As promised, I'm back to give an update on my fraxel treatments. I'm about 3 months post-fraxel (6 treatments total) and see absolutely no decrease in scarring. I have moderate scarring, and at times it looked as if my scarring was improving, but now that I'm 3 months post I can tell this is definitely not the case. If anything, I now have enlarged pores on my nose and a few new scars because of break-outs I had during treatment. Also, I have fair skin and am experiencing mild hyperpigmentation! (They say fraxel is supposed to *help* hyperpigmentation.) My doctor wants to give me bleaching cream, but I'm hesitant about using it. I just want to give my skin a rest from all of this craziness. Lastly, I feel as if I experience much more heat/sweating in my face than I did before. (Anybody else notice this?)

My skin is worse than it was before, and it's quite depressing. I'm hoping that with time everything heals, or at least my skin tone goes back to normal.

Overall, I have nothing good to say about fraxel. I don't recommend spending money on this treatment (or, as in my case, even getting it for free).

Final Thought: Be *very* careful of what you do to your skin. Keep in mind that if you think it's bad now, it can always be worse. At least, that's what I feel I've learned the hard way.

I've spoken to customer service reps at Reliant about my situation. They agreed with my comment that one advantage of Fraxel is that it is "fool proof" and not really dependent on operator skill. So, I still maintain that you want someone with experience in treating scars, but this is way different than the skill required of a surgeon.

Cubsfan, how much does the new fraxel cost in relation to the previous one? How many treatments? I had no issues with Fraxel pain or blue dye. My concern is efficacy. I read that it can up to 30% deeper. Have you read or has your doc told you to expect better results, or is just easier to go through? Best wishes

Here is the response as to why the Fraxel poll thread won't record my vote:

Hi,

Dan forwarded me a message saying that you were having an error on the

fraxel results poll. I took a look at the poll and it appears that the

poll wasn't constructed properly--the starter of the poll was not aware

that both questions had to be answered. So, basically, a different poll

has to be started for a scenario like this.

Hope this helps,

Joel

 

Hi billyboy, He is giving me a discount, because this is my second time around with Fraxel. It's $3000 for 6 treatments. He told me he's going twice as deep as the old one. My highest reading on the old Fraxel was 24. He told me I will get much better results with this one. :pray:

Hi Jodie, I believe you're in southern calif too, can I ask how is the doctor? thanks sheryllynn

Suposedly, they kinda puncture small holes in and around the scarring. Where they wish the collegen to grow. (Like a template).

I believe it is the Dr's "skill" is where you get the results.

The new one may be better, less pain, downtime, and possibly be deeper.

But choose a doc. that has some skill. The best renound laser surgeon, here, in like in intranet and all.

And voila, he is not an artist.

Ha ha , on a note I have found a guy to do some Erbium Microlasers while waiting for Fraxel, the doc is getting it soon as posted. Newer than you guy's Dr.s. Comes out Nov.

I ended up going home with a face full of botox, with most of my facial veins injected, and going in 1 week for 1 quick laser to rid me of any facial veins. (not IPL), it does not last.

Hee Hee, I am a bit too young for botox, but it takes awhile to set in, already noticing my forehead will maybe look like my baby's.

He just wished for me to look great, nothing to do with money, and I am please with him.

I guess everyone is walking around with baby smooth foreheads and no laugh lines around there eyes, (I had no like wrinkles!) So he is making me pleased, while I await the new Fraxel.

All in the docs skill and where he places the laser for scarring.

 

Cubsfan

Great price! Keep us posted on results, as it appears you are one of the first. Hopefully, the hype will be your reality.

I wish I wasn't too afraid to have a dermabrasion.

 

If your skin looks bad enough that u would want a dermabrasion then I would get a little spot done and see how u heal. U may heal really fast and could then do the whole thing. U are light skinned and look like a very good tone for a dermabrasion. I dont know if u alter the photos in your gallery much but I cant see too many scars there. For a lot of people a dermabrasion is only a week of nasty skin and then many heal up good within a months time. That wouldnt be too aweful in any case and makeup on white skin can take out the red pretty good so u can go on with regular activities. Then 4 or 5 months later have the skin u want.

