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Oh wow .. well see my hypertrophic scar is almost completely flattened out. But it's still kind of discolored and has the appearance of scar tissue. I'm wondering if that will ever go away. Do you think it will?
Prob not. U know hypert scars are simple for derms to remove though as its the same procedure used for taking off some moles which is common and pretty cheap. If its only slightly slightly raised then used mederma and silicone sheets and something with pressure at night to help it go down.
I've been using silicone sheets to flatten it. And it has gotten very flat. I just wondered if the scar tissue-y appearance would ever fade away. I don't want to get it excised because it's a fairly large circle and I don't want to risk it getting bigger. Or not bigger .. I don't know. I just don't know how I could benefit from excision on it.
I've been using silicone sheets to flatten it. And it has gotten very flat. I just wondered if the scar tissue-y appearance would ever fade away. I don't want to get it excised because it's a fairly large circle and I don't want to risk it getting bigger. Or not bigger .. I don't know. I just don't know how I could benefit from excision on it.
yeah unless it looked really bad I would never get a large spot cut out. I really dont believe that the shiny kinda scar tissue look ever really goes away. U did this from a chemical burn didnt u? If thats burnt tissue it will always retain a shine to it. If the scars are pretty surface then worst case u would need some makeup over that spot to blend it and give it a better appear U always look good though so whatever u fix is icing on the cake 🙂
Keithr23:
What types of scars do you have??
I had 1 slightly raised scar that I had excised or cut out and sutured and 3 shallow ice picks that were subsized.
The rest of the scars on my face are visible in bright lighting situations when my skin is greasy or has differin on. They are very much surface scars at this point so I dont really know what they would be classified as. Maybe very very very shallow ice picks? If u view my gallery those pictures were taken under harsh lighting and I was wet or greasy from differin in them to try and get the best view of the scarring.
I would say that Fraxel treatments are too expensive to use on severe or moderate cases of acne scarring, as the results will probably not warrant the cost. I would prob look into scar revisions such as excision or subcision, then get fraxels done.
Keith
So you are having fraxel done for your minor scarring? Looks like a few small shallow icepics and a healed, but slightly indented excision scar. Will it work on these? Cause mine is about the same or less after an erbium treatment. Just whats left I want to look better in certain lighting, and lesson the makeup to just powder. (I am a girl). So you think the fraxel will almost wipe these out? And even out redness? Oh will it shrink large or split pores?
🙂
So I had one Fraxel done on Aug. 22nd. Not much in the results department, but from what I've read no one really sees anything from the first one. I believe my settings were at 15 and 17. Next time I'm going to try and get her to start at 20.
I had 2 needling sessions done by Frank at Transitions spaced about 2 months apart awhile back. My next Fraxel is scheduled on Oct. 13th which will be a little shy of 2 months apart.
My question to all of you is this. What if I did my treatments like this? 2 Fraxels (one's done already), 1 needling, 2 Fraxels, 1 needling, 1 Fraxel. All of these would be spaced about a month to two months apart. Do you think you could see better results this way? Or do you think it's best to do needling first (which I did) and then do your series of Fraxel treatments?
I've been using silicone sheets to flatten it. And it has gotten very flat. I just wondered if the scar tissue-y appearance would ever fade away. I don't want to get it excised because it's a fairly large circle and I don't want to risk it getting bigger. Or not bigger .. I don't know. I just don't know how I could benefit from excision on it.
yeah unless it looked really bad I would never get a large spot cut out. I really dont believe that the shiny kinda scar tissue look ever really goes away. U did this from a chemical burn didnt u? If thats burnt tissue it will always retain a shine to it. If the scars are pretty surface then worst case u would need some makeup over that spot to blend it and give it a better appear U always look good though so whatever u fix is icing on the cake 🙂
I think it does look really bad though .. 🙁 god i'm so stupid, why did I ever have to do that to myself. I wish there was something I could do to fix it besides excision. I might just try to get it excised after all. I want to be able to not wear make up someday..
So I had one Fraxel done on Aug. 22nd. Not much in the results department, but from what I've read no one really sees anything from the first one. I believe my settings were at 15 and 17. Next time I'm going to try and get her to start at 20.
