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.

 

Hello, was wondering how many treatments you have had and how long ago. It seems most people on this board have had their treatments fairly recently. Would be interesting to get some feedback from someone who had fraxel done some time ago to perhaps assess some longer term results and to see if their expectations have been met. Thanx

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.

 

haha i wasn't thinking about plasma tv but i could really buy a lot of designer bags or FOOD with the $ spent on acne =_+ ! I still have 2 questions:

1. What makes them the lucky 5%? skin that heals better?

2. you said you notice 15% of improvements after treatment. Does that 15% add on after each treatment? 15-->30-->45-->? Or will the improvement just stop at a point after numerous treatment?

Thanks for your quality & prompt reply =)

 

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.

 

haha i wasn't thinking about plasma tv but i could really buy a lot of designer bags or FOOD with the $ spent on acne =_+ ! I still have 2 questions:

1. What makes them the lucky 5%? skin that heals better?

2. you said you notice 15% of improvements after treatment. Does that 15% add on after each treatment? 15-->30-->45-->? Or will the improvement just stop at a point after numerous treatment?

Thanks for your quality & prompt reply =)

 

i had 4 treatments a little over a month ago. the swelling that lasts for a couple weeks is great asit really covers up the scars, but then it goes away. if there was a 15% improvement after each session of fraxel, i would be a happy man, but this is not the case. your scars are still there at the end, but they look softer in appearance as i've stated b4, the edges of the scars are smoothed out somewhat--making it blend nicer into the surrounding skin. now as to the cost of the procedure, i dont' know if it's worth that kind of money when comparing cost vs efficacy. but it is a cosmetic procedure, so it's typical to charge an arm and a leg. i can't imagine a fraxel laser tip that they use to be a couple hundred dollars each. as to the photos posted on the reliant website, of course it's biased. they take the lucky few who respond well and post their pics on their site to hype the laser. same thing has been going on with every other laser that's been out..great advertisement. what makes them the lucky 5%, no one knows--my dr. said ppl heal differently. so who knows. i htink the modal approach to scar revision would be multiple treatments--tca cross, subcision, and then laser resurfacing, etc. best of luck with your treatment story. fill us in with how it goes.

I've read every post on this thread.

The average improvement reported is 30 percent.

I think the variance has much more to do with the type of scarring the patient has, combined with the fact that everyone is measuring themself against having "perfect skin."

Patients with severe scarring might have an actual improvement of 30 percent but that still leaves them so far from "perfect skin" that they acknowledge the improvement as a negligible 10-15 percent.

A patient with superficial scarring might have an improvement of 60 percent, but the change is so subtle that they rate it as 30 percent.

Its been said several times on this post: if you don't take before and after pictures you are likely to forget how your skin looked before fraxel. You are also less likely to notice the changes since they are subtle and gradual. So take pictures before and during treatment, as well as after.

Also if you read the posts here it is much greater than a lucky 5 percent that get satisfying improvement. Off hand I'd say at least half of the postees here are happy with fraxel, the other half feel improvements are negligible, and a handful feel harm was done (these last bit tend to have had severe scarring and have tried several procedures like needling and dermabrasion with/without success).

 

Thank you for posting a positive comment, i was starting to feel like all anyone had to say was negative, but i definately have to agree with you. People judge their improvement sometimes not correctly because they forget what they looked like before or their skin did not come out perfect.

I am just 3 days post my 3rd fraxel and am trying to stay positive, but all the negative threads dont help, lol.

 

I've read every post on this thread.

The average improvement reported is 30 percent.

I think the variance has much more to do with the type of scarring the patient has, combined with the fact that everyone is measuring themself against having "perfect skin."

Patients with severe scarring might have an actual improvement of 30 percent but that still leaves them so far from "perfect skin" that they acknowledge the improvement as a negligible 10-15 percent.

A patient with superficial scarring might have an improvement of 60 percent, but the change is so subtle that they rate it as 30 percent.

Its been said several times on this post: if you don't take before and after pictures you are likely to forget how your skin looked before fraxel. You are also less likely to notice the changes since they are subtle and gradual. So take pictures before and during treatment, as well as after.

