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Thanks Shyone and Widgie for replying to my post! Not that I am glad to hear that anyone else has to deal with looking like crap after fraxel, but its reassuring to hear I am not alone!! I have been using this CU3 post laser lotion I got from the doctors office. Is there anything anyone has used that made the bumps and irritation go away quicker??
I use Nicomide-T cream after someone recommended it in a different forum. It helps with the irritation, although it doesn't prevent it.... Here's a link:
Thanks Shyone and Widgie for replying to my post! Not that I am glad to hear that anyone else has to deal with looking like crap after fraxel, but its reassuring to hear I am not alone!! I have been using this CU3 post laser lotion I got from the doctors office. Is there anything anyone has used that made the bumps and irritation go away quicker??
I use Nicomide-T cream after someone recommended it in a different forum. It helps with the irritation, although it doesn't prevent it.... Here's a link:
http://www.siriuslabs.com/nico-t_howdoiget.html
After the first fraxel, I used emu oil a few times all over my face. And I used Cetaphil Moisturizer all over my face, and a teeny tiny I mean EXTREMELY teeny tiny bit of neosporin ointment where my chin broke open and bled. My doc jumped my ass for that one, she said I should be using Aquafor instead. :eh: After about a week, I used a small amount of CP serum a couple of times. I had a couple of small pimples trying to get started, so after the first week, I also used some stuff that I've been using to head off pimples for several years (hydron triactivating serum, I think it's called. I think it's got AHAs in it or something. It works really well for me when I dot the stuff directly on the spots). I was supposed to stop using all acid products two weeks before treatment, but I continued to dot the three or four little spots until 3 days before treatment. :shifty: I can't detect any difference in those areas yet, they didn't blister or redden any more than the rest of my face.
After this fraxel...I didn't use any moisturizer the first day, just lots of cold towels. Second day (yesterday) I was already peeling like crazy - and I didn't use any moisturizer. I kept splashing cool water on my face and patting it dry. I think nearly my whole face peeled yesterday. Before I went to bed, I watered down some cetaphil moisturizer and put that on. Today is day 3 and I've used cetaphil moisturizer, watered down, a couple of times. I also came across a small tube of some clinique moisturizer that I'd forgot I had, and watered a bit of that down and patted it on.
I'm starting to get a second round of flaking now. :clap:
I saw a new Dr. today. he said I should get 75% or more with fraxyl. He has been following along with another guy (flying out to spend time with him)
Now he said there is a even newer version coming out out and even less down time. It come out in 2 months and he is getting one. So I may try it but have to wait until he gets it. So like I am looking at January, cause he want's to practice on his staff. He's done patients on the old one at his colleagues machine.
My head is spinning on what to do.
I may try it.
Any suggestions??
Everytime I have my fraxel done (setting at 20), My face gets red or pink for almost one week and on the second or third day, my face gets flaking or exfoliating. So how to make my face not so red or pink because I have to work to face my customer, even though I apply foundation to cover my redness but the flaking make my makeup worse.....How to solve these problems???
Could you give me some advice?
Everytime I have my fraxel done (setting at 20), My face gets red or pink for almost one week and on the second or third day, my face gets flaking or exfoliating. So how to make my face not so red or pink because I have to work to face my customer, even though I apply foundation to cover my redness but the flaking make my makeup worse.....How to solve these problems???
Could you give me some advice?
Anyone?????Please. What would you do??
Everytime I have my fraxel done (setting at 20), My face gets red or pink for almost one week and on the second or third day, my face gets flaking or exfoliating. So how to make my face not so red or pink because I have to work to face my customer, even though I apply foundation to cover my redness but the flaking make my makeup worse.....How to solve these problems???
Could you give me some advice?
Anyone?????Please. What would you do??
I had some minor breakout after the first fraxel, so this time I'm not using much moisturizer or anything else.
I had to go out for a while yesterday and I used watered down sunscreen and Bare Minerals and that's all. The flaking was still very obvious. I figured if anyone was bold enough to comment, I'd tell them the truth - I had a laser procedure done.
My face is not as red this time as it was last time, which is making me think something in the products was contributing to the the redness...
