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Why would anybody get a temporary filler when they could get a permanant one? I would drive clear across the country and pay a lot more to really fix my face rather than having to keep doing it all over again. WHy doesnt everybody get the permanant stuff done?
‚ Wow, that's $1725 per treatment.‚ Is this a new record?‚
‚ ‚ Still seeking a doc in LA who is experienced treating acne scared patients with Fraxel Laser and charges a lot less.‚ ‚
JennyL
Hi JennyL,
Can you tell me the name of your doc. and how much he is charging? The lowest I could find in LA is $1k each and that person is all the way in Sta. Monica.
How are your treatments going for you so far?
Thanks.
‚ ‚ Wow, that's $1725 per treatment.‚ Is this a new record?‚ ‚
‚ ‚ Still seeking a doc in LA who is experienced treating acne scared patients with Fraxel Laser and charges a lot less.‚ ‚
JennyL
Hi JennyL,
Can you tell me the name of your doc. and how much he is charging? The lowest I could find in LA is $1k each and that person is all the way in Sta. Monica.
How are your treatments going for you so far?
Thanks.
Hi,
I haven't started the fraxel laser treatment yet and the only quote I've got was from a doc in SD and he charged about $1750 per treatment.
Which doc quoted you 1K per treatment?
JennyL
I just got back from my consultation with a Dr in Kansas City, the only doctor within a 3 hour drive of KC that does fraxel. Thought I'd share the info of my consult....
Before/After Pics - He showed me 4 patients with before and after pics (all of them well taken pics, no fake lighting), only one was for scarring.. She had very minimal scarring, but showed great improvement by the 4th treatment, scars were barely visible...
Laser settings - Doc said the highest setting he is comfortable with is 12/2000. Said he tried a small spot on a woman at level 20 and it blistered and was red for a long time.. I told him I would want the level at 20/1250, he said he'd have to research that.. Lightgirl (or anyone) - Do you have any information on this I could take to him regarding the setting, he seemed at a loss as I was trying to explain it to him.. lol.. I felt like I knew more than him.. Him and his nurse seemed very impressed about how much I knew about the procedure..
He was really interested in the 1250 number and wanted to know if I was referring to 1250 thermal zones per centimeter... Is that what the 1250 is for? It sounded like he would be willing to go to a higher level if he could find more information first; I told him I would see what I could find as well... Maybe I could get him the name and number of one of your docs so he could call and consult them..
Zimmer Machine - They do have the cooling machine.. this is good news.. 
)
Treatment Spacing - He recommended only 7 days between treatements.. however, if he "lets" me go 15 or higher then he said he would consider 14 day intervals..
Cost - $3400 for a package of 4 full face treatments.. Each treatment after that is $750.. I was expecting worse so not too disappointed with the price.. He said if I wanted just the full cheek areas done, a package of 4 was around $2200... and then small spot treatments on the cheeks were around $1600 for 4 treatments..
Prescriptions - They said I would be on a 3 day steroid prescription following each treatment.. Is anyone else being given this?
Hope this helps some of you.. I'd like to hear some feedback from those of you having this done at the higher levels of 15 and above so I can provide this doc some information...
Thanks,
Sean..
I just got back from my consultation with a Dr in Kansas City, the only doctor within a 3 hour drive of KC that does fraxel. Thought I'd share the info of my consult....
Before/After Pics - He showed me 4 patients with before and after pics (all of them well taken pics, no fake lighting), only one was for scarring.. She had very minimal scarring, but showed great improvement by the 4th treatment, scars were barely visible...
Laser settings - Doc said the highest setting he is comfortable with is 12/2000. Said he tried a small spot on a woman at level 20 and it blistered and was red for a long time.. I told him I would want the level at 20/1250, he said he'd have to research that.. Lightgirl (or anyone) - Do you have any information on this I could take to him regarding the setting, he seemed at a loss as I was trying to explain it to him.. lol.. I felt like I knew more than him.. Him and his nurse seemed very impressed about how much I knew about the procedure..
He was really interested in the 1250 number and wanted to know if I was referring to 1250 thermal zones per centimeter... Is that what the 1250 is for? It sounded like he would be willing to go to a higher level if he could find more information first; I told him I would see what I could find as well... Maybe I could get him the name and number of one of your docs so he could call and consult them..
Zimmer Machine - They do have the cooling machine.. this is good news.. 🙂
Treatment Spacing - He recommended only 7 days between treatements.. however, if he "lets" me go 15 or higher then he said he would consider 14 day intervals..