I had 2 needling sessions done by Frank at Transitions spaced about 2 months apart awhile back. My next Fraxel is scheduled on Oct. 13th which will be a little shy of 2 months apart.
My question to all of you is this. What if I did my treatments like this? 2 Fraxels (one's done already), 1 needling, 2 Fraxels, 1 needling, 1 Fraxel. All of these would be spaced about a month to two months apart. Do you think you could see better results this way? Or do you think it's best to do needling first (which I did) and then do your series of Fraxel treatments?
Probably (I would anyway) do the needling first so the fraxel could get rid of what's left after you are done with it. Since you started the fraxel, maybe needle after all the fraxels are done to fix whatever it did not remove........??????
I've been using silicone sheets to flatten it. And it has gotten very flat. I just wondered if the scar tissue-y appearance would ever fade away. I don't want to get it excised because it's a fairly large circle and I don't want to risk it getting bigger. Or not bigger .. I don't know. I just don't know how I could benefit from excision on it.
yeah unless it looked really bad I would never get a large spot cut out. I really dont believe that the shiny kinda scar tissue look ever really goes away. U did this from a chemical burn didnt u? If thats burnt tissue it will always retain a shine to it. If the scars are pretty surface then worst case u would need some makeup over that spot to blend it and give it a better appear U always look good though so whatever u fix is icing on the cake 🙂
I think it does look really bad though .. 🙁 god i'm so stupid, why did I ever have to do that to myself. I wish there was something I could do to fix it besides excision. I might just try to get it excised after all. I want to be able to not wear make up someday..
There are certain lasers I am sure that can make this look better. Get some proffessional advice on it.
I definately would not have that large of an excision. They tend to look worse, indented, and you will have to still wear make-up, maybe more and it is harder to hide that type of a scar.
Keithr23:
What types of scars do you have??
I had 1 slightly raised scar that I had excised or cut out and sutured and 3 shallow ice picks that were subsized.
The rest of the scars on my face are visible in bright lighting situations when my skin is greasy or has differin on. They are very much surface scars at this point so I dont really know what they would be classified as. Maybe very very very shallow ice picks? If u view my gallery those pictures were taken under harsh lighting and I was wet or greasy from differin in them to try and get the best view of the scarring.
I would say that Fraxel treatments are too expensive to use on severe or moderate cases of acne scarring, as the results will probably not warrant the cost. I would prob look into scar revisions such as excision or subcision, then get fraxels done.
Keith
So you are having fraxel done for your minor scarring? Looks like a few small shallow icepics and a healed, but slightly indented excision scar. Will it work on these? Cause mine is about the same or less after an erbium treatment. Just whats left I want to look better in certain lighting, and lesson the makeup to just powder. (I am a girl). So you think the fraxel will almost wipe these out? And even out redness? Oh will it shrink large or split pores?
🙂
Yeah if your looking at the pic with the stitching it was pulled tightly and looked like shit. Its not sunk in at all now, just red. Remember that this was a hypertrophic scar though as a crater or something would prob sink down from damage underneath. I would have been really fucking pissed if that had sunk down though.
Very nice Shyone - THANK YOU!!
Annie, here's part of the press release from Reliant's website about the new machine:
"Date: 08.14.06
Reliant Launches FraxelAA SR1500 Laser
Mountain View, CA Aaaoe August 14, 2006 AaA Reliant Technologies, Inc. today announced the launch of the Fraxel SR1500 laser, the latest innovation in aesthetic laser medical technology. The Fraxel SR1500 laser combines proprietary advancements in optical technology with medical software offering physicians a treatment option that penetrates up to 30 percent deeper, delivering consistent dosage control and optimizing lesion depths. This leap in technology provides patients a safe and effective, non-invasive treatment option for skin conditions ranging from mild sun damage to severe acne scarring."