Also if you read the posts here it is much greater than a lucky 5 percent that get satisfying improvement. Off hand I'd say at least half of the postees here are happy with fraxel, the other half feel improvements are negligible, and a handful feel harm was done (these last bit tend to have had severe scarring and have tried several procedures like needling and dermabrasion with/without success).

 

Thank you for posting a positive comment, i was starting to feel like all anyone had to say was negative, but i definately have to agree with you. People judge their improvement sometimes not correctly because they forget what they looked like before or their skin did not come out perfect.

I am just 3 days post my 3rd fraxel and am trying to stay positive, but all the negative threads dont help, lol.

 

Hi Natalie, I'm just a week over my 6th Fraxel, and my husband says it's 30 to 35% improvement overall. I agree with tmthy's response. Actually that percent improvement sounds great, but after you get started on this stuff you forget and start thinking maybe it'll be 75 to 100% better! (You always want more) I'm going to see my doctor on Monday, and have him take some new pictures and compare them to the old. If I'm not too embarrassed how I look in the after pictures, I'll post them. Though my scarring has a ways to go, I'm glad that I did Fraxel. Good luck to you, I think you'll be happy with it.

 

 

I've read every post on this thread.

The average improvement reported is 30 percent.

I think the variance has much more to do with the type of scarring the patient has, combined with the fact that everyone is measuring themself against having "perfect skin."

Patients with severe scarring might have an actual improvement of 30 percent but that still leaves them so far from "perfect skin" that they acknowledge the improvement as a negligible 10-15 percent.

A patient with superficial scarring might have an improvement of 60 percent, but the change is so subtle that they rate it as 30 percent.

Its been said several times on this post: if you don't take before and after pictures you are likely to forget how your skin looked before fraxel. You are also less likely to notice the changes since they are subtle and gradual. So take pictures before and during treatment, as well as after.

Also if you read the posts here it is much greater than a lucky 5 percent that get satisfying improvement. Off hand I'd say at least half of the postees here are happy with fraxel, the other half feel improvements are negligible, and a handful feel harm was done (these last bit tend to have had severe scarring and have tried several procedures like needling and dermabrasion with/without success).

 

Thank you for posting a positive comment, i was starting to feel like all anyone had to say was negative, but i definately have to agree with you. People judge their improvement sometimes not correctly because they forget what they looked like before or their skin did not come out perfect.

I am just 3 days post my 3rd fraxel and am trying to stay positive, but all the negative threads dont help, lol.

 

Hi Natalie, I'm just a week over my 6th Fraxel, and my husband says it's 30 to 35% improvement overall. I agree with tmthy's response. Actually that percent improvement sounds great, but after you get started on this stuff you forget and start thinking maybe it'll be 75 to 100% better! (You always want more) I'm going to see my doctor on Monday, and have him take some new pictures and compare them to the old. If I'm not too embarrassed how I look in the after pictures, I'll post them. Though my scarring has a ways to go, I'm glad that I did Fraxel. Good luck to you, I think you'll be happy with it.

 

thank you, and congrats on yours too. I am getting 4 fraxels and possibly a 5th one if i think i need it. People say youre supposed to start seeing a difference after the 3rd, and i had her go pretty aggressive this time- 8 passes at 20 and an extra 4 passes at 20 on my more scarred areas, so hopefully i will be noticing something.

Thank you for posting a positive comment, i was starting to feel like all anyone had to say was negative, but i definately have to agree with you. People judge their improvement sometimes not correctly because they forget what they looked like before or their skin did not come out perfect.

I am just 3 days post my 3rd fraxel and am trying to stay positive, but all the negative threads dont help, lol.

 

Hi Natali,

I think, perception of scars (severity ), expectations and improvement all are very subjective. Also, there are many factors that play role in the results. After having experience with some other treatments, I feel, Fraxel is definitely worth considering especially as it has less down / recovery time and seems to be a low risk treatment ( majority of experiences ).

After reading about negative experiences, I felt big part of the frustration was high cost of the treatment.

It's natural that if one spends lot of money, his/her hopes will be pinned on it. If Fraxel was like 250 $ / treatment and doesn't deliver, probably people would have been more tolerant towards it as they can further explore and try other treatments.

I hope, you see more improvement after your 3rd treatment !

