it less noticeable with makeup. Even with this little problem, at this point I think fraxel was worth the time and the money.

I am always under the assumption that you HAVE to buy Fraxel sessions in series of 3-5 treatments?

Can't I just have one treatment? I can shell out $500 for one treatment even if it only gives me 20% improvements..I hope at least the price has gone down to that level. I remember when it first came out it was outrageously expensive..like $900/session and you need to have THREE sessions..which is almost $3000. Too much money for something that MIGHT work.

The video says that the results can last up to 10 years. That seems pretty good for me. Plus it's not like the scars suddenly all will reappear at that the same time.

so the cars come back?

a doc had told me that they will never go back to their initial stage.

I have dark skin and am on Retinoic acid+ hydroquinone at their strongest concentrations to prevent hyperpigmentation.

I have had 3 fraxel treatments with no problems with pigmentation thus far.

My dermatologist asks all her patients to use the retinoic acid+ hydroquinone after all fraxel treatments.

Natali21 - I would think the improvements would be permanent, it's not like you're having a filler injected which your body absorbs. It's just like a cut on your hand, when your body heals a cut, the cut doesn't end up showing up again years later when it "wears" off.. BTW - it's funny that you mention jerking your head when your doc was doing your upper lip, I did too... lol My doc yelled at me and told me that could leave a "cut" if I jerked while the laser was firing.

Tmthymllgn - Even if the holes the laser makes were as large as a hair, you still couldn't see a hole that small. As far as the nose goes, it didn't hurt hardly at all. Doc had a harder time treating my nose due to the size of the laser tip, but he was persistent and made sure it was treated evenly.

billyboy - 5 days after your treatment you should be almost back to normal. It does depend on how aggressive your treatment is though. With my first treatment at level 16, you could barely tell I had anything done 72 hours later. At level 18, I'm nearly normal looking 5 days later, just a little pink. Swelling for me is never noticeable, just enough to make my scars disappear for a few days. I usually get dry/flaky 48 hours after the procedure, and that lasts for about 36 hours.

Helpful hint for getting that blue dye off - Use the new foaming dawn soap (the blue one), it comes in a pump. I can usually gently wash my face with it twice after my treatment and almost all of the dye is gone. My doc keeps it in his office for us to use.

Sean..

I read those technique blurbs on the reliant website. It made me see how much the doctor's technique, skill, and practice comes into play. Also talks a little about the optimal treatment settings. Unfortunately there is nothing on there about how to get good results for scars. Makes me think even an excellent fraxel MD might not have the knowledge or skills for treating scars.

Has anyone noticed if fraxel reduces their acne, sebum production, blackheads, etc.?

Narcissis or anyone who knows: What did your doctor say the Retinoic acid is good for? DOes it help with skin texture? I know that hydroquinone lightens and evens skin tone.

I have a consultation with a derm who used fraxel in Atlanta tomorrow and want to know the right questions to ask.

Thanks!

I have a consultation with a derm who used fraxel in Atlanta tomorrow and want to know the right questions to ask.

Thanks!

 

Dublin I am in Atlanta..which doc are visiting? If you would rather pm that is fine.

*Misty

Had my consultation at the Shideler Dermatology group today in Carmel Indiana about getting fraxel treatments. The cost is only $300 for just the cheeks which is what the doctor suggested or $600 for the whole face. I have no idea what the receptionist said to my girlfriend to make her think that they don't treat acne scars with fraxel. One of the doctors at the clinic came in and looked at my face. She has acne scars and is currently getting fraxel treatments. Everything was positive except that they arent going to do the treatments for 2 months because I have recently come off accutane and they like u to wait 3 months. THis is unusual since the first thing I ask when i emailed was about coming off accutane and the doc said 6 weeks is sufficient. Also I am going to get 6 treaments spaced 2-3 weeks apart. Anyway to the person in Indiana I hope this post is of some value.

hey pinky. i am also from singapore and have been contemplating on getting the fraxel laser treatment done.i was wondering which doctor you are consulting with on this procedure.

