Ok, Glad to see this thread is still around but man is it long. I have skimmed a few pages but haven't seen any reference of the new Fraxel 2 laser. A friend of mine had this procedure done yesterday, I referred her to my laser doctor who did the SmoothBeam+lasers around a year ago. He said he has the new Fraxel 2 laser, and that only around 10 doctors have this machine. He said he has seen very good results with it and is excited about it. The price is the same as the original Fraxel. $1000 a piece, they do have a package deal but I am not sure how that works. I'm going to call tomorrow to make my own appointment.

I was just wondering if anyone here was having the Fraxel 2 laser?

JP

 

Me! On August 29.

 

Where are you having it done? Thanks!

Widgie,

Hearing your story makes me think I should try at least one more fraxel. Ive done four so far with mediocre results. Maybe #5 is where my YIPEE moment will come. Unfortunately, its very expensive where I am, with packages giving you something of a price break (ends up being $1000 each in a pkg of four). Im only a month and a half out from my last. I just started using 2% salycilic acid 2x/day and my pores are finally starting to not look so dilated (I think I had an adverse reaction to the new bleaching cream that had retinol in it)

Widgie,

Hearing your story makes me think I should try at least one more fraxel. Ive done four so far with mediocre results. Maybe #5 is where my YIPEE moment will come. Unfortunately, its very expensive where I am, with packages giving you something of a price break (ends up being $1000 each in a pkg of four). Im only a month and a half out from my last. I just started using 2% salycilic acid 2x/day and my pores are finally starting to not look so dilated (I think I had an adverse reaction to the new bleaching cream that had retinol in it)

 

Hi Chrissy... I know what you are saying, if I was paying $1000 a treatment, there is no way I would have had as many done. I'm only paying $300 a treatment now and since I am spacing them out a month apart, it's fairly affordable. Would I still rather be putting that money towards something other than laser treatments? YES....definitely...

It's hard....I don't want to give people false hope...but I really didn't see results until after my 5th one. It's not all roses either...although my downtime has gotten much better, I see a small patch of breakouts that developed today....lucky me...

since there is a new less painful/no blue dye fraxel you'd think doctor's would charge less if they're using the old system. just goes to show you, their prices are fixed until they pay off the machine.

jpp007, Houston Texas.

Is there interest here in finding out which docs have the new equipment?

I was thinking that maybe a phone call to Reliant might get that info.

Hello all - checking in here. I'm Pre-Fraxel #4 next week and have breaking news.

OK I'm not sure how to word this. I mentioned after my last fraxel in May(#3) that I COULD SWEAR - my upper lip looked fuller and plumper. I know I said Angelina Jolie didn't have nuttin on me. I'd look up the post to prove it but I'm eternally lazy - take me word on it.

So anyway, I was reserved about this volume change I noticed in my upper lip - until I received a confirmation email from Fraxel/Reliant today. It's true. In the process of treating the upper lip area, the lip can receive the benefits of increased collagen production. So besides the excellent improvement in my skin - Ii am going to get FULLER LIPS!! This means nothing to most of you - but there are some women out there who will be delighted.

Fraxel treatment directly on your lip will cause collagen to form/increase, just as it does elsewhere after treatment.

I think I have died and gone to lip heaven.

So you now have some major DSLs, huh?

AnniefromMiamii,

Thanks for keeping your photo journal up, it is good to see others who are seeing results from fraxel. I need to take some more photos and put all mine together in a journal as well, I'm 6 months post treatment from 4 full-face fraxels. I'd estimate 60% improvement on shallow scars and 20% improvement on the deeper scars. Overall, I'd say about 35% - 40% improvement. I'm scheduling 5 spot treatments over this next winter, hoping to reach a 60% - 70% improvement level.

I'll be in the red-face boat with you again come November. I'm pretty lucky though, I don't seem to get much swelling at all; just enough to make my scars look good, but not enough for anyone to notice. I do get pretty red the first 3 or 4 days, fading pretty quickly after that and not noticeable by day 8. I'm a bit worried about having the spot treatments only on my cheeks though, as it will be a bit harder to explain. With the whole face, I would just tell people that noticed that I spent too much time in the tanning bed. That explanation won't work too well when only my cheeks are red. I'm going to look like Howdy Doody for a few days..

Good Luck on your 4th Fraxel, keep us posted on your progress.

Sean..

AnniefromMiamii,

Thanks for keeping your photo journal up, it is good to see others who are seeing results from fraxel. I need to take some more photos and put all mine together in a journal as well, I'm 6 months post treatment from 4 full-face fraxels. I'd estimate 60% improvement on shallow scars and 20% improvement on the deeper scars. Overall, I'd say about 35% - 40% improvement. I'm scheduling 5 spot treatments over this next winter, hoping to reach a 60% - 70% improvement level.