Cost - $3400 for a package of 4 full face treatments.. Each treatment after that is $750.. I was expecting worse so not too disappointed with the price.. He said if I wanted just the full cheek areas done, a package of 4 was around $2200... and then small spot treatments on the cheeks were around $1600 for 4 treatments..
Prescriptions - They said I would be on a 3 day steroid prescription following each treatment.. Is anyone else being given this?
Hope this helps some of you.. I'd like to hear some feedback from those of you having this done at the higher levels of 15 and above so I can provide this doc some information...
Thanks,
Sean..
Sean,
Wow. Great info. Give him my doctor's name in Denver--Adrienne Stewart 303-333-6060. Also, have him speak to Dr. Rohskar in NY--I posted his study on this thread and he was the first to do Fraxel-and from what others are saying strongly believes in doing level 20 and very educated and experienced. I've never been given the steriod treatment. Go for 14 days between treatments so that your skin is completely healed before the next one--that is just my opinion. I honestly don't know a whole lot about the 1250 issue..but I bet someone on this site does--from what I know it determines the amount of area covered on the skin by Fraxel. Kooky actually explained this to me.
Have them crank that Zimmer machine up!! lol
I just got back from my consultation with a Dr in Kansas City, the only doctor within a 3 hour drive of KC that does fraxel. Thought I'd share the info of my consult....
Before/After Pics - He showed me 4 patients with before and after pics (all of them well taken pics, no fake lighting), only one was for scarring.. She had very minimal scarring, but showed great improvement by the 4th treatment, scars were barely visible...
Laser settings - Doc said the highest setting he is comfortable with is 12/2000. Said he tried a small spot on a woman at level 20 and it blistered and was red for a long time.. I told him I would want the level at 20/1250, he said he'd have to research that.. Lightgirl (or anyone) - Do you have any information on this I could take to him regarding the setting, he seemed at a loss as I was trying to explain it to him.. lol.. I felt like I knew more than him.. Him and his nurse seemed very impressed about how much I knew about the procedure..
He was really interested in the 1250 number and wanted to know if I was referring to 1250 thermal zones per centimeter... Is that what the 1250 is for? It sounded like he would be willing to go to a higher level if he could find more information first; I told him I would see what I could find as well... Maybe I could get him the name and number of one of your docs so he could call and consult them..
Zimmer Machine - They do have the cooling machine.. this is good news.. 🙂
Treatment Spacing - He recommended only 7 days between treatements.. however, if he "lets" me go 15 or higher then he said he would consider 14 day intervals..
Cost - $3400 for a package of 4 full face treatments.. Each treatment after that is $750.. I was expecting worse so not too disappointed with the price.. He said if I wanted just the full cheek areas done, a package of 4 was around $2200... and then small spot treatments on the cheeks were around $1600 for 4 treatments..
Prescriptions - They said I would be on a 3 day steroid prescription following each treatment.. Is anyone else being given this?
Hope this helps some of you.. I'd like to hear some feedback from those of you having this done at the higher levels of 15 and above so I can provide this doc some information...
Thanks,
Sean..
Sean,
Wow. Great info. Give him my doctor's name in Denver--Adrienne Stewart 303-333-6060. Also, have him speak to Dr. Rohskar in NY--I posted his study on this thread and he was the first to do Fraxel-and from what others are saying strongly believes in doing level 20 and very educated and experienced. I've never been given the steriod treatment. Go for 14 days between treatments so that your skin is completely healed before the next one--that is just my opinion. I honestly don't know a whole lot about the 1250 issue..but I bet someone on this site does--from what I know it determines the amount of area covered on the skin by Fraxel. Kooky actually explained this to me.
Sean-- In the photo you saw of the scars at your doctor's office--Do you know how long after the 4th treatment they took the photo?
Have them crank that Zimmer machine up!! lol
I think it was the woman's 3 month check up if I remember correctly.... I do remember that it was after the 4th treatment.. On a scale of 1 to 10 for scar severity, I would say she was only a 2... the kind I would love to have..
As for Dr Rohskar's study, does it explain the 20/1250 settings for optimal scar revision??
Thanks,
Sean..
Hey Florida guy,
I don't know if you remember me or not. We spoke a few months ago on YTF. I was thinking about doing the Fraxel at the place you had them done at but I've been holding off. I just took a look at your pictures and wanted to tell you "WOW"! Your overall results have got to be around 70% + to 80% +. Was the After picture, right after a treatment? Because your skin is smooth and glowing!!
Now I'm rethinking this whole thing again. 
That is my fear, that a few people will respond very well to fraxel (such as those on the website), showing upwards of 50% improvement, but many will only be able to obtain from 20% to 40% maximum benefit with a full 5 to 10 treatments..