Hey Unidentified

I went to Sloane Clinic...they're Asthetic Physicians...basically GPs with a whole bunch of lasers for all kinds of stuff. They're charging S$1,250 (abt US$715) per session. They don't do spot treatments, only whole face. If you sign up for 5 Fraxels, you pay S$5,000 up front, which is like getting 1 Fraxel for free. They don't have an installment plan so this is really expensive for me! You can find their website just by googling for sloane clinic i think. PM me if you need the contact. So far, they seem to be the only ones who have Fraxel in Singapore. I called 2 of the best plastic surgeons in Singapore and a coupla derms but none of them have Fraxel. All the doctors in Singapore seem to be recommending Thermage / CT or Titan!

I emailed them abt going to level 20, they can do it but most likely won't. This is part of their reply:

[Please note that Asian skins may also respond differently to Caucasian skins in some of the studies quoted. As our doctors have treated more Asian skins, they are also more aware of the complications involving Asian skins.] :confused:

Does anyone know if there were any Asians in any of the Fraxel studies? What kinda complications are they talking about? Hypermentation / blistering?

I'm now thinking of punch excision before Fraxel for the huge boxed-cars on my forehead and left cheek. Anyone done that before?

Floridaguy - sorry but I'm quite new here and I was just wondering what kind of scarring you had before Fraxel. I went to ur doc's website to see ur pics but ur skin already looked good to me before Fraxel! 😀 How well in your experience does Fraxel work for box-cars and pits?

WishUallBest - which doc are you seeing in Thailand? and how much is it? it might be worth my while to fly out there given how cheap the airfares are now. 💡

Singapore doctors are mostly just kia si. They have been known to under treat patients quite often, so they'd avoid going anywhere near 20 if they can. BTW, you can try TCA if you like. I tried it for one year, and the improvements are significant. I think abt 0 to 50% (depends on type of scars).

In my view, only dermabration will truly be drastic enough for a lot of scars, but doctors here have all gone the cushy route and will only do lasers. I don't think any doctor here does dermabration nowadays.

BTW, which doctor did you see to do your punch grafts?

 

 

hey pinky. i am also from singapore and have been contemplating on getting the fraxel laser treatment done.i was wondering which doctor you are consulting with on this procedure.

 

Hey Unidentified

I went to Sloane Clinic...they're Asthetic Physicians...basically GPs with a whole bunch of lasers for all kinds of stuff. They're charging S$1,250 (abt US$715) per session. They don't do spot treatments, only whole face. If you sign up for 5 Fraxels, you pay S$5,000 up front, which is like getting 1 Fraxel for free. They don't have an installment plan so this is really expensive for me! You can find their website just by googling for sloane clinic i think. PM me if you need the contact. So far, they seem to be the only ones who have Fraxel in Singapore. I called 2 of the best plastic surgeons in Singapore and a coupla derms but none of them have Fraxel. All the doctors in Singapore seem to be recommending Thermage / CT or Titan!

I emailed them abt going to level 20, they can do it but most likely won't. This is part of their reply:

[Please note that Asian skins may also respond differently to Caucasian skins in some of the studies quoted. As our doctors have treated more Asian skins, they are also more aware of the complications involving Asian skins.] :confused:

Does anyone know if there were any Asians in any of the Fraxel studies? What kinda complications are they talking about? Hypermentation / blistering?

I'm now thinking of punch excision before Fraxel for the huge boxed-cars on my forehead and left cheek. Anyone done that before?

Floridaguy - sorry but I'm quite new here and I was just wondering what kind of scarring you had before Fraxel. I went to ur doc's website to see ur pics but ur skin already looked good to me before Fraxel! 😀 How well in your experience does Fraxel work for box-cars and pits?

WishUallBest - which doc are you seeing in Thailand? and how much is it? it might be worth my while to fly out there given how cheap the airfares are now. 💡

Singapore doctors are mostly just kia si. They have been known to under treat patients quite often, so they'd avoid going anywhere near 20 if they can. BTW, you can try TCA if you like. I tried it for one year, and the improvements are significant. I think abt 0 to 50% (depends on type of scars).

In my view, only dermabration will truly be drastic enough for a lot of scars, but doctors here have all gone the cushy route and will only do lasers. I don't think any doctor here does dermabration nowadays.

BTW, which doctor did you see to do your punch grafts?

Yea No dr Lee was just cautious... None in asia had done that yet... but my scar had convince him to try ... My next coming treatment he suggest going to 18mj... But one thing for sure if you're looking for Fraxel... Slaone is your one stop clinic to look for. There's two as I know in Singapore but trust me Dr Lee is the first to use the system and IMO his the best in SE.Asia

A point to note dermabrasion is not suitable for Asian at all... Out dark skin will caused uneven toning... perhaps thats why no one does it.. Even CO2 Occasionally caused pigmentation... But I guess I done it before it seems quite safe still.

