Wow. I haven't been online in a while. I'm surprised at all the negative fraxel posts all of a sudden. I'm 1 week out from my second fraxel. I'm pleased so far. Gives me hope about this treatment in general.

QUick question - what type of sunscreen are you all using? DO you think a moisturizer with sunscreen is ok or does it actually need to be SUNSCREEN? I know it needs to be at least 30...Does my 15 moisturizer plus my 15 makeup equal 30??

 

I have yet to get my fraxel but, I do peels and I have been using Obagi's sunscreen and will probably use it after my fraxel. It is 35 spf hypoallergenic and surprisingly non-greasy for such a high spf. I also just ordered a sunscreen from Europe which is supposed to be 100 spf called Photoderm Max. It is recommened for tbose who are post laser surgery and those who are prone to skin cancer. I'm gonna check it out and see how greasy it is and if it really affords all the coverage it says. I live in Arizona and spend quite a bit of time on the water over the summer and it would be nice to have a higher the 35 spf on my face.

I use Elta Gold SPF 45. What I like about it is, it's not heavy or thick and is recommened for oily, acne prone or sensitive skin. I just wish a tinted version was available for better blending.

I think there is a side effects of fraxel which is from my personal experience and some of the people here. If you have a scarred pores that is yet to be open up... fraxel will probably open it up which seems that enlarging some of your pores.... But I guess that is the reasons for fraxel's success too... It actually opening up and smoothening the edge of your scars which you are so detested and enable light diffusion into your scars which actually blends your scars well to a point... it also lighten or making the darker texture of your skin either beneath your scars or on top to heals to the color of your skin which makes your scars not so obvious. It does improve the depth but not that much... Remodeling the skin texture and Creating an overall improvement.

 

I've noticed the same thing, and I'm glad that you pointed this out before too to warn us all. Coolbreeze pointed out that in her case, the effect lessened as her skin healed. Did you notice this too or are your pores staying enlarged?

I want to get fraxel to even out my skin texture. I have small imperfections that aren't even really scarred pores. What is the consensus on fraxel and skin texture? Some people say its greatest improvement is for texture while others are saying it will make it worse and open up pores . . .

I doubt that fraxel can actually open up pores permanently, since the actual burned surface is a small dot much smaller than a pore. I think it does stimulate the skin surface enough to cause microswelling which could induce temporarily enlarged pores.

But then again it does flake layers of skin off days after the treatment so you have to ask yourself did the large pores appear immediately after the treatment or did they appear after the skin flaked off.

I doubt that fraxel can actually open up pores permanently, since the actual burned surface is a small dot much smaller than a pore. I think it does stimulate the skin surface enough to cause microswelling which could induce temporarily enlarged pores.

But then again it does flake layers of skin off days after the treatment so you have to ask your did the large pores appear immediately after the treatment or did they appear after the skin flaked off.

 

I've noticed that whenever I do something harsh to my skin like a home microdermabrasion or using a glycolic peel, my pores appear enlarged almost like they have been aggravated or irritated to a point of swelling and enlarging. They eventually go down somewhat but i wonder if this is what is happening with Fraxel and some people's pores.

I agree with Blinny in the sense that after Fraxel, pores do look worse : sharper, wider, magnified...just like after a session of agressive microderm session or a strong chemical peel. With microderm, they come back to normal state in a couple of hours or days. With Fraxel, it lasts for 2-3 weeks ( depending on the setting used ) as Fraxel goes deeper.

I felt quite depressed seeing that after my first treatment and my setting was quite low ( 8 ).

But it did come back to normal.....rather pores appeared softer around the edges, more shallow and smoother. This has happened to me after every treatment and so am not very concerned or worried about it now.

Also, Fraxel does remove top layer of skin but it is minimal compared to the other treatments ( such as a TCA peel or CO2 resurfacing ) in which skin peels to a greater depth.

Regarding Cameron's case, probably, he has done all his treatments within a short span ( only 1/2 weeks gap ) and with very high settings. So, maybe, his skin is still rcovering and pores look worse.

It would be interesting to see how they look after 4-6 weeks after his last treatment.

Regarding Cameron's case, probably, he has done all his treatments within a short span ( only 1/2 weeks gap ) and with very high settings. So, maybe, his skin is still rcovering and pores look worse.

It would be interesting to see how they look after 4-6 weeks after his last treatment.

 

Yep, 4 treatments in 5 weeks, and now I'm finally done. I'll post some more picturess in a month or so.

 

Regarding Cameron's case, probably, he has done all his treatments within a short span ( only 1/2 weeks gap ) and with very high settings. So, maybe, his skin is still rcovering and pores look worse.

It would be interesting to see how they look after 4-6 weeks after his last treatment.

 

Yep, 4 treatments in 5 weeks, and now I'm finally done. I'll post some more picturess in a month or so.

 

Cameron, I'm going to follow your progress as I seem to have similar skin to yours. I've scheduled a Fraxel consultation but won't be going ahead with it until Fall because they won't do the procedure on a pregnant lady which is what I am right now. Thanks for sharing your pictures and keep us posted with any improvements that you might see in the following weeks/months. BTW, was there a specific reason you had the Fraxel sessions done so close together?