I just read on a web site that if the doctor over does it on the passes with the fraxel, that is when you get the bronzed look, has anyone else had the fraxel and not had to stay in for a week? I can't stand the thought of it and then being red for two weeks...I am booked for fraxel #1 at the end of June......so any info would be appreciated..

P.S Annie I just wanted to thank you for all your information and the pics. I think you're an amazing gal for doing that!!!! I hope you get wonderful results from your treatments. I am anxiously awaiting for some more pics and news from you!!!!

I had less than 24 hours down time form my first fraxel. I think that is becsue they were not aggressive enough in first try (15 with density of 250 and 125 depending on level of scarring) to see how I tolerate it. Also, my face is normaly red and bronze so I did not notice any difference. Had very minor flaking at about 7 days.

I just had my second fraxel. Setting of 25, density of 125. 8 passes. Doc spot treated at 30. Based on what the doc said (he had recently come back from a conference in US), they recommend 25-30mJ for acne scars. From the literature I have read online, that makes sense, as a stronger setting allow the energy beam to penetrate deeper into the dermis. Anesthetic injections were required in my case, but I believe if your using any setting below 20, your not likely to see a dramatic improvement in scarring.

I am skin type V fitzpatrick by the way. Hence de-pigmentation lotion was required in my case.

My first fraxel was level 20 with six passes. Based on the before and after photos I observed 5-10% improvement.

Redness for 1 week, peeling for 3 weeks. I had my treatments 5 weeks apart. Based on the intensity I am treating at, 5 weeks was sufficient healing time.

Will update you guys as I progress.

Regards,

Blaster

Blaster I am curious on your progression. Please keep us posted. I am IV and after my first fraxel (at 15, 4 times) 3 weeks ago I have not noticed ANY improvements on my scars. Skin tone seems to have improved 10 % but maybe that was due to the bleaching cream I was given? Because of the overall positive effects on people here after a few treatments I think I will go for my second and third. I am hoping I get results as it is a lot of $$$.

Blaster I am curious on your progression. Please keep us posted. I am IV and after my first fraxel (at 15, 4 times) 3 weeks ago I have not noticed ANY improvements on my scars. Skin tone seems to have improved 10 % but maybe that was due to the bleaching cream I was given? Because of the overall positive effects on people here after a few treatments I think I will go for my second and third. I am hoping I get results as it is a lot of $$$. 🙁

 

Bare in mind that Fraxel generally does not produce noticable results until after the 3rd treatment; the effects are cumulative over time. In evaluating your treatment, you have to take into account that the collagen takes time to remodel. All the research I have read online indicates that results can only be judged around 3-4 months after the last treatment. Forming an opinion on treatment results before then appears to be premature.

Depending on the severity of your scars, level 15 in general is low. I can only assume that your scars are shallow and not the ice-pick kind. If they are deeper, a higher level is often recommended. > 20 is again what is often quoted in dermatologytimes magazine. You can find related articles in a through google search.

Aggressive treatment is required to generate noticable results. The majority of people are not seeing results-because they are either impatient in evaluation or are not receiving fraxel treatment at an intensity suitable for their scarring condition.

This treatment is not a quick fix.

Standard treatment for acne scars, is often 5 treatments at 20mj, 125Mhz density, minimum 6 passes, treatment spaced 3-4 weeks apart. In all your are looking at 5 months of treatment followed by 3-4 months of collagen remodelling in post-recovery. End results are then evaluated around the 8 month mark. Based on these parameters it is my understanding that most patients get around 50% improvement.

I am optimistic in my treatment choice of 4 treatments at 25mj, 125Mhz density, 8 passes, treatment spaced 5 weeks apart, with addition spot-treatment at 30mJ for ice-pick scars. I expect around 60% improvement. I do not believe there is any other treatment for acne-scars for my skin type which will give me similar results.

Regards,

Blaster

Blaster: Your post has made me hopeful again. I will go for my second fraxel soon. I was told to do them 5 weeks apart to give my skin enough time to heal. I have type IV and my doc told me for darker skin if done within a week it can cause some hyperpigmentation (he told me he had two cases but ONLY when done within a week apart). I have moderate acne. I was told I'd see 20% improvement after one treatment and I see no improvement at all. I have pics to compare so I know it is not just me thinking that. No ice picks but a lot of rolling and boxscars. Can you request the number of passes and at what intensity?

