Is fraxel really worth the money? I'm thinking of getting this done for my mild acne scars and to get rid of my red marks the rest of the way, but I really don't want to waste 3000-5000 bucks depending on how many I would need ($1000 a time) I have mild scars so I'm hoping that if I did this that it would at least almost get rid of it if not get rid of it all together. Does this even help red marks? I just want to know if you guys who have had this done think it was worth all that damn money or if you wish you never did it? Did anyone here have no results what-so-ever? Thanks!

P.S. Sorry if this has been asked a million times but I don't have time to read every post, just read some of the pages and didn't see what I was looking for.

 

If it's red marks...you can find other alternatives like Smoothbeam (which worked for me).

You don't have to pay $1000....find some derm that would do partial face for less (which I'm going to do)

Widgie- Thanks for answering my questions. The bumps actually went away after a couple of hours. A relief, but weird!

James- I went to the link but I couldn't find any information about the MTZ's. What is that? Anyway, I think it's just residual blue dye left over.

When does the line of demarcation become not so obvious?

 

Is fraxel really worth the money? I'm thinking of getting this done for my mild acne scars and to get rid of my red marks the rest of the way, but I really don't want to waste 3000-5000 bucks depending on how many I would need ($1000 a time) I have mild scars so I'm hoping that if I did this that it would at least almost get rid of it if not get rid of it all together. Does this even help red marks? I just want to know if you guys who have had this done think it was worth all that damn money or if you wish you never did it? Did anyone here have no results what-so-ever? Thanks!

P.S. Sorry if this has been asked a million times but I don't have time to read every post, just read some of the pages and didn't see what I was looking for.

 

If it's red marks...you can find other alternatives like Smoothbeam (which worked for me).

You don't have to pay $1000....find some derm that would do partial face for less (which I'm going to do)

 

I asked about partial but she informed me that I have mild scarring on more then just my cheeks like I had thought, that bitch, I'm still mad about the way she made me feel about my scars. I always knew I had mild acne scars but thought it was only on my cheeks and not that bad. Even my derm said it was mild, but I saw her nurse last time and she said that I needed it all over my face. They just got fraxel at my derm's office, but if I decide to do it I'm talking to the actual derm first as I trust her opinion more. Even if I did just my cheeks though she said it would be $800 a time. I want something that will rid me of both my scars and red marks that's why I was thinking about the fraxel. Seems more of a money saver to do that then to do more treatments that may continue to not give me the results I want. As I said I did IPL 6 times at $400 a time and had okay results but not what I had expected when I started 🙁 How many Smoothbeam treatments did you have? My derm doesn't do that. Did it help with scars as well or just red marks? Now that she said that shit to me about my scars I've been very self conscious about them, more then I was to begin with and now want to do something about them. She pretty much talked me into doing it if I'm able to because she made me feel so bad about it :boohoo: I think she was just trying to make me feel bad to make more money off of me as they just got the fraxel laser and I was there for my apt for my 6th IPL. Ever since that apt though I've been noticing them so much more then I ever did and it's driving me crazy!

Today I had my 3rd treatment. So far I think this was the best one. The engery level was at 17mj. Looks like a nice and even treatment. Doctor said I am respsonding very well to the treatment. He was impressed after the 1st treatment. I have two more to go thru, hope I get the good results I am looking for.

Can someone please ask their derms (on next visit, if possible) what the results are supposed to be on enlarged/scarred pores, particularly of the nose?

Thank you much.

Can someone please ask their derms (on next visit, if possible) what the results are supposed to be on enlarged/scarred pores, particularly of the nose?

Thank you much.

 

Nose is a big headache. Coz its hard to heal... Nose often trap oil so as for me before the treatment it wasn't much problem but after the treatment it did open up my pores abit... I guess nose is the hardest to treat due to its contour.

What else take away the redness after fraxel? Any kind of lotions you know of? I am bright red and I want it to go away now! Please help.

I have "Mini Fraxel" done for four times, which resurfaced around 8% of my face surface everytime around 6 weeks apart. As I am an Asian, my doctor said mini fraxel would lower the risk of hyper-pigmentation. So far, the recovery satisfied me. I paid 6,000 US dollars for 8 sessions of mini fraxel as a package. I still think the fee outrageous, still, the dermatologist who treated me was very very top in Hong Kong. I had only one subcision conbined with my first mini fraxel. Subcision costs 380 US dollars per treatment. I am thinking if I should go for subcision with my last four mini fraxels. Because many of my scars are usually rolling scars on my cheeks, some due to epidermis lost, relatively deeper on temples. As for my shallow rolling scars, I am trying to use TNS Recovery Complex to see if my epidermis would regrow thicker, if not much, I would go for subcision to get them elevated.