I see. So how many Fraxel sessions have you had already? how bad is your scarring btw? Mine's pretty bad. A bit like road map with lots of "roads" criss crossing all over.

So after your treatment, how was your face?

U went for CO2 too?

So far, I went for chemical peels, TCA cross, Cool touch, scar revisions, Erbium, ND Yag etc. Other than TCA, all have no permanent effect. My plastic surgeon now recommending fillers, but i don't like it except as a last resort, so that's y now looking at Fraxel...

Cheers!

 

hey pinky. i am also from singapore and have been contemplating on getting the fraxel laser treatment done.i was wondering which doctor you are consulting with on this procedure.

 

Mine is quite bad with lotsa ice pick...

Imagine a cheek with an large area filled with very small ice pick and some big ones with box scar... That's me...

Fraxel does quite alot on the small ice pick ( some of which I had CO2 before)... Great improvement in the appearance... Frankly after the fraxel My concern wasn't really the small scars but the big ones... I don't think Fraxel remove them totally... Probably one more resurfacing but it still works wonders..

Trying TCA cross for my large and deeper scars...

I think expectation plays an important part too... Are you looking for perfect complexion or one that is accpetable .... I am wishing for one that is accpetable.

If you want you could send me your pics.... so as I see how much fraxel works for you.

I see. Will get some pics from my office laptop when I go back to work on Wednesday. Really appreciate your advice.

Does Fraxel remove the small icepick scars totally? Or does it simply smoothen the scars a bit? How many sessions did it take before this happens?

BTW, by resurfacing, do you mean CO2? I thinking of trying that too. Did you do yours at National Skin Centre or a private clinic? Let me know your experience on CO2. Probably have to take one whole week leave...

Thanks for your help!

Mine is quite bad with lotsa ice pick...

 

Imagine a cheek with an large area filled with very small ice pick and some big ones with box scar... That's me...

 

Fraxel does quite alot on the small ice pick ( some of which I had CO2 before)... Great improvement in the appearance... Frankly after the fraxel My concern wasn't really the small scars but the big ones... I don't think Fraxel remove them totally... Probably one more resurfacing but it still works wonders..

 

Trying TCA cross for my large and deeper scars...

 

I think expectation plays an important part too... Are you looking for perfect complexion or one that is accpetable .... I am wishing for one that is accpetable.

 

If you want you could send me your pics.... so as I see how much fraxel works for you.

 

Any opinions on who is the best for Fraxel in NYC?

Judging from the references for the pictures in the fraxel slideshow, the better doctors DO NOT seem to be in NY

Picture 10 is the only one that looks WORSE afterwards and that was done by the skin and laser center of new york (Dr. Geronemeus).

(I also question how could that center is since they were doing a free trial for acne scars; was it for them to get practice?)

Anyone had it done with Dr. Conn or Wall? They had the best pics I think.

Include Dr.'s webpages if you can!

Any opinions on who is the best for Fraxel in NYC?

Judging from the references for the pictures in the fraxel slideshow, the better doctors DO NOT seem to be in NY 🙁

Picture 10 is the only one that looks WORSE afterwards and that was done by the skin and laser center of new york (Dr. Geronemeus).

(I also question how could that center is since they were doing a free trial for acne scars; was it for them to get practice?)

Anyone had it done with Dr. Conn or Wall? They had the best pics I think.

Include Dr.'s webpages if you can!

 

is this the link to the slideshow you're referring to?: http://www.reliant-tech.com/insider/test2.html

if so, i looked at the slideshow and didn't see picture 10 that you're referring to.

also, the trial at the laser skin surgery center is a clinical research trial. these trials are not used for "practice." i imagine the results will be posted in a dermatological journal.

They really are practice some times though. I have seen several members on here that have really bad acne scars and were told be doctors that they owuld do it for free. I would imagine that the docs are either really nice or that they are looking for practice on someone that they are not afraid to screw up.

Ive had 5 fraxel treatments and have honestly not seen much improvement, but I do have a much lighter wallet, $5,000 less!

Ive had 5 fraxel treatments and have honestly not seen much improvement, but I do have a much lighter wallet, $5,000 less!