"TodayAaas launch of the Fraxel SR1500 laser brings to market another breakthrough in aesthetic skin treatment by optimizing the laser delivery technology and accompanying medical software. With the newly designed Optical Zoom hand control system, for the first time physicians can penetrate up to 1.0 millimeters below the skin surface with precise dosage control. Deeper penetration provides a greater catalyst for natural generation of new collagen to promote self healing and remodeling."
"The new software engine is driven by a sophisticated algorithm that allows the physician to optimize or more precisely focus on specific areas of repair while controlling the collimated depth of penetration. This algorithm refers to a database populated with data from thousands of histology slides that determines the most appropriate lesion depth and width based on the settings selected by the physician. The result is a greater ability to customize treatment to the one, or in many cases, several different areas of concern for each patient with the touch of a button.
The results of clinical trials studying 50 subjects treated over seven months with the Fraxel SR1500 laser showed that treatment at higher energy levels with more precise focus on smaller fractions of skin had multiple benefits for patients. The procedure provided a 75 percent improvement of acne scars, surgical scars and deep wrinkles, as reported by subjects and independent evaluators. Subjects were followed for three months after their last treatment. Deeper penetration led to greater volume of tissue treated. Efficiency of the laser resulted in reduced risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, observed during the clinical trial by the overseeing physician, Dr. Zakia Rahman."
The full press release is here:
http://reliant-tech.com/newsdetails.cfm?NEWSID=41
Very nice Shyone - THANK YOU!!
Annie, here's part of the press release from Reliant's website about the new machine:
"Date: 08.14.06
Reliant Launches FraxelA SR1500 Laser
Mountain View, CA a August 14, 2006 a Reliant Technologies, Inc. today announced the launch of the Fraxel SR1500 laser, the latest innovation in aesthetic laser medical technology. The Fraxel SR1500 laser combines proprietary advancements in optical technology with medical software offering physicians a treatment option that penetrates up to 30 percent deeper, delivering consistent dosage control and optimizing lesion depths. This leap in technology provides patients a safe and effective, non-invasive treatment option for skin conditions ranging from mild sun damage to severe acne scarring."
"Todayas launch of the Fraxel SR1500 laser brings to market another breakthrough in aesthetic skin treatment by optimizing the laser delivery technology and accompanying medical software. With the newly designed Optical Zoom hand control system, for the first time physicians can penetrate up to 1.0 millimeters below the skin surface with precise dosage control. Deeper penetration provides a greater catalyst for natural generation of new collagen to promote self healing and remodeling."
"The new software engine is driven by a sophisticated algorithm that allows the physician to optimize or more precisely focus on specific areas of repair while controlling the collimated depth of penetration. This algorithm refers to a database populated with data from thousands of histology slides that determines the most appropriate lesion depth and width based on the settings selected by the physician. The result is a greater ability to customize treatment to the one, or in many cases, several different areas of concern for each patient with the touch of a button.
The results of clinical trials studying 50 subjects treated over seven months with the Fraxel SR1500 laser showed that treatment at higher energy levels with more precise focus on smaller fractions of skin had multiple benefits for patients. The procedure provided a 75 percent improvement of acne scars, surgical scars and deep wrinkles, as reported by subjects and independent evaluators. Subjects were followed for three months after their last treatment. Deeper penetration led to greater volume of tissue treated. Efficiency of the laser resulted in reduced risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, observed during the clinical trial by the overseeing physician, Dr. Zakia Rahman."
The full press release is here:
http://reliant-tech.com/newsdetails.cfm?NEWSID=41
hey
that link wasn't directed to your photo album... just to the genral website
could you please repost it?
hey
that link wasn't directed to your photo album... just to the genral website
could you please repost it?
ooops - sorry - I fixed the link here it is :blush:
hey
that link wasn't directed to your photo album... just to the genral website
could you please repost it?
ooops - sorry - I fixed the link here it is :blush:
thank you!
i enjoyed viewing your gallery! beautiful pictures! the results look great.
i know photos don't SHOW everything... how do you feel about your results/skin right now?
you just did 3 treatments so far? how many more do you plan on doing?