Billyboy,

I'm not sure of the settings my treatments have been at. I'm a research participant, and my doctor said that the levels she is using aren't the levels used for non-research participants, so I can't really compare my settings to what the rest of you are doing. I will try to find out more information about this, though. One thing I do know is that the settings are the same for every treatment.

I feel as if I have seen some improvement with my scars, but I am *very* hesitant to give myself, as well as others on this board, false hope. I feel more comfortable waiting until after my treatments are done to post confidently about improvement. My doctor said a lot of people see things like pores beginning to fill in after the third treatment, but that visible scar improvement doesn't come until months after the last fraxel treatment.

Chrissy,

I would definitely ask your doctor for Biafine. If he hasn't heard of it, then he needs to become informed and get some samples!

Best wishes to everyone and their scar treatments.

 

hi bluekit, i feel sad like i did when billyboy came back to report little improvement and lots of dissappointment. what is going on here? you were part of the very study that got fraxel fda approved for acne scarring. i read the study, only one person didnt respond. was it u?

i emailed drewboy and asked him to post his results he is done for many months and reported long ago good results with pores. then again he also had good results with tca cross so maybe he just has good skin.

 

I wish I wasn't too afraid to have a dermabrasion.

 

If your skin looks bad enough that u would want a dermabrasion then I would get a little spot done and see how u heal. U may heal really fast and could then do the whole thing. U are light skinned and look like a very good tone for a dermabrasion. I dont know if u alter the photos in your gallery much but I cant see too many scars there. For a lot of people a dermabrasion is only a week of nasty skin and then many heal up good within a months time. That wouldnt be too aweful in any case and makeup on white skin can take out the red pretty good so u can go on with regular activities. Then 4 or 5 months later have the skin u want.

 

Thanks Keith. Yeah, actually I heal very fast. But the problem is I have some ice pick scars and scarred pores, and I remember hearing about people here whose icepicks became large box scars after dermabrasion or something along those lines. And no, I don't alter the photos in my gallery, my scars just never seem to show up on camera really. My hypertrophic scar and my slash scars from my dog attack are very apparent in one on my photos.

hi i just thought i might post after reading through this thread and the others on this forum about fraxel.

great info!

i'm getting fraxel for various reasons - pigmentation after falling over and having stitches above my lip, acne scarring on my cheeks and a forehead scar from injuring myself as a child!

i'm now 11 days after my first treatment.

just a few questions about things i'm not quite sure about:

1) hyperpigmentation in asians:

how soon after treatment do you notice hyperpigmentation? and is it over the entire treatment area or just over preexisiting spots/redmarks?

is it dark or red or bronze?

2) fraxel to remove preexisting pigmentation:

how quickly do you see results? is the 'fading' immediate or does it take up to 6 months (ie the same time as scar improvement takes)

3) products on healing skin post-fraxel:

does cover it with makeup interfere with the healing or regeneration process at all?

also, is it advisable to exfoliate and use other products (eg serums, boosters, rosehip oil) or is better to avoid these?

4) swelling making scars appear better

i've read timeframes on the swelling from 5 days to much longer. at my stage (11 days) are my scars still artificially better just because of swelling?

thanks.. and apologies if these have been answered amongst the threads already. i don't think they have specifically but i may just have been information-overloaded *blush*

 

Hi, I don't have answers for your first two questions, but here's my answers for #3 and #4.

Products post fraxel: I've got cetaphil moisture that I used often after the first treatment but hardly at all after the second treatment. I seem to have healed faster the second time. I didn't use any exfoliants until about a week after, and then only on a couple of little breakouts I got (which I figure I got because of the moisturizers). My doc's protocol is no exfoliant products for at least 3 days post.

Swelling. I believe that I had residual swelling for about two weeks post treatment.

Hope this helps.

 

 

I wish I wasn't too afraid to have a dermabrasion.