I've read much of this thread and I have to say I cringe at the number of times most people say you have to get it done to get any kind of results because of cost.

I can deal with pain and the waiting for the healing process but the cost is the killer, because insurance does not pay and the place where I live that does it charges about $1300 per session ($1800 including the Cooltouch done in conjunction).

The doctor is acknowledged to be one of the best if not the best in the Portland area with regards to his expertise in laser treatments, so I have no worries on competency. Perhaps he's got the corner market on Fraxel laser therapy or perhaps it is because he is so good, but $1300 a pop is outrageous to me.

They worked out a treatment plan for me:

Cooltouch once weekly for four weeks, followed by Cooltouch/Fraxel comination spaced three weeks apart.

The cooltouch is supposed to treat the active p.acne and shrink the sebaceous glands as well as the pores. The Fraxel, obviously, for the scarring.

I know my scarring is minimal compared to a lot of people out there, despite my 27+ years of struggling with acne, but since I am 38+ and heal slower than I did 5-10 years ago, I wonder if three treatments will be enough. $3900 for 3 treatments ($5400 with the Cooltouch) is already too steep for something that has no gaurantee, I can't imgagine having to pay double that.

With all the feedback I hear from this board, though, I have decided to discuss some of my concerns with my doctor. For example, instead of doing Fraxel in conjunction with Cooltouch (on same appoitment), do Cooltouch one day followed by Fraxel the next. For another thing I think they should be spaced a little farther apart than 3 weeks, judging by the average healing time.

Here's a question for anyone who has had a similar situation:

I did Smoothbeam (similar to Cooltouch) every two weeks for 3 sessions, starting back mid-February. I switched to Cooltouch weekly for 4 sessions (have done 3 with 1 more to go). *If I do Fraxel the first week of May, have the sessions spaced one month apart, the last session being around the first week of July; how long post treatments do you think I would see a noticible difference, if any? If I started mid-Feb and end mid-Aug (one month post treatment, that's about 6 months. So, based on all the stuff I hear about not seeing significant results until about 6 months later, would that be sufficient enough time to assess whether to continue with any sort of laser treatment?

In the end, I will have paid $750 for the Smoothbeam, $2000 for the Cooltouch, and $5400 for the Cooltouch/Fraxel combo, with a grand total of $8150 and will still have acne to deal with on top of it all. I could buy a small car for that, or a family vacation to Hawaii.

I am trying to keep an open mind but it's hard not to be realistic when costs like that are staring me in my zitty little face. I can only hope that by next fall, the Dermatologists that support low-dose long term Accutane treatment can change the law to accomodate 30+year old women with me that have persistant, stubborn, hormonal, adult acne...because it's the only treatment that has ever had a modicom of success for me.

My acne has never been under control since I was 10 years old -- with the exception of the three months following my accutane treatment a couple years ago. I was done end of December 2003 and by May of 2004 I was breaking out again.

I was frustrated, as you can imagine, because the original plan was to wait 6 months to a year and then get a CO2(?) peel. But you are not supposed to have active acne for those. The obvious dilemma was how do I get clear without being on Accutane because I cannot be on Accutane when getting a peel.

My Derm offered two suggestions (well sort of three):

1) Give Smoothbeam a try, something he was a little skeptical of since, in his experience, didn't think it was an effective treatment for severe acne and was expensive.

2) Go on Aldactone (high bp med that controls androgen) and agressive topicals OR BC pills and topicals. I could do this in conjunction with either smoothbeam or choice number 3.

3) Consider low dose long term accutane (really low dose) which was still sort of a new concept in derm circles since there was no long range results and, well, it's a harsh med.

*Before you ask why I wasn't on BP pills, I was during main Tx but suffered increased migraines and other side effects. In addition, my husband has had a vasectomy and pregnancy was not an issue.

I tried Yasmin instead of Aldactone at first because I was leary of a BP med since I already have low BP, and went to a consultation for the smoothbeam.