Could you buddies give me some suggestion?

What else take away the redness after fraxel? Any kind of lotions you know of? I am bright red and I want it to go away now! Please help.

 

I use a moisturizer by Aveeno that actually works pretty well. Just read the label. It's a "calming" lotion. WHen I put it on immediatley post procedure it makes am amazing difference!

can anyone name a good doctor wh does fraxel. one who knows what he is doing, and will give high settings????

hey there,

I will be having my third fraxel this Monday and I am hoping to see improvement on my scars this time around. My doctor would only allow 4 treatments then wait 3 months for more treatments if needed. I know the key to any success is patience so I am hoping and praying fraxel works for me.

Here in California we have been experiencing unbearable heat wave. It is extremely hot and humid. I have been taking extra precaution not to be outdoors. Just being indoors I notice my face reddeningfrom the heat. Anyway, I have found an excellent concealer that works well for me, its Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer. I just use a speck of it and it conceals without melting away from the humidity. I bought it at Nordstrom.

best regards everyone,

morning star

I just want to reiterate that I think this procedure sucks. It's been 3 1/2 months since my last treatment, and I haven't seen any improvement, only worsening of my ice pick scars. I saw my doctor for a follow up last week, and the before and after pictures showed no improvement. She said wait another 3 months then come back, but I'm not hopeful at all. I haven't even been keeping up with this thread because it makes me mad to see people throwing around numbers--10, 15, 30, improvement, sometimes after just 1 or 2 sessions. That kind of talk is exactly what suckered me into this treatment. Are you sure about your improvement?? I think it won't be long until fraxel goes into the trash bin along with smoothbeam, cooltouch, etc. I hope that my skin eventually proves me wrong, but right now, I would strongly urge people to save their money and their time. It's very very hard to deal with this kind of failure, psychologically, financially, etc.

As everyone knows here, after fraxel, our faces will become very red and a bit swollen. Around one or two days later, our face will start flake. Usually, we have to resume working after the surgery, how do we cover our redness, flaking?

I will use BIODERMA's sunblock called Photoderma laser which could be used as base before foundation, then I will buy a foundation in some cosmetic story. After around 4 hours, my face will become so oily, then I will use Bioderma's H2O for cleansing. but after seeing chrissyC saying Aveeno's calming lotion could reduce redness. Could you tell me how much redness Aveeno's lotion could reduce?

My doctor's nurse suggests me using C-mollient (Vitamin C), and TNS (Skinmedica) to enhance my enhance the growth of new collagen. Anyone could tell me what products you are using for enchancing collagen growth.

hi Cameron,

I can totally relate to where you're coming from because it can be frustrating not to see improvement on scars especially after paying top dollar for it. Not to mention the downtime involve for your face to heal. I also have scars that look worse than when I first started. I don't have an answer to why this is so. Maybe someone in this thread know the answer? I have not yet seen my photo from my doc's office so I can only judge by what I see in the mirror. Maybe it's because I focus so much on the scars that it appears to be worst. Though, I am being obtimistic that I will see improvement soon, real soooooon.

It's good that you are being honest about how you feel about fraxel. This will inform the rest of us who read this thread the negative aspect as well as the positive. That's whats great about this forum. I like sharing and reading what other members perspective on fraxel. Members here are real people not actors. I wish you well Cameron.

morning star

Thanks morning star. I wish you and everyone else here well too. I just wish there were more effective ways of dealing with scars. Everytime, I go through another treatment, it's always the same pattern: (1) initial hope, (2) huge expenditure of resources, (3) waiting, waiting, waiting, (4) disappointment and hopelessness. And with each one, you lose valuable time and become more cynical and pessimistic. I feel like a lifeless zombie already.

Cameron

I feel your pain. I had 4 sessions at 15, 20, and 2 at 25, with 2 spot passes at 30 over scarred areas in last session at 25. So far, I am really pleased with texture and color, and what appears to be smaller pores on nose. However, I am underwhelmed by improvement in scars. Fortunately, I got a very good price by CA standards. As to overall cost/benefit, I am somewhat pleased that I did this.