 

If your skin looks bad enough that u would want a dermabrasion then I would get a little spot done and see how u heal. U may heal really fast and could then do the whole thing. U are light skinned and look like a very good tone for a dermabrasion. I dont know if u alter the photos in your gallery much but I cant see too many scars there. For a lot of people a dermabrasion is only a week of nasty skin and then many heal up good within a months time. That wouldnt be too aweful in any case and makeup on white skin can take out the red pretty good so u can go on with regular activities. Then 4 or 5 months later have the skin u want.

 

Thanks Keith. Yeah, actually I heal very fast. But the problem is I have some ice pick scars and scarred pores, and I remember hearing about people here whose icepicks became large box scars after dermabrasion or something along those lines. And no, I don't alter the photos in my gallery, my scars just never seem to show up on camera really. My hypertrophic scar and my slash scars from my dog attack are very apparent in one on my photos.

 

I had dermabrasion a looong time ago. Not very helpful for ice-pick scars, large pores either. It is totally controlled by the surgeon, and I got grooves and stuff, that had to be fixed with laser later.

And it was so gross right after!

Just my opinion from experience. I'd wait for the right laser recommended by a good DR!! And get several opinions.

You look great now though, maybe some things will heal up a bit more with some time, then fix what does not heal later??? Your still so young........ 😀

Billyboy:

I would have to disagree on foolproof. The settings, passes and all differ from Dr to Dr. So maybe the results differ so much between people because of that??

 

 

 

I wish I wasn't too afraid to have a dermabrasion.

 

If your skin looks bad enough that u would want a dermabrasion then I would get a little spot done and see how u heal. U may heal really fast and could then do the whole thing. U are light skinned and look like a very good tone for a dermabrasion. I dont know if u alter the photos in your gallery much but I cant see too many scars there. For a lot of people a dermabrasion is only a week of nasty skin and then many heal up good within a months time. That wouldnt be too aweful in any case and makeup on white skin can take out the red pretty good so u can go on with regular activities. Then 4 or 5 months later have the skin u want.

 

Thanks Keith. Yeah, actually I heal very fast. But the problem is I have some ice pick scars and scarred pores, and I remember hearing about people here whose icepicks became large box scars after dermabrasion or something along those lines. And no, I don't alter the photos in my gallery, my scars just never seem to show up on camera really. My hypertrophic scar and my slash scars from my dog attack are very apparent in one on my photos.

 

I had dermabrasion a looong time ago. Not very helpful for ice-pick scars, large pores either. It is totally controlled by the surgeon, and I got grooves and stuff, that had to be fixed with laser later.

And it was so gross right after!

Just my opinion from experience. I'd wait for the right laser recommended by a good DR!! And get several opinions.

You look great now though, maybe some things will heal up a bit more with some time, then fix what does not heal later??? Your still so young........ 😀

Billyboy:

I would have to disagree on foolproof. The settings, passes and all differ from Dr to Dr. So maybe the results differ so much between people because of that??

 

in the webinars on the reliant site a few doctors are qouted as saying they were under treating patients when they first started and only hit their stride after doing 300 or so procedures.

FYI, a lot of drs have their nurse or PA do the actual procedures so go figure.

I read everthing on Reliant site at least twice, plus more fraxel research elsewhere. That's why I insisted on higher settings than most people were getting.

I believe the key factors in perceived efficacy, in order of importance, are:

1. Total energy, with particular emphasis on mjs (as that affects depth)

2. Your level of optimism as to improvement (placebo effect - what you want to see)

3. Depth of scarring (you will perceive much greater benefit to shallow scars)

4. Age (older people will respond with less collagen formation, and newer scarring responds best

5. Operator skill

I remain concerned that we have so few documented success stories on this thread. Again, I am going to wait for the new machine. It seems to me that press reports/releases of FDA trials are way stronger than for the original fraxel. Besides, I know it did not yield a big benefit for me as to scarring.