I'll be in the red-face boat with you again come November. I'm pretty lucky though, I don't seem to get much swelling at all; just enough to make my scars look good, but not enough for anyone to notice. I do get pretty red the first 3 or 4 days, fading pretty quickly after that and not noticeable by day 8. I'm a bit worried about having the spot treatments only on my cheeks though, as it will be a bit harder to explain. With the whole face, I would just tell people that noticed that I spent too much time in the tanning bed. That explanation won't work too well when only my cheeks are red. I'm going to look like Howdy Doody for a few days..

Good Luck on your 4th Fraxel, keep us posted on your progress.

Sean..

 

Sean1977, when did you start to see improvement in your shallow scarring?? I have very shallow scarring on my cheeks and I havnt seen any improvement yet after 2 fraxel treatments both at 16mj.

RibZ,

I started noticing slight improvement after the 3rd treatment. It takes several months after a treatment to see the full effect of the collagen growth from that particular treatment. So if you are having treatments every 2 weeks, and you've only had 2 treatments, then you probably haven't even had a full month for collagen to grow.

My scars look better now, 6 months post treatment, than they did 1 month post treatment, which just shows that collagen still forms long after the treatments ended.

Here is a before pic and 1 month after pic (after 4 full face treatments) for those of you who requested. Please note that my scars have continued to improve, I need to take an updated pic.

[attachmentid=5711] [attachmentid=5712]

Sean..

RibZ,

I started noticing slight improvement after the 3rd treatment. It takes several months after a treatment to see the full effect of the collagen growth from that particular treatment. So if you are having treatments every 2 weeks, and you've only had 2 treatments, then you probably haven't even had a full month for collagen to grow.

My scars look better now, 6 months post treatment, than they did 1 month post treatment, which just shows that collagen still forms long after the treatments ended.

Here is a before pic and 1 month after pic (after 4 full face treatments) for those of you who requested. Please note that my scars have continued to improve, I need to take an updated pic.

[attachmentid=5711] [attachmentid=5712]

Sean..

 

Yes im having them spaced 2 weeks apart. I guess it is early to speculate anything but i guess the patience part is really tough. But hell that is a huge improvement in your before and after pics!! That's very encouraging. Anyways my next treatment is tuesday so hopefully I start to see something after that and ill keep you updated.

Eh sean one more thing. What settings did you have your treatments at. My first 2 were at level 16mj and im thinking that's not high enough...thanks!

Sean1977 !

Nice name Eh!

Same name and same type scars. Seriously! Results look really good, i'm encouraged. Thanks for posting those pix.

It's only been 6 days since my second treatment and I can see the swelling going down and the scars re-emerging but hopefully with some minor improvement. I'm optimistic because I did see a little improvement even in my first treatment. As the nurse mentioned a few posts back, the good areas of your skin seem to look even better quickly and HOPEFULLY as she mentioned, the rougher areas follow behind. From what you say 77, this is true

I got hit pretty hard with my second treatment. I forget how the Doctor expressed it 1.3 or 13 kjls total energy, anyway, it was about 40% more than my first treatment which was 2 passes at 14mj. and 2 at 16 and then spot passes at 20 and even that one packed a punch.

He used a different "glide ointment" on me this time (besides the numbing cream) and it has some numbing effect as well. Even with the increase in energy I didn't seem to notice any more discomfort so maybe this new STUFF helped. I should have asked the name of the product but I was too geared up for the treatment. He really went over my face this time with different settings and he also got a little closer to the eyes. I'm 42 and I guess he figures to take care of some of the fine lines that are setting in as well. This fella isn't holding back, I'm confident to get every improvement that this laser can provide.

Eh! ribz...your treatment settings are in the zone but maybe ask him to turn the dial up on the next one. Eh, are you Canadian too?

Sean

Sean1977 !

Nice name Eh!

Same name and same type scars. Seriously! Results look really good, i'm encouraged. Thanks for posting those pix.

It's only been 6 days since my second treatment and I can see the swelling going down and the scars re-emerging but hopefully with some minor improvement. I'm optimistic because I did see a little improvement even in my first treatment. As the nurse mentioned a few posts back, the good areas of your skin seem to look even better quickly and HOPEFULLY as she mentioned, the rougher areas follow behind. From what you say 77, this is true :dance:

I got hit pretty hard with my second treatment. I forget how the Doctor expressed it 1.3 or 13 kjls total energy, anyway, it was about 40% more than my first treatment which was 2 passes at 14mj. and 2 at 16 and then spot passes at 20 and even that one packed a punch.

He used a different "glide ointment" on me this time (besides the numbing cream) and it has some numbing effect as well. Even with the increase in energy I didn't seem to notice any more discomfort so maybe this new STUFF helped. I should have asked the name of the product but I was too geared up for the treatment. He really went over my face this time with different settings and he also got a little closer to the eyes. I'm 42 and I guess he figures to take care of some of the fine lines that are setting in as well. This fella isn't holding back, I'm confident to get every improvement that this laser can provide.

Eh! ribz...your treatment settings are in the zone but maybe ask him to turn the dial up on the next one. Eh, are you Canadian too?