In another month or so, I will post pre and post pictures and ask people to rate improvement.

Blaster posts about his treatment at very high energy levels and his improvement. Like Blaster, I believe that Fraxel is safe, but you must go for higher energy levels, than being used by most US docs, to improve scars.

Just wanted to add my two cents. I'm a week out from my fourth (and final for now) fraxel treatment. I have been a bit ambivalent about my results thus far. I will say that my scars, to my eye, are much softer and look better with makeup than they used to. But they are still there. Just not as pronounced. SOmetimes I wonder if I'm seeing things and feel better about my skin simply because I've actually undergone treatment? (Placebo effect) Or is the improvement really visible? My husband has been encouraging and sincere in his encouragement(he was more sceptical than I was at the outset). But he IS my husband so although he has said to me in the past couple of weeks, "I can't believe how different your skin looks" - I still wonder to myself just how much he really "sees' (my scars simply don't matter to him).

Ok. But last night we had dinner with some friends I haven't seen in two years. We were both lamenting about how much we had aged in the past two years since we'd seen each other. You know, laughingly. And she says to me, "No, seriously. I think you look better now than the last time I saw you. Your skin looks great". I laughed and chalked it up to getting more sleep now that my kids are older, but the fact that she commented on my skin says something to me! I realize there is still some residual swelling, as my last fraxel was only a week ago, but I'm still much more optimistic now than I;ve been in the past couple of weeks.

I want to say many of the treatments yield SOME kind of improvements, whether that might be a temporary tightening of the skin, or some kind of other reaction from the skin that changes the appearance of your scar (better or worse)...I do understand completely like after spendin thousands of dollars you don't really notice that much improvements (or not at all in some people's cases) and the worst thing is that the derms are either really distant or unapologetic about it.

Smoothbeam, for some people it worked, some didn't...and for me, I can say as far as scars are concerned....probably 10%...BUT it reduced lots of my redmarks, which makes the scars less visible, it definitely improves my face appearance. Did I tell my friends I've had some treatments, no....right after the third session I went out to dinner with a group of friends I hadn't seen in a few months, everybody started complimenting me on my skin, coincidence? No...they must've saw the improvements...anything from "Wow your skin is clearer" etc...the most honest and realistic one (which is ok) was from one of my co-workers..."I can still see your scars, but your overal skin appearance is good and seems very refreshed and got a healthy glow" Hey...I take whatever compliments I can get.

It all boils down to relativity....some people would be ok with plunking down $2000 for 30% improvement, some expects 50% with only paying $1000.

But I think many expects the improvement to no less than 30% that seems to be the magic 'satisfactory' %

I could be wrong

Billyboy, the energy levels I used were pretty high too. If I remember, it was 16, 19, 20, and 24 with spot treatments at 24 and 30. It hasn't been long since your last treatment though, so you still have a chance to see improvement. Hopefully, you'll get at least some.

As for getting compliments from people you know, I don't take that into consideration because people don't understand the water retention and lighting issues. One time, my sister said, "I think your scars look better." Then she looked at my other cheek, which was in front of a light, and said "well, at least on your left cheek." The thing is my left side is my worst side, but it happened to be in a shadow at that time. Gee thanks, but next time, please just shut up.

Billyboy, the energy levels I used were pretty high too. If I remember, it was 16, 19, 20, and 24 with spot treatments at 24 and 30. It hasn't been long since your last treatment though, so you still have a chance to see improvement. Hopefully, you'll get at least some.

As for getting compliments from people you know, I don't take that into consideration because people don't understand the water retention and lighting issues. One time, my sister said, "I think your scars look better." Then she looked at my other cheek, which was in front of a light, and said "well, at least on your left cheek." The thing is my left side is my worst side, but it happened to be in a shadow at that time. Gee thanks, but next time, please just shut up.

 

I've read this whole thread a couple of times, but if someone knows off the top of their head (and wouldn't mind saving me a few hours) could you tell me if there is some reason why they can't start the treatments at higher settings? If the doctor, say, spot tested at 18, and got no blistering, then could s/he crank it up a little on the first session? Or is this something most doctors do already at the first session?

A few things to note about fraxel -

1. The results one gets from fraxel is dependent on one's age. Namely, if you are younger the body's ability to generate collagen is much better compared to when you are over 30. I.e a 17 year old will have much better results than a 40 year old.