As promised, I'm back to give an update on my fraxel treatments. I'm about 3 months post-fraxel (6 treatments total) and see absolutely no decrease in scarring. I have moderate scarring, and at times it looked as if my scarring was improving, but now that I'm 3 months post I can tell this is definitely not the case. If anything, I now have enlarged pores on my nose and a few new scars because of break-outs I had during treatment. Also, I have fair skin and am experiencing mild hyperpigmentation! (They say fraxel is supposed to *help* hyperpigmentation.) My doctor wants to give me bleaching cream, but I'm hesitant about using it. I just want to give my skin a rest from all of this craziness. Lastly, I feel as if I experience much more heat/sweating in my face than I did before. (Anybody else notice this?)

My skin is worse than it was before, and it's quite depressing. I'm hoping that with time everything heals, or at least my skin tone goes back to normal.

Overall, I have nothing good to say about fraxel. I don't recommend spending money on this treatment (or, as in my case, even getting it for free).

Final Thought: Be *very* careful of what you do to your skin. Keep in mind that if you think it's bad now, it can always be worse. At least, that's what I feel I've learned the hard way.

 

bluekit - I'm just sick about this. THANK YOU for being so honest in your testimony. I think the enlarged pores and hyperpigmentation will correct itself in time - remember: your skin was TRAUMATIZED! Our skin doesn't know that we are doing these things to it for *good* reasons, it just thinks that we burned, scraped, sand-blasted, melted off, and scorched it! It takes a while to heal, so taking a break from everything is a really good idea. Thanks again for your honest account and I wish you all the best!

I am waiting for the new one 2! The newest one that is not out yet.

In the meantime I am getting several minor procedures done.

He gets it Oct, or Nov, but I want to wait till Jan so he knows how and if it is better.

how is the redness and skintone after fraxel?

 

hi i just thought i might post after reading through this thread and the others on this forum about fraxel.

great info!

i'm getting fraxel for various reasons - pigmentation after falling over and having stitches above my lip, acne scarring on my cheeks and a forehead scar from injuring myself as a child!

i'm now 11 days after my first treatment.

just a few questions about things i'm not quite sure about:

1) hyperpigmentation in asians:

how soon after treatment do you notice hyperpigmentation? and is it over the entire treatment area or just over preexisiting spots/redmarks?

is it dark or red or bronze?

2) fraxel to remove preexisting pigmentation:

how quickly do you see results? is the 'fading' immediate or does it take up to 6 months (ie the same time as scar improvement takes)

3) products on healing skin post-fraxel:

does cover it with makeup interfere with the healing or regeneration process at all?

also, is it advisable to exfoliate and use other products (eg serums, boosters, rosehip oil) or is better to avoid these?

4) swelling making scars appear better

i've read timeframes on the swelling from 5 days to much longer. at my stage (11 days) are my scars still artificially better just because of swelling?

thanks.. and apologies if these have been answered amongst the threads already. i don't think they have specifically but i may just have been information-overloaded *blush*

 

Hi, I don't have answers for your first two questions, but here's my answers for #3 and #4.

Products post fraxel: I've got cetaphil moisture that I used often after the first treatment but hardly at all after the second treatment. I seem to have healed faster the second time. I didn't use any exfoliants until about a week after, and then only on a couple of little breakouts I got (which I figure I got because of the moisturizers). My doc's protocol is no exfoliant products for at least 3 days post.

Swelling. I believe that I had residual swelling for about two weeks post treatment.

Hope this helps.

 

thanks for your reply shyone 🙂

just wondering, when you say 'healed faster' the second time, do you mean in terms of redness/swelling going down or an actual improvement in your skin texture?

thanks for your reply shyone 🙂

just wondering, when you say 'healed faster' the second time, do you mean in terms of redness/swelling going down or an actual improvement in your skin texture?

 

Redness/swelling going down.

 

 

I wish I wasn't too afraid to have a dermabrasion.