Do you have to prepare your skin with retinA/hydroquinone (or others) few weeks before fraxel to avoid pigmentation chances and get rid of dead skin?? was wondering about this ,hope someone can fill me in.
a doc i consulted with said for my skin i'd have to use hydroquinone for two weeks before...i'm not asian but tan really easily and have olive skin. she also suggested i get it done in the winter months when i'm my palest.
haven't had it done yet -- am trying needling at home first.
a doc i consulted with said for my skin i'd have to use hydroquinone for two weeks before...i'm not asian but tan really easily and have olive skin. she also suggested i get it done in the winter months when i'm my palest.
haven't had it done yet -- am trying needling at home first.
a doc i consulted with said for my skin i'd have to use hydroquinone for two weeks before...i'm not asian but tan really easily and have olive skin. she also suggested i get it done in the winter months when i'm my palest.
haven't had it done yet -- am trying needling at home first.
thanks, but in this site below the doc said there have been many patients with darker skin tone get prolonged hyperpigmentation and so he doesnt recommend it for darker patients.My skin tone is olive to light fair but still worried.Also it doesnt help the pores or red areas -makes them worse according to him so im still thinking about this procedure though only one docs opinion isnt strong enough but something to consider ,ive already had bad exp with strong peel.
http://saveyourface.com/askdoc/category/fraxel/
Thank you for that website. It is informative but it makes you wonder if its not the usual thing doctors do. Hype the lasers they own and have experience with and find things wrong with the lasers they have not used. However I do think it is true that it is very possible to get hyperpigmentation if you have an olive or darker tone with just about any laser or peel.
I was also interested in his comments regarding enlarged pores and the fraxel possibly making it worse because you are removing skin which could possibly reveal the neck of the pore gland which may actually be wider than the opening. He said the oil gland is deep down and I did not think a fraxel laser could abrade that deep. He recommends the laser genesis instead and says it can also help with red spots and only costs about $350 a session. He also mentioned the smoothbeam which so many have said was useless. However they are much cheaper and it is very dissapointing to hear how little improvement people are getting with the fraxel even in shallow rolling scars after paying all that money. He says increasing collagen which is what the fraxel is supposed to do can actually help tighten pores but that he has not seen any published studies yet on it reducing pore size, so he is not recommending it. Interesting that he does not mention whether the laser genesis which he is recommending has published studies on its effectiveness in compressing pores. I did a search and I could hardly find any information on this laser genesis reducing pores size. It is marketed for broken capillaries and difusse redness and all the pictures I saw were on that. I could not even find a touched up looking picture on before/after reduction in pore size. This leads be to believe that this doctor has a special interest in those laser companies and is biased in their favor.
I know someone here mentioned the clinical trials on fraxel and acne scars published a few months ago and I am wondering if scarred pores were mentioned in those studies. Has anyone tried the laser genesis for pore size and red spots?
i wish people would take the time to read all the pages of this thread. we really need to make a FAQ.
dr seckel and his laser genesis is the worst thing u can do and he'll recommend it on his "website" and talk trash about everything else.
just do a search on here about it. horror stories
the new fraxel is out and people are getting it.
billboy thanks for the pics. words cant express how meaningful it is to see such good pics. i see small improvement. i think you might want to continue for another round like widgie, and stay out of the sun!
Guys, just to update post 2nd Fraxel, (new machine, 9/19/06): swelling continues to go down, redness is almost gone. Still flaking. 
My husband had the doc do an extra pass on my crows feet 
, and tonight he commented that he thinks that area is looking amazing. 
At the moment, so do I - but I figure there's still residual swelling so I'm not getting my hopes up.
I've used almost no "stuff" on my face this time, and my skin seems to be healing much faster. Seeing how much better I've healed without keeping my face slathered down with stuff, I doubt I'll be using any "stuff" after the next three, either.
I'm trying to eat fruits and veggies more often, and I've been consistent with the supplements that I'm taking (a women's multivitamin, a glucosamine/MSM/chondroitin joint health product, alpha lipoic acid, and extra vitamin c.)