Dr Rullan told me that with my moderate scarring, he expects atleast a 60% improvement, minimum. I would be willing to give up some percentage of improvement for the convenience of having fraxel done close to home, but not if it goes below 50%.
In the end, it sounds like both treatments are going to cost me about the same amount; I'm just wanting to make an educated decision choice based on which will most likely give me the best results. If I spend the money on fraxel and the results are disappointing, there is no way I would be able to go and have exoderm done later, I can't afford both treatments.. However, if I have exoderm done now and still had some remaining spots that bothered me, I could always have a small series of fraxel spot treatments done later on which wouldn't cost a whole lot. Hmmm, that sounds like a good idea..
Sean..
Where are the pics you all keep talking about? I want to see them!
Hi, Sean 1977, I am new here. In fact, my first time on this Acne.org. I just found it. I want to ask you if your doctor, Dr. Rullan is Peter Rullan of Chula Vista? Some one gave me his business card and I was thinking of visiting him. Do you recommend him? How do you like him? What procedure are you using to treat your acne scars? Would appreciate your reply.
Bluelily
Hi all! I've been lurking for a coupla weeks trying to find out more about Fraxel. I have some scarring (box cars and some pitted) on my cheeks and forehead. I really hate catching my own reflection in bright light..I look awful! 
I've had abt 18 Microdermabrasions done in the last coupla years (didn't do much for scarring) and 6 Smoothbeams which were completely useless (!!) and caused some blistering and scarring on my cheeks!! I found out only 40% of Smoothbeam patients see any significant improvements and the percentage is about the same for Cooltouch.
I've also had 2 TCA/Phenol peels done in the last few months where the doc started with extraction and microdermabrasion before the peel. But hasn't done much for the box-cars on my forehead....
I think Fraxel should be permanent since its sorta ablative... found only 1 doc where I live (I'm in Singapore) who offers Fraxel. The doc I saw for the peels returned his Fraxel machine. He said he wasn't getting any good results...recommended I do Thermage instead, at $2,500 a pop, to tighten my skin and make the scars less visible which sounded like expensive BS to me!
I was just wondering...besides Floridaguy...has anyone else who's done Fraxel posted any before/after photos? Lightgirl? Birch? That'd really help me...over the years I've spent thousands on my scars and I'm just feeling a little hesitant to try out something new. Sometimes I think I should try hypnotherapy to forget abt the scars! 
Any pictures would be great! Thanks a lot!
i gotta question you lightgirl, after which treatment did u actually see signs of improvement?
A month after the second treatment, which was right before my 3rd treatment. Very subtle, but noticeable softening of one particular area of the scars. I did not notice benefits to the tone of my skin until after the 4th. The most improvement I saw with my scars was after the 4th treatment as the collagen rebuilding continued doing its thing. It is a gradual process and you continue to notice changes to your skin as time goes on--not everyone has had this experience as I think Ryan02 has not noticed anything and he is on his 3rd.
Pinky your post highlights the often contradictory opinions we get on boards like this and the dilemma people face in choosing appropriate treatment. You had microdermabrasion and phenol/tca without success yet phenol based exoderm seems to be all the rage at the moment, lots of folks like tca and another guy just said he had great results with microdermabrasion. Resurfacing is a lottery whatever method you choose. Good Luck. If all else fails there are always dermal fillers to fall back on but they too have limitations.
Regarding the photos you all want to see, I think I mentioned that I would be taking my own photo two weeks after this treatment (the 5th) and two weeks after the 6th treatment and will need to get a before shot from my Doc at my next treatment (bec I didn't take one myself) in November and THEN I will post everything!!
Where are the pics you all keep talking about? I want to see them!
Go to http://www.laserskinsolutions.com/ Go to procedures, fraxel and under the picture shown on the page, click open. It will show you 2 before & after Fraxel pictures.
I think Fraxel should be permanent since its sorta ablative... found only 1 doc where I live (I'm in Singapore) who offers Fraxel. The doc I saw for the peels returned his Fraxel machine. He said he wasn't getting any good results...recommended I do Thermage instead, at $2,500 a pop, to tighten my skin and make the scars less visible which sounded like expensive BS to me!
I was just wondering...besides Floridaguy...has anyone else who's done Fraxel posted any before/after photos? Lightgirl? Birch? That'd really help me...over the years I've spent thousands on my scars and I'm just feeling a little hesitant to try out something new. Sometimes I think I should try hypnotherapy to forget abt the scars! 😛
Any pictures would be great! Thanks a lot!