 

If your skin looks bad enough that u would want a dermabrasion then I would get a little spot done and see how u heal. U may heal really fast and could then do the whole thing. U are light skinned and look like a very good tone for a dermabrasion. I dont know if u alter the photos in your gallery much but I cant see too many scars there. For a lot of people a dermabrasion is only a week of nasty skin and then many heal up good within a months time. That wouldnt be too aweful in any case and makeup on white skin can take out the red pretty good so u can go on with regular activities. Then 4 or 5 months later have the skin u want.

 

Thanks Keith. Yeah, actually I heal very fast. But the problem is I have some ice pick scars and scarred pores, and I remember hearing about people here whose icepicks became large box scars after dermabrasion or something along those lines. And no, I don't alter the photos in my gallery, my scars just never seem to show up on camera really. My hypertrophic scar and my slash scars from my dog attack are very apparent in one on my photos.

 

If I were u I would honestly just wait for the acne to go away and then try makeups. U have a seriously wicked face and with the right makeup could have those little nothing scars become unoticable. U have great eyes and facial structure.

I use Neutrogena makeup concealer with salicylic acid in it for acne control and to smooth my skin. If u get the right tone it is not noticable at all. I use I think its call sheer coverage? Anyway its not powdery and smooths out my entire face except for a couple little marks. I honestly wish I would have realized makeup is a great option even for guys a lot sooner. Bye

Blueket,

Please remind me. You were treated by original fraxel? At what levels? Was there a control group in the study (ie., a group that was not reated, but who were evaltuated by the independent panel)? Were you asked to rate your results for the study results?

If I understand the theory behind fraxel correctly, the idea is to kill hair sized collums of skin (MTZs) leaving unharmed skin around the dead collum. The unharmed skin then sends "repair crews" into the dead collum. The dead collum is forced up and out of your skin - and we see the dead collums being forced out in the form of peeling and flaking.

Why apply moisturizers, etc, to diminish the flaking when it's the flaking that our skin needs to do in order to push out the dead collum of skin the laser killed so our skin can heal at the deeper levels?

Is the moisturizer idea just for comfort?

If I understand the theory behind fraxel correctly, the idea is to kill hair sized collums of skin (MTZs) leaving unharmed skin around the dead collum. The unharmed skin then sends "repair crews" into the dead collum. The dead collum is forced up and out of your skin - and we see the dead collums being forced out in the form of peeling and flaking.

Why apply moisturizers, etc, to diminish the flaking when it's the flaking that our skin needs to do in order to push out the dead collum of skin the laser killed so our skin can heal at the deeper levels?

Is the moisturizer idea just for comfort?

 

Shyone,

Yes the moisturizer is just for comfort and looks. I asked about this at the time of my fraxels. I was also told the damaged or dead bits are already damaged and no amount of moisturizer will repair that damage. All the moisturizer does is make it more comfortable and less noticeable it does not impede the healing process. That's what I was told and it does make sense to me.

Peach Pie

My nurse told me that fraxel reps advise moisturizing so as to leave scale on as long as possible. I presume this scale protects the tender new skin cells.

 

 

 

I wish I wasn't too afraid to have a dermabrasion.

 

If your skin looks bad enough that u would want a dermabrasion then I would get a little spot done and see how u heal. U may heal really fast and could then do the whole thing. U are light skinned and look like a very good tone for a dermabrasion. I dont know if u alter the photos in your gallery much but I cant see too many scars there. For a lot of people a dermabrasion is only a week of nasty skin and then many heal up good within a months time. That wouldnt be too aweful in any case and makeup on white skin can take out the red pretty good so u can go on with regular activities. Then 4 or 5 months later have the skin u want.

 

Thanks Keith. Yeah, actually I heal very fast. But the problem is I have some ice pick scars and scarred pores, and I remember hearing about people here whose icepicks became large box scars after dermabrasion or something along those lines. And no, I don't alter the photos in my gallery, my scars just never seem to show up on camera really. My hypertrophic scar and my slash scars from my dog attack are very apparent in one on my photos.

 

If I were u I would honestly just wait for the acne to go away and then try makeups. U have a seriously wicked face and with the right makeup could have those little nothing scars become unoticable. U have great eyes and facial structure.