 

$1000 a treatment good god thats expensive. I will still take my chances at $300 per treament which isnt too bad really. u pob should have done some floats or something before hand depending on the level of scarring. Hopefully something miraculous will happen with the next one.

Lawgirl,

When was your last treatment and what Dr. did you see?

Sorry if the results, whatever they may be, were disappointing. After my 1st treatment, my blemishes were zapped away and was left with a clearer complextion. As for the scarring......still looks the same too. I have my 2nd of 5 this Thursday.

Ive had 5 fraxel treatments and have honestly not seen much improvement, but I do have a much lighter wallet, $5,000 less!

 

Who here has had, or is going to have, Fraxel after finishing Accutane? I went 2 and a half hours away to Atlanta to have a consulatation for Fraxel and was told by the dermatologist (who is the leading derm in not only ATL, but Georgia itself) that Fraxel is just as harsh or more so than dermabrasion because of how deep it goes, and for that reason, one shouldn not think of having it done until being off Accutane for atleast one year. I have been off of it only since October--so it's a no go.

I was just VERY surprised because I have heard time and time again on this board that Fraxel is safe enough to do even while ON Accutane, or right after.

I am VERY curious about what you have to say about this.

I'm now on day 12 after my 2nd fraxel-treatment. Until now, i see very little improvement. It worries me a little...but the dr. adviced me to do 5 traetments, so i'll have to hang in there...

I've posted some pictures on: http://www.inframes.be/fraxel

Who here has had, or is going to have, Fraxel after finishing Accutane? I went 2 and a half hours away to Atlanta to have a consulatation for Fraxel and was told by the dermatologist (who is the leading derm in not only ATL, but Georgia itself) that Fraxel is just as harsh or more so than dermabrasion because of how deep it goes, and for that reason, one shouldn not think of having it done until being off Accutane for atleast one year. I have been off of it only since October--so it's a no go.

I was just VERY surprised because I have heard time and time again on this board that Fraxel is safe enough to do even while ON Accutane, or right after.

I am VERY curious about what you have to say about this.

 

Just as harsh as dermabrasion yeah right. My doc said 2-3 months after just to be safe. There is a member on here right now that is getting fraxel done and on accutane. I have actually read posts were members claim fraxel after accutane is much more effective. The place I went to had the 6th fraxel laser in the nation. Dr. Shideler also won the dermatologist of the year award a few yrs back so I would imagine they would know what tehy are talking about. See another doc.

Thanks for posting! I had 5 fraxels and it takes Patients and Time before you get to the point where you say "I am glad I am doing this" Even then Fraxel does not eliminate the acne scars but does soften there appearnce. You may need some kind of filler to TOP OFF the scars. I am now using sculptra which is injected into the DEEP dermis and causes much more collagen to be produced and lifts up whole areas like your cheek or chin areas and should also plump up the acne scars as well. So far it is 7 weeks since my first round and It is SLOWLY kicking in. I hope to get 60% over all improvement to the acne scars and also improve the shape and balance to my face (Not to mention the improvment to my over all compexion I already got from fraxel) That is a lot to ask for since no surgery is envolved

I'm now on day 12 after my 2nd fraxel-treatment. Until now, i see very little improvement. It worries me a little...but the dr. adviced me to do 5 traetments, so i'll have to hang in there...

I've posted some pictures on: http://www.inframes.be/fraxel

 

Thanks for posting! I had 5 fraxels and it takes Patients and Time before you get to the point where you say "I am glad I am doing this" Even then Fraxel does not eliminate the acne scars but does soften there appearnce. You may need some kind of filler to TOP OFF the scars. I am now using sculptra which is injected into the DEEP dermis and causes much more collagen to be produced and lifts up whole areas like your cheek or chin areas and should also plump up the acne scars as well. So far it is 7 weeks since my first round and It is SLOWLY kicking in. I hope to get 60% over all improvement to the acne scars and also improve the shape and balance to my face (Not to mention the improvment to my over all compexion I already got from fraxel) That is a lot to ask for since no surgery is envolved

 

I'm now on day 12 after my 2nd fraxel-treatment. Until now, i see very little improvement. It worries me a little...but the dr. adviced me to do 5 traetments, so i'll have to hang in there...

I've posted some pictures on: http://www.inframes.be/fraxel

 

 

Can you tell a bit more about the product they are using to inject?

Thx.