From what I've read on these boards, many people have had HUGE problems with Thermage.:whistle: I'd stay away from it. So far the only Fraxel pics I've seen are Floridaguy's and I was impressed. So much so I'm thinking about a consultation. Oh and another good place to read up on procedures is the acne board at http://yestheyrefake.net/plastic_surgery_message_boards.htm There are some posters there who shared their very detailed Fraxel stories and are very generous with answering questions. Good Luck!
(((EDIT _ eeek I'm not sure if I can post a link to anywhere else here. If I can't I'll be happy to remove them))) :wall:
Where are the pics you all keep talking about? I want to see them!
Go to http://www.laserskinsolutions.com/ Go to procedures, fraxel and under the picture shown on the page, click open. It will show you 2 before & after Fraxel pictures.
I think Fraxel should be permanent since its sorta ablative... found only 1 doc where I live (I'm in Singapore) who offers Fraxel. The doc I saw for the peels returned his Fraxel machine. He said he wasn't getting any good results...recommended I do Thermage instead, at $2,500 a pop, to tighten my skin and make the scars less visible which sounded like expensive BS to me!
I was just wondering...besides Floridaguy...has anyone else who's done Fraxel posted any before/after photos? Lightgirl? Birch? That'd really help me...over the years I've spent thousands on my scars and I'm just feeling a little hesitant to try out something new. Sometimes I think I should try hypnotherapy to forget abt the scars! 😛
Any pictures would be great! Thanks a lot!
From what I've read on these boards, many people have had HUGE problems with Thermage.:whistle: I'd stay away from it. So far the only Fraxel pics I've seen are Floridaguy's and I was impressed. So much so I'm thinking about a consultation. Oh and another good place to read up on procedures is the acne board at http://yestheyrefake.net/plastic_surgery_message_boards.htm There are some posters there who shared their very detailed Fraxel stories and are very generous with answering questions. Good Luck!
(((EDIT _ eeek I'm not sure if I can post a link to anywhere else here. If I can't I'll be happy to remove them))) :wall:
Thanks 😀
I wanted to see Florida Guy's pics. Does anyone know how to access them?
Btw, links to other message boards etc. are fine. It is just when someone is selling something and spamming the board that we delete them.
Where are the pics you all keep talking about? I want to see them!
Go to http://www.laserskinsolutions.com/ Go to procedures, fraxel and under the picture shown on the page, click open. It will show you 2 before & after Fraxel pictures.
I think Fraxel should be permanent since its sorta ablative... found only 1 doc where I live (I'm in Singapore) who offers Fraxel. The doc I saw for the peels returned his Fraxel machine. He said he wasn't getting any good results...recommended I do Thermage instead, at $2,500 a pop, to tighten my skin and make the scars less visible which sounded like expensive BS to me!
I was just wondering...besides Floridaguy...has anyone else who's done Fraxel posted any before/after photos? Lightgirl? Birch? That'd really help me...over the years I've spent thousands on my scars and I'm just feeling a little hesitant to try out something new. Sometimes I think I should try hypnotherapy to forget abt the scars! 😛
Any pictures would be great! Thanks a lot!
From what I've read on these boards, many people have had HUGE problems with Thermage.:whistle: I'd stay away from it. So far the only Fraxel pics I've seen are Floridaguy's and I was impressed. So much so I'm thinking about a consultation. Oh and another good place to read up on procedures is the acne board at http://yestheyrefake.net/plastic_surgery_message_boards.htm There are some posters there who shared their very detailed Fraxel stories and are very generous with answering questions. Good Luck!
(((EDIT _ eeek I'm not sure if I can post a link to anywhere else here. If I can't I'll be happy to remove them))) :wall:
Thanks 😀
I wanted to see Florida Guy's pics. Does anyone know how to access them?
Btw, links to other message boards etc. are fine. It is just when someone is selling something and spamming the board that we delete them.
I agree with everyone that Fraxel is expensive ($1,000 per treatment for me in Seattle) but I can tell you it really is well worth it. I have done everything for acne scars and melasma and this is the only thing that has worked. The improvment in your skin's texture, melasma, fine lines and overall eveness is tremendous. I have dermaplaned, microdermed, peeled, lasered, thermaged, used fillers and nothing has been as great as Fraxel. I would say that my shallow scars are not completely gone but after 3 treatments they are partially filled in and just softer in appearance. My melasma was almost gone after 1 treatment and that is a miracle considering Melasma is pretty much irreversable. Remember, this is FDA approved for Melasma, not created to get rid of scars. The fact that is stimulates collagen is what helps the scars. SO in answer to the questions about whether it causes fat loss, no, it is the opposite, it stimulates collagen production and gets better over the next few months so I haven't even seen the most improvement yet.
hi. i'm new to this topic and am very interested in this fraxel laser treatment. For those of you that are getting success from it how bad were your scars? can you take a look at my gallery and tell me if yours were better or worse than what I have. Fraxel is a LOT of money, but I'm willing to pay anything (if it is guaranteed to work) just to have clear skin. Thanks in advance!
i gotta question you lightgirl, after which treatment did u actually see signs of improvement?