OKAY TO THAT RIDICULOUS WEBSITE FROM THAT DOC IN VEGAS NAMED GARCIA....OKAY, YES HE ANSWERED PEOPLES QUESTIONS, BUT SHIT HOW HELPFUL IS 'I WOULDN'T DO THAT' OR 'I DON'T ENDORSE ANYTHING FROM THAT DOCTOR'...OKAY IF YOU ARE GOING TO ANSWER YES OR NO TO QUESTIONS, WHAT THE HELL'S THE USE OF THAT INFORMATION? IS HE EVEN CERTIFIED? BOTTOM LINE: USELESS ANSWERS FROM AN IDIOT
garcia just tells everyone to come get his laser. he also put all the answers on one static page to get as many hits as possible and make you sort through all the questions. from his website i'd say he's greedy and unethical. but what do u expect from a cosmetic dermatologist in los vegas?
So the SR1500 is the infamous "1540" goblin mentioned six months ago! Wonder if they made it 1500 to distinguish it from the "erbium yag 1540" laser . . . They're still using blue dye with it though . . . what gives?
Can't say I like the idea that it's more powerful. And how does being more powerful make it less painful?
When are they going to make the MTZs smaller? I think 100 microns is still too large. If they cut it to 40 microns or less I think they'd get much better results.
Lmao those guys live for studying these lasers and machines, I am sure they know what they are doing. I think the new Fraxel is very exciting. It goes deeper and works faster/more effectively. I would think this would be a really good time if any to have acne scars as soon they will have a fraxel that does the same as a dermabrasion or CO2 without the horrible recovery and traumatic surgery. I have no scarring that would warrant a dermabrasion, but I would love perfect skin and would gladly get dermabrasion results without getting my face tore to hell in the process.
too bad keith found the fraxel thread. we've managed to go 100 pages without bad netiquette. can we ban him?
Is the nurse still here? Awfully kind of her to be around when she was to answer questions. Anyway. If you are still here, I've heard a couple of people here who had previously sufferered from cystic acne, then gone on accutane with good results, got a few cysts again with fraxel. Have you seen this? Which state or province are you located in?
Good improvements everyone! Still waiting a few more months after accutane to start Fraxel.
Annie: Are you going to post Fraxel 4 pictures?
garcia just tells everyone to come get his laser. he also put all the answers on one static page to get as many hits as possible and make you sort through all the questions. from his website i'd say he's greedy and unethical. but what do u expect from a cosmetic dermatologist in los vegas?
So the SR1500 is the infamous "1540" goblin mentioned six months ago! Wonder if they made it 1500 to distinguish it from the "erbium yag 1540" laser . . . They're still using blue dye with it though . . . what gives?
Can't say I like the idea that it's more powerful. And how does being more powerful make it less painful?
When are they going to make the MTZs smaller? I think 100 microns is still too large. If they cut it to 40 microns or less I think they'd get much better results.
Lmao those guys live for studying these lasers and machines, I am sure they know what they are doing. I think the new Fraxel is very exciting. It goes deeper and works faster/more effectively. I would think this would be a really good time if any to have acne scars as soon they will have a fraxel that does the same as a dermabrasion or CO2 without the horrible recovery and traumatic surgery. I have no scarring that would warrant a dermabrasion, but I would love perfect skin and would gladly get dermabrasion results without getting my face tore to hell in the process.
too bad keith found the fraxel thread. we've managed to go 100 pages without bad netiquette. can we ban him?
U are lame. I have gotten into an argument with few but u really post stupid stuff sometimes. Well most times lol. I laughed my ass off when u were talking about making MTZ's smaller and all of that. Are u studying to build your own machine 😀
To Keithr23,
To be quite honest, I do not see any improvement from the Fraxel treatments. I think that depending on the lighting, it sometimes appears better or worse, but even after a year, I did not notice that your skin improved at all.
Again, I mean no offense but am being very honest. The procedure seems expensive for almost no difference in scar repair. And I have been considering Fraxel.
I have not had any Fraxels done, nor said I did sure its me your talking about?????
I am STARTING them in 1 1/2 months.
I simply think the new fraxel should have been focused on reducing the width of mtz's, rather than increasing their depth. I'm sure anyone with deep scaring would disagree, since deeper penetration is needed for bad scarring. But a lot of us are interested in fraxel for scarred pores and textural issues.