I want to get fraxel to even out my skin texture. I have small imperfections that aren't even really scarred pores. What is the consensus on fraxel and skin texture? Some people say its greatest improvement is for texture while others are saying it will make it worse and open up pores . . .

 

I personally think just for 'evening out skin texture' you're spending way too much if you go with Fraxel. I know this is not a smoothbeam thread, but why don't you give that a try first? Four sets of smoothbeam session roughly equals one Fraxel treatment.

 

I want to get fraxel to even out my skin texture. I have small imperfections that aren't even really scarred pores. What is the consensus on fraxel and skin texture? Some people say its greatest improvement is for texture while others are saying it will make it worse and open up pores . . .

 

I personally think just for 'evening out skin texture' you're spending way too much if you go with Fraxel. I know this is not a smoothbeam thread, but why don't you give that a try first? Four sets of smoothbeam session roughly equals one Fraxel treatment.

 

i'm sorry but smoothbeam is a complete waste of money, big waste of time.

 

 

I went ahead and got my 4th treatment at 24 today. It didn't hurt as bad as my 3rd, which was at 20, because I waited 3 weeks instead of 1. Also, I told them to do the spot treatments (which they do after the full face) at 24 too instead of 30 like last time. This is the last treatment for me. The doctor said to come back in six months and if I'm not happy, she'll give me a 5th for free.

Also, I started breaking out about a week after my 3rd treatment. It didn't happen after the first two because I got the next treatment so quickly afterwards. I think benzoyl peroxide works well in controlling the breakouts.

 

I had my last treatment 2 days ago at 24 too. You're the first person I've seen who's gone this high too. Please let us know how you're doing. I'm very swollen, but other than that no other problems. I'm axious about this one, and I wish it were 2 weeks from now!

 

Yep, I noticed that you were at 24 too. I have pinpont bleeding all over my face this time. What about you?

 

Can you exand on your pinpoint bleeding? Do you mean bleeding from the little holes the laser makes or a rather a small section where perhaps your skin was thinner or more sesitive? What I mean is are they little small pin prick like or larger areas?

I remember someone awhile back saying fraxel really closed up the pores on his nose. Anyone had such an experience?

Can you exand on your pinpoint bleeding? Do you mean bleeding from the little holes the laser makes or a rather a small section where perhaps your skin was thinner or more sesitive? What I mean is are they little small pin prick like or larger areas?

 

Sure. They're small like pin pricks probably due to sensitive skin, I had about 70 of them. All the tiny blood scabs are already gone though after two days. I don't think it's anything to worry about.

Also, blinny, I had them done close together because I'm unemployed and I want to go back to work ASAP. The doctor said that not enough information is in to determine the optimal spacing but that she's done many in the past 1 week apart.

 

Can you exand on your pinpoint bleeding? Do you mean bleeding from the little holes the laser makes or a rather a small section where perhaps your skin was thinner or more sesitive? What I mean is are they little small pin prick like or larger areas?

 

Sure. They're small like pin pricks probably due to sensitive skin, I had about 70 of them. All the tiny blood scabs are already gone though after two days. I don't think it's anything to worry about.

Also, blinny, I had them done close together because I'm unemployed and I want to go back to work ASAP. The doctor said that not enough information is in to determine the optimal spacing but that she's done many in the past 1 week apart.

 

Thanks for letting me know. The Fraxel website says 2-4 weeks apart so I'm sure 1 week apart isn't a big deal.

haven't heard posts from kooky, lightgirl, headsup, holyface in a while. how have your results from the fraxel been up til now?

I have Fitzpatrick IV skin with moderate acne scars. Mostly box and rolling scars. I was told fraxel would make them etter 50%. I went for my first fraxel at Sloane and it took me two weeks for the brown to go away. I didn't flake. Right after treatment my face swelled and I the scars disappeared. Derm. said if this happens it is a good indication I can get improvement. After 3 weeks now I feel my scars are back and there is zero visible improvement. 4 passes at 15. I was really excited to go for this but now I am very disappointed at 1000 US (including the gel, sunblock, spray, moisturiser, hydroquinone cream). I don't know if I should go for a second one now.

Hi Madadam,

I understand your frustration especially when price per treatment is not so trivial.

Fraxel being "Fractional resurfacing" targets only 15-17 % of the area at a time. It lays down a grid ( depending on what density your doctor uses ) and only treats that area. So, your scars or a big portion of them might no lie on that grid first time and so would not be targeted. Unless coverage reaches some level ( more than 30 %, which will happen with successive treatments ) you might not see tangible or visual improvement.

Personally for me, I saw very less improvement after first couple of treatments. It took me 3 treatments to see any noticeable results. That is the reason, having just one or two treatments does not make sense or work in case of Fraxel.....unfortunately. After 4-5 treatments ( which seems to be a standard package size ), coverage is supposed to reach 60-80 %.