I wasn't impressed and decided against smoothbeam and went on low dose accutane. After several months I switched from Yasmin to Aldactone due to once again getting increased migraines. Believe me when I say I was monitored up the yang constantly. In addition to blood tests, he did periodic Xrays of my foot (didn't matter what bone so we picked the foot) to monitor for bony growths that are sometimes associated with prolonged use of accutane.

Last year, he told me that when my last Rx ran out, he wanted me to take a break from Accutane for 6 months to a year and try alternate options. He referred my to a Plastic surgeon for a consult to get their opinion on laser options.

The P.S. was fully informed of my accutane treatment hx and determined that I had such a minute amount of accutane in my system for such a long time that there should not be any problems.

I did three smoothbeam sessions and had no problems whatsoever. Moreso, my skin acted completely unaffected as if nothing at all was done to it.

I had a Derm appointment and he suggested a second opinion for a different type of laser Tx and referred me to another P.S. for PDT.

Second P.S. agreed with all the other docs that it had been long enough since the main accutane tx and the low dose I was taking was such a low dose that I wouldn't have to wait the requisite 6mo-1 year. But he disagreed with PDT only because I didn't have the type of acne, in his opinion, currently, that warrants that particular laser therapy. He suggested Cooltouch for 4 sessions, weekly, followed by Fraxel for at least 3 sessions spaced 3 weeks apart.

Cooltouch is almost the same as Smoothbeam but supposedly has a longer wavelength and therefore goes deeper into the poor. They also make three passes instead of the one as with Smoothbeam.

I've done 3 of the 4 Cooltouch and have had much the same results as Smoothbeam -- no problems, worries, issues but also not a lot of improvement in the acne.

It's important to note that my actual active blemishes are minimal at this time but that probably has more to do with going right off of lowdose accutane to smoothbeam to cooltouch than the cooltouch itself.

He sees no issues with Fraxel interfering with current blemishes and, some of the literature I've read said Fraxel is used to clear up active acne as well as scars so I'm trusting that for now.

After this novel I just wrote, my point is I wonder how much improvement I'm going to get in the scarring after only 3 fraxel treatment and whether it's even worth the money. I'm not worried about damage but lack of results after spending over $8000. I'm beginning to feel extremely selfish because that's money I could be spending on a family vacation or a new computer for my kids instead of my vanity, only to have little to no results. I'm already realistic enough to know that this will not cure my acne, or even put it in temporary remission, so I'm really torn what to do, as you can imagine.

I'd rather just go back on accutane but that's not an option so I feel completely fucked and not in a good way.

My acne has never been under control since I was 10 years old -- with the exception of the three months following my accutane treatment a couple years ago. I was done end of December 2003 and by May of 2004 I was breaking out again.

I was frustrated, as you can imagine, because the original plan was to wait 6 months to a year and then get a CO2(?) peel. But you are not supposed to have active acne for those. The obvious dilemma was how do I get clear without being on Accutane because I cannot be on Accutane when getting a peel.

My Derm offered two suggestions (well sort of three):

1) Give Smoothbeam a try, something he was a little skeptical of since, in his experience, didn't think it was an effective treatment for severe acne and was expensive.

2) Go on Aldactone (high bp med that controls androgen) and agressive topicals OR BC pills and topicals. I could do this in conjunction with either smoothbeam or choice number 3.

3) Consider low dose long term accutane (really low dose) which was still sort of a new concept in derm circles since there was no long range results and, well, it's a harsh med.

*Before you ask why I wasn't on BP pills, I was during main Tx but suffered increased migraines and other side effects. In addition, my husband has had a vasectomy and pregnancy was not an issue.

 

I am a woman in thirties who suffered from hormonal adult acne ( androgen excess ) for many years. I tried to balance hormones thr' alternative means ( diet, supplements, accupuncture, yoga ) but unfortunately could not get substantial, conclusive and consistent results. When I started taking orthocyclen, it made a drastic improvement. I don't know, if you have tried it before. Women normally tolerate it better than other BCs and it also has low dose version available. If you haven't and can tolerate it, it is definitely safer and cheaper option than repeated use of accutane.