This is just getting a bit complicated for me,my impression was this is a procedure where there is NO risk,NO downtime but obviously there is,how can there be no downtime when your gonna peel and be red for 7 days minimum? the redness is alright for females (specially) they can cover it up but peeling and redness for guys is not presentable outside at all not to mention the bronze look.PLus people have complained about discolouration and hyperpigmenation,they cannot make claims that is is safe for asian skin then-i guess we will always produce extra melanin in every procedure.
This is such a huge topic its very difficult to read everything.I have scarred pores mainly and now after getting some facts straight its hard to decide specially paying so much.I think that doc was trying to suggest other procedures which are cheaper and may be more helpful for specific problems but i havent researched anything on what he mentioned,but its also obvious hes trying to promote what he does like any other doctor.He is probably trying to make the point that ablative procedures are serious and always has risk unlike the claims made.
I liked this website, good explanation of how fraxel works:
http://www.shorelaser.com/FractionalAblativeLaser.html
JJ - I'm glad the pictures helped. I wish they would have been more comparable as to light and angle. But at least you know that I did not alter them or otherwise try to put the best light on them to market Fraxel. As you know, I am disappointed by my results on scarring, but am overall happy with results. I still have bad scarring on left cheek/jaw and have not decided how to proceed, but I may go for another round this winter. Perhasp by then the delayed collagen growth boost will be more evident.
Everyone is different, so I don't want to generalize from my own experience. But my personal view is that Fraxel results are evolutionary and you will not see them after a couple of procedures. It takes time and repeated treatment. I am a little doubtful of those who see immediate results, as it could be the placebo effect. On the other hand, because I am 55 and my scars date back to the 1960s, perhaps I am a very slow responder compared to somehow with more recent scarring.
Anyway, I am hopeful that others will benefit and document their results with pictures.
What does everyone think about creating a poll for Fraxel? This thread is long and hard to weed through. I have read much of it, but it would still be nice to have everyone's results in one easy to read place.
I would be happy to set one up if I can figure it out. What do you think the parameters should be? % of improvement? something like: made skin worse, no change, then blocks of percentages.
Or more general, like degree of satisfaction? Or separate categories for scarring, skin tone, pores, wrinkles, etc?
And something I just thought of....perhaps a poll for the side effects of Fraxel, like degree of swelling, redness, blisters, etc. and how long they lasted for?
Please share your thoughts. 
(If this should be posted as a separate topic, let me know and I'll move it. Trying not to clutter the board, but don't want to clutter this thread unnecessarily either.)
Hi Billy Boy
I just want to thank you for posting your photos. That takes guts. I see a good improvement in your skin, not sure what someone was talking about when they said it looked like it made two scars into one, or one scar into two?? I think that larger scar on your cheek looks a lot softer, as do most of the others.
I have had four fraxels, and I know that the texture and colour improvements are almost impossible to show up on film. So if I can see the improvements in your photos the difference in person must be even greater.
I just got my VISIA scan, so I am posting my improvments from before and after here:
My first Visia was done in dead of winter, and this one at the end of summer, so I think my freckles that always get darker in summer, (even with sunblock) made the improvement in spots not as great. They only did one cheek which included temple and under eye, but not the nose.
Higher Scores are better for these (Pre/Post): Spots 77/79 ; Pores 79/83; Wrinkles 10/15; Eveness 68/80....
Lower Scores are better for these (Pre/Post): UV Damage 262/183; Porphyrins 56/2
So good improvement in Wrinkles, Eveness, UV damage, Porphyrins. Small improvement in Pores and Spots but good be sun related.
When I looked at the actual scan you could see a big difference in the pores especially on my temple.
Anyway thought I would share these with you guys.
Peach Pie
Here is a link that describes what the VISIA results mean in the profile I sent above.
Peach Pie
Peachpie, congrats on improved scores.
I appreciate honest input from all, partly becasue I am not sure what to think of my results. My opinion is close to Keith's; I did not get much improvement in scarring in relation to cost.
A poll is a good idea. I would not muddy it by introducing complications because I think that is small and can be brought under the umbrella of a larger question as to satisfaction with cost/benefit (1 to 10, with 10 being best). Also, if there are enough responders, it would be nice to segment between those who finished a series of treatments over 3 months before and those still in progress.