A month after the second treatment, which was right before my 3rd treatment. Very subtle, but noticeable softening of one particular area of the scars. I did not notice benefits to the tone of my skin until after the 4th. The most improvement I saw with my scars was after the 4th treatment as the collagen rebuilding continued doing its thing. It is a gradual process and you continue to notice changes to your skin as time goes on--not everyone has had this experience as I think Ryan02 has not noticed anything and he is on his 3rd.
Pinky your post highlights the often contradictory opinions we get on boards like this and the dilemma people face in choosing appropriate treatment. You had microdermabrasion and phenol/tca without success yet phenol based exoderm seems to be all the rage at the moment, lots of folks like tca and another guy just said he had great results with microdermabrasion. Resurfacing is a lottery whatever method you choose. Good Luck. If all else fails there are always dermal fillers to fall back on but they too have limitations.
Regarding the photos you all want to see, I think I mentioned that I would be taking my own photo two weeks after this treatment (the 5th) and two weeks after the 6th treatment and will need to get a before shot from my Doc at my next treatment (bec I didn't take one myself) in November and THEN I will post everything!!
Some things to consider when getting fraxel done... You probably won't see the most improvements until a couple of months after you are finished with your treatment. It takes time for Collagen to build up. I think if you get 5 Fraxels done every two weeks you may see some improvement by the 3rd procedure but most likely it will take a few months to see final results.. Then you can make a final assessment. I hope people don't get too upset after all there treatments because it is way too soon to see major improvemnt..
hi. i'm new to this topic and am very interested in this fraxel laser treatment. For those of you that are getting success from it how bad were your scars? can you take a look at my gallery and tell me if yours were better or worse than what I have. Fraxel is a LOT of money, but I'm willing to pay anything (if it is guaranteed to work) just to have clear skin. Thanks in advance!
what the heck is acne Murad? If your face breaks out tha bad again or if it is still breaking out like that go on accutane. Your face is not that bad and I think would smooth out good with Fraxel. I dont know how much of that is acne and how much is scarring, but it doesnt look very scarred. Take care of the acne first. Good luck.
I wanted to see Florida Guy's pics. Does anyone know how to access them?
Btw, links to other message boards etc. are fine. It is just when someone is selling something and spamming the board that we delete them.
You know I had no idea pics were on that site at all until he mentioned it. I'm glad he said something. Oh and thanks for letting me know it was OK to post links. Here I was all worried about screwing up on my first post. :redface:
Go to this website: http://laserskinsolutions.com/
At the top of the website page, click on Procedures and choose Fraxel. On the Fraxel page, under the picture of the girl, is the option OPEN. Click and you'll see Floridaguy's pic come up..
I booked a consultation with his doc today... :dance:
I listend/followed a poweroint put together by four research Drs on fractional resurfacing (go to Lasernews website). This one hour presentation goes into specifics of theory behind the fraxel brand of laser and some early clincial data.
The technology is based on dots of laser beems, producing 3 d cones of thermal injury that the body will repair with new surfacing and added collagen. Because tissue adjacent to the cones is laregly unaffected, this fractional approach enables much faster healing than with traditional lasers (no downtime), and a deeper energy beem. I recall them discussing 1mm as being the maximum depth, which is more than 50% deeper than with ablative lasers. Basically, enery (depth of beem), plus density and width of beems equals risk of scarring or other damage. So, if you want to go deeper for acne scars, theory says that you go with very low density and have say 6 treatments spaced as much as 1 month apart, to allow for healing during the interim. I don't think there would be any change in skin depth after the intial edema. The approach is new so there is not much clinical data to support its efficacy. It is not FDA approved for acne scars, just for melasma and photodamage. However, the theory makse sense to me and the presumption is that it eliminates the risk of delayed hypopigmentation (which is huge fear of mine). I am very intrigued by this laser, but it seems to me that the verdict is far from clear because there is limited data supporting its use for acne scars.
Does fraxel just burn the epidermis or does it go down deeper some how. If you continously attacked the epidermis and let it rebuild each time would the skin get thicker or thinner? Very confusing how the skin works.