Regarding Fraxel, I fully agree that cost is exorbitant especially when results can not be predicted and depend on so many factors ( doctor's experience, expertise, your own response, limitation of the techonology itself etc. )

Personally, I have solved the problem by partially treating the areas that has scarring and need treatment the most. That way, without spending a lot of money, I will have some room to experiment with more treatments ( if required ) and see what can be effective. The potential disadvantage of partial treatment, it can produce color difference. But I know much cheaper and effective solutions to even out color and tone ( prescription and non-prescription bleaching creams or even superficial peels like a single layer TCA which would cost 500 $ max )

I can easily afford Fraxel full face multiple treatments ( am a specialist in high tech area ) but after spending money in last 5 years on different treatments and seeing how they work ( cost and improvement ratio ), I feel quite skeptical and not worthwhile ( how much ever hyped the treatment is ). So, I want to try Fraxel as scienece behind it seems quite logical but not at such a high cost and this was the only way I found that would bring down the cost. And my scarring is shallow so another reason for not spending big bucks.

For partial treatment, am paying 400/450 $ per treatment. My doctor was reluctant initially and tried to convince me for full face but I stood my ground and insisted that I can deal with the color difference later and now he is fine with it. After 6 treatments, I have seen slight darkening of the treated areas but no drastic difference. If you are ready to deal with that, that can be a way.

 

I am a woman in thirties who suffered from hormonal adult acne ( androgen excess ) for many years. I tried to balance hormones thr' alternative means ( diet, supplements, accupuncture, yoga ) but unfortunately could not get substantial, conclusive and consistent results. When I started taking orthocyclen, it made a drastic improvement. I don't know, if you have tried it before. Women normally tolerate it better than other BCs and it also has low dose version available. If you haven't and can tolerate it, it is definitely safer and cheaper option than repeated use of accutane.

Regarding Fraxel, I fully agree that cost is exorbitant especially when results can not be predicted and depend on so many factors ( doctor's experience, expertise, your own response, limitation of the techonology itself etc. )

Personally, I have solved the problem by partially treating the areas that has scarring and need treatment the most. That way, without spending a lot of money, I will have some room to experiment with more treatments ( if required ) and see what can be effective. The potential disadvantage of partial treatment, it can produce color difference. But I know much cheaper and effective solutions to even out color and tone ( prescription and non-prescription bleaching creams or even superficial peels like a single layer TCA which would cost 500 $ max )

I can easily afford Fraxel full face multiple treatments ( am a specialist in high tech area ) but after spending money in last 5 years on different treatments and seeing how they work ( cost and improvement ratio ), I feel quite skeptical and not worthwhile ( how much ever hyped the treatment is ). So, I want to try Fraxel as scienece behind it seems quite logical but not at such a high cost and this was the only way I found that would bring down the cost. And my scarring is shallow so another reason for not spending big bucks.

 

For partial treatment, am paying 400/450 $ per treatment. My doctor was reluctant initially and tried to convince me for full face but I stood my ground and insisted that I can deal with the color difference later and now he is fine with it. After 6 treatments, I have seen slight darkening of the treated areas but no drastic difference. If you are ready to deal with that, that can be a way.

 

So heres an update. I had my 1st fraxel 2 weeks ago. The first few days, I was nervous because i had brown spots on the side of my face and around my lips. The spots peeled off, but I still have this small area of browness around my lips (hyperpigmentation?) I am on hydroquilone bleaching cream, but still have the brown discoloration around my lips. I am also asian.

I do think I am seeing some results, although it is too early to tell, and again, I have what is considered very minor on my right cheek.

For those who know more about this, I am still confused about settings. My first one was at 12/250 with 2-3 passes. I have read that for scars, you should go to a higher setting (between 15-20) and a low density (125) with more passes (4-6). Can someone comment on this. I am also thinking of asking him to only spot the part of my face with the minor scarring, because I am afraid of more areas of discoloration on the rest of my face.

Anyways, I am scheduled for a series of 3-4 fraxel treatments, and for the time being, will go through with the entire series. I looked into the Rhytec plasma option, but there were nor physicians in a 200 mile radius with this option, and will go through with the Fraxel for now. Will keep everybody updated.

Hi everyone. I am a new member. I recently found out about this site and just love reading all the posts from everyone. I am thinking about getting Fraxel because of acne scarring. I've had acne since I was 13 (I'm 38 now). I am an Asian male with medium skin tone.