Sean

 

Yessir! Lol..guess the eh gave that one away pretty fast. Yeah I was dissapointed when she told me she was keeping the same energy for the second treatment which was 16mj with 3 passes. But she said she would increase it next time so im pretty hopefull with that. Any recomendations with settings??

My settings were at 16, 18, 19 and 19.. if I remember correctly.. I think I had like 10 or 12 passes though, He overlapped the swipes to get double coverage, but I think everyone counts the swipes differently.. I'm going back for 5 more treatments over the winter, but I'm just doing small areas this time...

Nope, not Canadian... Kansas City, Missouri..

Sean..

Annie, you mentioned fraxeling the upper lip increased fullness. Could you describe in a little more detail how much of the lip was directly treated and at what settings? I would like to suggest this for my next treatment but want to relay accurate information. Thanks!

Sean,

Who is performing your fraxel treatments in Missouri?

thanks

My settings were at 16, 18, 19 and 19.. if I remember correctly.. I think I had like 10 or 12 passes though, He overlapped the swipes to get double coverage, but I think everyone counts the swipes differently.. I'm going back for 5 more treatments over the winter, but I'm just doing small areas this time...

Nope, not Canadian... Kansas City, Missouri..

Sean..

 

WOW!! Im definately asking for an increase in settings then. If you have a pic of your face now, I would love to see that. Is there an even more improvement from your last picture??

Have any of you gottn fraxel treatments on just part of your face? I was wondering if the skin pigment changes. I'm planning on doing fraxel only on my cheeks and I was hoping it wouldn't be apparent after 2 - 3 months.

Have any of you gottn fraxel treatments on just part of your face? I was wondering if the skin pigment changes. I'm planning on doing fraxel only on my cheeks and I was hoping it wouldn't be apparent after 2 - 3 months.

 

don't think anyone will do that, it''s al or nothin.

I'm going in for my 3rd fraxel today.

When I look in a regular mirror, it seems I had around 10-15% improvement, but when I look in the car mirror... omg. Perhaps its the oil that I can see and all the uneven skin tone.

Sometimes I use the reflection of the sliding glass door, kinda like the car window, and it seems it has improved.

Sometimes I feel like i'm looking alot better, then sometimes I think it's not helping at all. I hate lighting. This is so fustrating.

i think fraxel laser might be the one for me (still doing research), for the icepick scars on my cheek. im thinking 8 treatments should do the trick.

 

Have any of you gottn fraxel treatments on just part of your face? I was wondering if the skin pigment changes. I'm planning on doing fraxel only on my cheeks and I was hoping it wouldn't be apparent after 2 - 3 months.

 

don't think anyone will do that, it''s al or nothin.

 

Lots of places do spot treatment for a reduced rate, but sometimes its not SO reduced that its a great value. I opted for the full face route. Why not get improvement everywhere? Plus it eased my mind about demarcation, etc. And this is a small thing to consider, but during the downtime, I was more comfortable having my whole face look like a tomato than just my cheeks (my last treatment was more of a spot treatment). As far as whether there is a change in skin pigment, it really depends on your skin type and how your skin reacts.

i have darker skin, but thats becauase of tanning in the sun. im originally of a lighter skin tone(and im asian).. i have heard about the risk of hyperpigmentation, and am trying to find out more about this possible side-effect.

Thought I would share some before and after photos. The before was taken the day before my 1st fraxel back in May. The after is today, 10 days after my 5th. The treatments have been: 10/125, 12/125, 14/125, 15/125, 16/125, around 8 passes each time. The last two over 6kj.

I wish I could have taken the pictures to be more alike, but it gives a good idea of what my face looks like.

Sometimes I see improvements when I look in the mirror, other times I donžt at all, esp in certain lighting. Since my scars are still there (albeit smaller in some cases), I donžt feel that I got any improvement. But when I look at photos, I do see differences in skin tone and texture. I am going for another one and possibly #7. Then, I need to call it quits for now since itžs been pretty financially and emotionally draining.

I'm an Asian male with type III skin so my treatments have been fairly "light".attachmentid=5745]

[attachmentid=5745][attachmentid=5746]

Thought I would share some before and after photos. The before was taken the day before my 1st fraxel back in May. The after is today, 10 days after my 5th. The treatments have been: 10/125, 12/125, 14/125, 15/125, 16/125, around 8 passes each time. The last two over 6kj.

I wish I could have taken the pictures to be more alike, but it gives a good idea of what my face looks like.

Sometimes I see improvements when I look in the mirror, other times I donat at all, esp in certain lighting. Since my scars are still there (albeit smaller in some cases), I donat feel that I got any improvement. But when I look at photos, I do see differences in skin tone and texture. I am going for another one and possibly #7. Then, I need to call it quits for now since itas been pretty financially and emotionally draining.

I'm an Asian male with type III skin so my treatments have been fairly "light".attachmentid=5745]

[attachmentid=5745][attachmentid=5746]

 

I can definetely see improvement. I'm sure you'll see more in the next couple of months!