I use Neutrogena makeup concealer with salicylic acid in it for acne control and to smooth my skin. If u get the right tone it is not noticable at all. I use I think its call sheer coverage? Anyway its not powdery and smooths out my entire face except for a couple little marks. I honestly wish I would have realized makeup is a great option even for guys a lot sooner. Bye

 

Thank you very much for your advice Keith. I really appreciate it. But see, I do use make up. And though i've tried different make up tecniques, I never seem to be able to cover my scars enough. And thank you for your compliments, my eyes are the only thing I really like about myself, physically.

 

Billyboy,

I'm not sure of the settings my treatments have been at. I'm a research participant, and my doctor said that the levels she is using aren't the levels used for non-research participants, so I can't really compare my settings to what the rest of you are doing. I will try to find out more information about this, though. One thing I do know is that the settings are the same for every treatment.

I feel as if I have seen some improvement with my scars, but I am *very* hesitant to give myself, as well as others on this board, false hope. I feel more comfortable waiting until after my treatments are done to post confidently about improvement. My doctor said a lot of people see things like pores beginning to fill in after the third treatment, but that visible scar improvement doesn't come until months after the last fraxel treatment.

Chrissy,

I would definitely ask your doctor for Biafine. If he hasn't heard of it, then he needs to become informed and get some samples!

Best wishes to everyone and their scar treatments.

 

hi bluekit, i feel sad like i did when billyboy came back to report little improvement and lots of dissappointment. what is going on here? you were part of the very study that got fraxel fda approved for acne scarring. i read the study, only one person didnt respond. was it u?

i emailed drewboy and asked him to post his results he is done for many months and reported long ago good results with pores. then again he also had good results with tca cross so maybe he just has good skin.

 

No, it's not possible that I'm part of the study you're referring to because I am not technically finished with the study. After completion of my 6 fraxel treatments, I have to go back every month (for 3 or 4 months--can't remember) for pictures. I haven't completed all of the post-treatment pictures yet. When I go in for pix, the nurse writes down the improvement of my skin. What's interesting about this is that I have seen what the nurse writes, and she indicates that my skin has improved, even though it hasn't. (There *is* a section that I have to fill out to report how *I* feel my skin has changed. This differs a lot from what the nurse writes.) I can almost guarantee you that the results of the study I am in will indicate that I experienced improvement. Based upon what I and many others on here have personally experienced, I'm not convinced about fraxel even though the results of the studies seem positive. The majority of people on here seem to have been let down by fraxel.

I understand that people want to believe fraxel works because they have been searching for so long for something that will improve their scars. I was the same way.

oh sorry bluekit. one or two persons on here were in the NYC study at the skin and laser center of new york. www.lasersurgery.com is their website. that was the study with dr. geronemeus who i believe is one of the earliest fraxel docs (after the guy from san diego). I was going to do the study but got knocked out due to being on antibiotics.

i believe people when they post pictures or give detailed accounts of their results. I just dont want to believe it can make skin WORSE. the pictures on http://www.lasersurgery.com/html/laser_fraxel.htm or http://www.bcm.edu/dermatology/?PMID=2331 (im sure you've all seen www.reliant-tech.com) are so good, i've even downloaded them and blew them up on my 20 inch screen in photoshop. are theses people the top 1 percent? maybe oily skin makes a difference. I read somewhere it works best on dry skin.? they are all older people, but so is billyboy and others.

maybe its just advertising like everything else. i guess the real bottom line is all about the fraxel patenters making their millions, not providing honesty and prudence to patients.

Yeah as I said I saw Florida guy on there as a before and after. He had fillers to fill in a large wrinkle that was not mentioned on the sight. It was right on that spot that the pictures were taken from too. Right there shows u something and thats the only person I have talked to from those pictures.

Its all marketing for any company. If the person had a bad reaction or no reaction then I am sure they did. Sucks too as I have already paid for mine and I would die if my pores got larger just to try and remove some really faint scars.