There have been a few people here that complained fraxel made their pores bigger. And many people for whom fraxel didn't help with their pore size or scarred pores. so i started researching it. The width of MTZs are 100 microns, that's not really microscopic. The average pore is half that size, or about 50 microns wide. The human eye can see something as little as 30-40 microns wide. so I think if they reduced the width of mtzs rather than increasing the depth there would be much better results in terms of reducing large pores and scarred pores.
I was wondering if anyone has reported improvements in scarred pores. This is on of my main issues on my worse cheek. I look at it and wonder if anything can ever improve that to the point where it looks smooth and hardly noticeable. Sometimes I think the only way I will ever be able to have smooth skin again is if they make skin regeneration with stem cells in the next decade.
garcia just tells everyone to come get his laser. he also put all the answers on one static page to get as many hits as possible and make you sort through all the questions. from his website i'd say he's greedy and unethical. but what do u expect from a cosmetic dermatologist in los vegas?
So the SR1500 is the infamous "1540" goblin mentioned six months ago! Wonder if they made it 1500 to distinguish it from the "erbium yag 1540" laser . . . They're still using blue dye with it though . . . what gives?
Can't say I like the idea that it's more powerful. And how does being more powerful make it less painful?
When are they going to make the MTZs smaller? I think 100 microns is still too large. If they cut it to 40 microns or less I think they'd get much better results.
Lmao those guys live for studying these lasers and machines, I am sure they know what they are doing. I think the new Fraxel is very exciting. It goes deeper and works faster/more effectively. I would think this would be a really good time if any to have acne scars as soon they will have a fraxel that does the same as a dermabrasion or CO2 without the horrible recovery and traumatic surgery. I have no scarring that would warrant a dermabrasion, but I would love perfect skin and would gladly get dermabrasion results without getting my face tore to hell in the process.
too bad keith found the fraxel thread. we've managed to go 100 pages without bad netiquette. can we ban him?
U are lame. I have gotten into an argument with few but u really post stupid stuff sometimes. Well most times lol. I laughed my ass off when u were talking about making MTZ's smaller and all of that. Are u studying to build your own machine 😀
To Keithr23,
To be quite honest, I do not see any improvement from the Fraxel treatments. I think that depending on the lighting, it sometimes appears better or worse, but even after a year, I did not notice that your skin improved at all.
Again, I mean no offense but am being very honest. The procedure seems expensive for almost no difference in scar repair. And I have been considering Fraxel.
I have not had any Fraxels done, nor said I did sure its me your talking about?????
I am STARTING them in 1 1/2 months.
I simply think the new fraxel should have been focused on reducing the width of mtz's, rather than increasing their depth. I'm sure anyone with deep scaring would disagree, since deeper penetration is needed for bad scarring. But a lot of us are interested in fraxel for scarred pores and textural issues.
There have been a few people here that complained fraxel made their pores bigger. And many people for whom fraxel didn't help with their pore size or scarred pores. so i started researching it. The width of MTZs are 100 microns, that's not really microscopic. The average pore is half that size, or about 50 microns wide. The human eye can see something as little as 30-40 microns wide. so I think if they reduced the width of mtzs rather than increasing the depth there would be much better results in terms of reducing large pores and scarred pores.
I was wondering if anyone has reported improvements in scarred pores. This is on of my main issues on my worse cheek. I look at it and wonder if anything can ever improve that to the point where it looks smooth and hardly noticeable. Sometimes I think the only way I will ever be able to have smooth skin again is if they make skin regeneration with stem cells in the next decade.
billyboy said he thought some of the pores on his nose were a bit smaller. a few other people reported modest improvement. check out a link i posted on page 82 of this thread. it shows a woman who had fraxel at baylor univ in texas. her pores were improved a lot. i emailed the doctor who did her treatment and he said it was at level 9 with three or four treatments (old fraxel).
the two people who specifically said fraxel made their pores worse had a lot in common. they both had pretty bad scarring and skin, had needling done, subcisions, fillers, and most importantly had high level treatments (20-30 MJ) spaced closely together (1 week).