I live in San Francisco. I consulted with Dr. David Berman in Palo Alto last week about Fraxel and got a "non-chalant" response from him. I scheduled an appointment to do Fraxel later this week and after reading all the posts about Dr Berman, I'm having SERIOUS second thoughts.

Does anyone else have bad (or good) experiences with Dr Berman? It also worries me that Fraxel will be done by the PA, not Dr Berman himself. Should I be worried?

Does anyone have a better recommendation in the San Francisco Bay Area? Thanks a lot!!

I live in East Bay and am going to Dr Bloch in Stockton, as he had the lowest prices when I checked. But, that may be too far for you. Do a Doc locator on Reliant/Fraxel website.

I am currently taking treatment with Dr. Morganroth ( MountainView ) but probably that might be too far for you. Being located in South Bay, I never consulted with any drs. from SF. I have heard good things about Dr. Steven Struck ( Artherton ) from a couple of other people but I myself never met him and don't know his rate and other details.

Some doctors charge a consultation fee regardless of the procedure you are asking about. For NYC $200 maybe normal but $350 seems a bit outrageous. Again they have to pay for their staff, office lease and their bentleys. Will they tell you what they charge for fraxel without a consultation? Would suck to pay that much and find out their fraxel treatments are even more outrageous.

Did you put in your zip code at www.fraxel.com and call all the offices that came up?

Susan,

A couple of ideas for you:

1) If your employer offers a Healthcare Reimbursement Account, use it to pay for your treatments. You can place money into your account PRE-TAX. This automatically saves your almost 30% on the cost of the treatment. You will need to set up this account at the end of the year when you select all of your benefits, be sure to figure out how much you will be spending as you can't get your unspent money back. Max is $4000 on the account; I maxed mine out this year to pay for Fraxel. If I had paid this without using this account, it actually would have cost me over $5,500 due to the taxes taken out on my paycheck. Call your HRA provider before-hand to ensure they will cover it; they told me if it was treating scarring from a disease (acne) then it was covered, but not covered for cosmetic (wrinkles, aging, etc..) purposes.

2) Spot treatments. Some docs don't want to do spot treatments, but that's only so they can charge more. My doc charges $400 for spot treatments, which is less than half of a full face. I started with 4 full face ($3,200) and I plan on going back in the fall for 2 to 4 spot treatments. So far I have 30-35% improvement from the 4 full-face treatments (2 months post treatment). You will probably want to do 5 or more treatments if you want dramatic results, it is much more affordable if you do spot treatments on the affected areas.

3) To help reduce the number of Fraxel treatments needed to get the results I want, I'm doing needling on the deeper scars to make them more shallow. I'm doing one session a month for the rest of this year with the hope that when I go back to complete my fraxel treatments in the fall, most of my scars will (hopefully) be minor.

Hope this helps you a little bit in your quest...

Sean..

I go to an office that charged $100 for the consultation but if you got some type of treatment within 30 days, the money was applied to the procedure.

I looked up my treatment plan information and was off by a bit.

The cooltouch laser is $500 each time but I misquoted the amount he charges for Fraxel. It's not $1300 per session but $900. But Whew!! That's still spendy! I still can't see doing six sessions at that cost!

I have mild scarring so I hope that I won't need that many sessions. He only suggest 3 and then we'd re-assess.

I think what bothers me as much if not more is the redness/blotchiness and the red/brown spots that were left behind from the acne marks. It makes me look fully broken out when I only have a few active pimples currently. So I'm hoping mostly for positive results for that.

Is it normal for MDs to charge a couple hundred dollars just for a Fraxel consultation?

For consults I called two doctor's offices. Geronemus in NYC wants $350 for the consult and Goldberg in NJ wants $200. Anyone know of MDs in the area offering free consults? Both also had about a month waiting period!

 

Consultation cost of 200 or 350 $ seems on high side though many times, they cut that from the first treatment, if you choose to go ahead with them. I know, cost varies quite significantly from region to region and it must be more expensive in NYC. This is just to have some idea about rates here :

Sometime back, I paid between 90-130 $ for consultation with some well known dermatologists / PS.

I guess, anything above 150-170 $ for consultation is a bit on high side ( unless you decide to go ahead with them. ) but if that is the std. rate there, well, what can one do ?