Hi Coolbreeze

I know you have held several Fraxels and other procedures. Would you mind rating/ranking them, as best you can? If too early to assess Fraxel, just say so. Thanks for this or any other advice.

Hi Coolbreeze

I know you have held several Fraxels and other procedures. Would you mind rating/ranking them, as best you can? If too early to assess Fraxel, just say so. Thanks for this or any other advice.

 

Sure. I have tried following treatments in last 5 years ( chronologically )

1. Obagi Blue (TCA) Peels a 5 nos. ( 20 % TCA and four layers ) with Obagi Nu derm regime.

Worked great for removing all hyper-pigmentation, blotchiness, uneven / deeper tan.

Improvement in scars 10-15 % but my scars started looking less obvious acause of brighter and even

skin tone.

2. Microdermabrasion with CP serum ( Super CP serum and Super Cop didnat suit me ) a 18 sessions.

Improvement less than 10 %. Slight change was my scars became somewhat flat.

( After 3 peels, I tried to combine 6 Microderm sessions + CP Serum before each peel and that gave

me slightly better results )

3. IPL a 7 sessions : This made my skin softer and brighter some more but didnat do anything for scars.

I didnat have any serious redness, pigmentation or uneven skin tone left by then. I did this in hope of

improving shallow scars and scarred pores but this was very ineffective for that.

4. Dermal Grafts ( same as Punch graft without aoepunchinga? ) a 3 rounds

Most effective treatment I did. I got 95 % results on my 1 somewhat deep and 12-15 wide, shallow

and / or medium depth scars.

5. Erbium Laser Micro-peels a 2 nos. ( 30 and 50 microns. This was going on same lines of peels / IPL so I

was wiser this time 🙂 )

6. A quarter size dermabrasion patch on the side of face : gave good results texture wise but I came to

know about Fraxel and by then I didnat have major scarring left so didn't continue as I didn't want loong

downtime and other risks.

7. Fraxel a work in progress and too soon to tell. I have done 6 treatments so far. Am trying to correct

shallow indentations, small scars ( which were too small for grafts ) and quite a few scarred pores. My

doctor has taken some pictures and I would see if I can post them when am done.

I started with scarring that was moderate in some places and mild in others. In addition to scars, I had hyper pigmentation, blotchy and very uneven skin tone. Compared to where I started, I have seen more than 70 % improvement with all this.

On the hind sight, I feel, I continued some treatments too long ( and wasted hard earned money and emotional energy ) But I guess, hope is killer and savior at the same time 🙂

Also, in my experience, it is hard to find a single treatment modality that would solve all problems in one shot.

So, this is in nutshell. Sorry for the long post.

coolbreeze buddy ol' pal would you mind expanding on the punch graft thing.. i've never heard of it. PLEASE tell me everything and was this overall the treatment that helped you out with everything? and after you explain this treatment.. can you tell me which doctor you went too? please please since i live in california too i have an indented scar on my chest =[ all the things i've done to rid myself of the rolling scars on my face haven't done a thing for the one on my chest! ='[ even though the rolling scars on my face aren't visible anymore i would like to correct the ones that are on my body... since i run track and more often than not i am half naked.

coolbreeze buddy ol' pal would you mind expanding on the punch graft thing.. i've never heard of it. PLEASE tell me everything and was this overall the treatment that helped you out with everything? and after you explain this treatment.. can you tell me which doctor you went too? please please =] since i live in california too =] i have an indented scar on my chest =[ all the things i've done to rid myself of the rolling scars on my face haven't done a thing for the one on my chest! ='[ even though the rolling scars on my face aren't visible anymore i would like to correct the ones that are on my body... since i run track and more often than not i am half naked.

 

what did you do to have your rolling scars dissappear?

welll i think people can't see them anymore because.. i'm really skinny. when i had acne that left scars, i was a little chubby but when i joined track i lost all of the weight and.... the skin/fat level went down to the scar's level so.. =/ i also did saline awhile back and fraxel.. but the best treatment for me was... track x] weight lost = 95%+ improvements.. i just have one box car scar on my chest... AND it's bugging me ='[

I think most of you have seen the before and after pictures about how fraxel heals indented acne scar on fraxel.com

I WONDER IF ANY OF YOU HAVE ACHIEVED SCAR IMPROVEMENT TO THE SAME EXTENT???

and how long did it take? how many sessions?

realli want to know!~

thanks

the improvements from fraxel are very subtle. i'd strongly advise taking b4 and after pictures or else you might not notice the improvements. what to expect--softening of the edges of the scars. now as to the improvements posted on the fraxel website--if you're the lucky 5%, that could be you. in most cases, you'll notice a 10-15% improvement in acne scars. if it's worth the $$$, i can't say, although it did burn a hole in my pocket. to think i could have a plasma tv instead. jking. actually, i may not be ecstatic about the results, but i am realistically satisfied as to what i expected. so if you are going into this procedure thinking you're gonna get 15% improvement, then you are paying for what you get. when assessing your results, it's highly recommended you wait at least 3 - 4 weeks to let even the smallest residual swelling go away.