2. Fraxel works by reducing the depth of scars, hence it works best for people with multiple shallow scars on their face. It smoothes the edge of scars to improve the contours of the face. It does not provide as much benefit for ice-pick scars.

3. Fraxel is only good for acne scars at high settings with multiple treatments. When I mean high, I mean real high. Ideal results require treatments at 25-30mj with 6 or more treatments. That tends to net on average around 40% improvement (which is a lot with all things considered).

The ideal fraxel patient has multiple scars on his face is between 15-30 years old and can find a doc who will treat him aggressively. Fraxel is not for everyone, but you must treat very aggressively to get results. If you can't find a doc to treat you aggressively, then the cost-result ratio may not be worth your time and money.

Fraxel is the first generation of a new wave of lasers to treat sections of the skin at a time. Future generations of lasers will no doubt bring about better results and less down time. We can see the progress we have made in the past 5 years.

Blaster

Billyboy, the energy levels I used were pretty high too. If I remember, it was 16, 19, 20, and 24 with spot treatments at 24 and 30. It hasn't been long since your last treatment though, so you still have a chance to see improvement. Hopefully, you'll get at least some.

 

As for getting compliments from people you know, I don't take that into consideration because people don't understand the water retention and lighting issues. One time, my sister said, "I think your scars look better." Then she looked at my other cheek, which was in front of a light, and said "well, at least on your left cheek." The thing is my left side is my worst side, but it happened to be in a shadow at that time. Gee thanks, but next time, please just shut up.

 

The ideal fraxel patient has multiple scars on his face is between 15-30 years old and can find a doc who will treat him aggressively.

 

Yay 🙂 I think I fit the criteria! But um, is there a reason why darker people won't try this procedure? My skin is somewhat dark, so I don't want to risk hyperpigmentation. I have very shallow, rolling scars and like two ice picks. And my brown marks make me look like I have craters on my face.

Does anyone know any good doctors who does fraxel in the OC area?

3. Fraxel is only good for acne scars at high settings with multiple treatments. When I mean high, I mean real high. Ideal results require treatments at 25-30mj with 6 or more treatments. That tends to net on average around 40% improvement (which is a lot with all things considered).

 

How do you know this?

A few things to note about fraxel -

1. The results one gets from fraxel is dependent on one's age. Namely, if you are younger the body's ability to generate collagen is much better compared to when you are over 30. I.e a 17 year old will have much better results than a 40 year old.

2. Fraxel works by reducing the depth of scars, hence it works best for people with multiple shallow scars on their face. It smoothes the edge of scars to improve the contours of the face. It does not provide as much benefit for ice-pick scars.

3. Fraxel is only good for acne scars at high settings with multiple treatments. When I mean high, I mean real high. Ideal results require treatments at 25-30mj with 6 or more treatments. That tends to net on average around 40% improvement (which is a lot with all things considered).

The ideal fraxel patient has multiple scars on his face is between 15-30 years old and can find a doc who will treat him aggressively. Fraxel is not for everyone, but you must treat very aggressively to get results. If you can't find a doc to treat you aggressively, then the cost-result ratio may not be worth your time and money.

Fraxel is the first generation of a new wave of lasers to treat sections of the skin at a time. Future generations of lasers will no doubt bring about better results and less down time. We can see the progress we have made in the past 5 years.

Blaster

Hey Blaster,

are you from Australia? Cos I thinkl I read your comments somewhere else on here. I sought advice from a dermo who made me feel quite bad about my minimal scars (a couple of icepick and rolling/dish type scars and a bit of discolouration). Can you recommend someone if you are from Aus? Or please email me if you have time. I am getting married in December and want to start this treatment asap.

 

Billyboy, the energy levels I used were pretty high too. If I remember, it was 16, 19, 20, and 24 with spot treatments at 24 and 30. It hasn't been long since your last treatment though, so you still have a chance to see improvement. Hopefully, you'll get at least some.

As for getting compliments from people you know, I don't take that into consideration because people don't understand the water retention and lighting issues. One time, my sister said, "I think your scars look better." Then she looked at my other cheek, which was in front of a light, and said "well, at least on your left cheek." The thing is my left side is my worst side, but it happened to be in a shadow at that time. Gee thanks, but next time, please just shut up.