From what I've gathered in the last year of reseaching it, think very low settings and at least a month in between is the best protocol for treating pores with fraxel.
I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about what fraxel might do for broken capillaries (i.e. improve them or make them worse?)
I have a plethora of skin problems on my cheeks including scarring, uneven/hyperpigmentation and broken capillaries. All of this upsets me greatly as it was caused not by acne, but by a treatment I had for some very minor acne scarring which never really bothered me anyway. All I had that bothered me were some icepick/boxcar scars that should have been excised and that was it. Instead I (stupidly) let myself get talked into CIT (roller). The doctor didnt clean my face before starting and would not have even removed my makeup if I hadnt said something (even then his assistant only removed half my makeup because the doctor had already drawn on my face). Anyway to cut to the end as a result I got a horrible infection which left me with much much worse scarring. I'm looking into fraxel now, but I haven't really come across anything about what it might do for capillaries......anybody got any thoughts or can point me in the direction of good information.
Thanks
corona - there is another laser they use for the capilliaries. Maybe they can give you a package deal....
Well I saw my plasic guy today and he is going to a conference and said to call him next week, he wants to check out this new affirm laser and maybe use it instead of erbium laser.......not so sure as I looked it up and it is more for wrinkles and sun damage......so we'll see.
Have another appt. with one more guy who has the fraxel and then go from there.
So confusing as to what to do?????? 
Any opinions anyone???????
look at the slideshow at reliant-tech.com. fraxel was actually intended primarily for correcting discoloration. It helps with a lot of different conditions. erbium has not had good reviews on this site. ipl can be good for broken capillaries but it has a risk of skin discoloration (hypo or hyper). I had it done and it left me with white spots.
The big money in cosmetic dermatology, which is what we are talking about, is in removing sun damage and wrinkles. Baby boomers have the biggest influence on all of this, they are a huge economic driver, they have the coin, they have the time and they are searching for the fountain of youth. Almost all the research in cosmetic derm. today is going towards this huge market.
It is unfortunate that treatment for acne scarring doesn't seem to get much attention. For the most part they are young, they want instant reward and they have no coin. Sorry guys but that is the truth.
The fraxel was developed for the baby boomer crowd. You can wax poetic all you want about how the fraxel should do this and should do that to treat deep acne scars, but lets face it that is not where the money is, and that is what this is all about.
I know a lot of people have had success with the fraxel for their acne scars, but in my view this was just a fortunate discovery on the part of the fraxel people, that they are now trying to promote. My point is this machine was not invented to help acne scars it is great that it does help somewhat, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for their new machine that will erradicate this type of scarring. I hope I am wrong about this, but unfortunately the big bucks seems goes where the money is.
I have had four fraxels, thinking of doing a couple more. I'm 46.
Peach Pie
I made my appointment today for Oct. 3 for my 2nd session of Fraxel. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I talked with my doctor's assistant about the new Fraxel procedure, and she said the only place where they've had to use injections for pain was on top of the lip area. I'm getting my temples, cheeks, and chin done this time instead of the full face. I have 6 more appointments to go through, and I'd like to spread them out 3 to 4 weeks apart this time. She said they're having great results with the new Fraxel. I'm using copper peptides at night, and she said I can continue to use them right up to the procedure. This will be the last thing I do for my scarring, so I'm hoping I get some good results. I'll keep you guys posted.
I made my appointment today for Oct. 3 for my 2nd session of Fraxel. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I talked with my doctor's assistant about the new Fraxel procedure, and she said the only place where they've had to use injections for pain was on top of the lip area. I'm getting my temples, cheeks, and chin done this time instead of the full face. I have 6 more appointments to go through, and I'd like to spread them out 3 to 4 weeks apart this time. She said they're having great results with the new Fraxel. I'm using copper peptides at night, and she said I can continue to use them right up to the procedure. This will be the last thing I do for my scarring, so I'm hoping I get some good results. I'll keep you guys posted.
Do you know if they work for shallow ice pick scarring?