how are the results for scarred pores from fraxel??? these enlarged/scarred pores are getting me down a lot more then the shallow scars i have itself...

Hi guys,

I've been trying to research treatments but am so confused.

Each time I get sold on a procedure, I read something that tuns me off.

I've talked to a couple of dr.'s, but since they all offer different treatments, they tell me theirs is best.

(AGH!)

I just wanted to get some feedback.

I have mild scarring on my cheeks and a small amount around my mouth/chin.

Most of these came from acne I had in the 10-11th grade (i'm now pushing 30).

I'll admit that mine probably aren't as bad as some, if I stretch my skin, they go away, and in certain lighting they aren't REALLY noticable. On the flip side, if I gain the slightest bit of weight, or in bad lighting, my face looks AWFUL.

(Case and point, two years ago I spent a pretty penny on 10 microderm sessions w/mini peels at each because an aestician (sp?) told me it would greatly reduce my scarring, so that at my 10 year high school reunion I'd feel confident. Well, someone who hadn't seen me since said he remembered me because I used to have 'bad acne'. Stunned (because I could never admit to myself that it was that bad), I said, "are you sure that was me?" and he said, "yes, I can tell because you still have the scars". I can't tell you how bad I wanted to crawl into a hole and cry my eyes out)!)

So, anyway, sorry for the sob-story, i'm just so ready to get these self-esteem killers off of my face and out of my life!!

Any advice you can provide on Smoothbeam vs. Fraxel II, I would so greatly appreciate it!!!

Hi guys,

I've been trying to research treatments but am so confused. :eh:

Each time I get sold on a procedure, I read something that tuns me off.

I've talked to a couple of dr.'s, but since they all offer different treatments, they tell me theirs is best.

(AGH!)

I just wanted to get some feedback.

I have mild scarring on my cheeks and a small amount around my mouth/chin.

Most of these came from acne I had in the 10-11th grade (i'm now pushing 30).

I'll admit that mine probably aren't as bad as some, if I stretch my skin, they go away, and in certain lighting they aren't REALLY noticable. On the flip side, if I gain the slightest bit of weight, or in bad lighting, my face looks AWFUL.

(Case and point, two years ago I spent a pretty penny on 10 microderm sessions w/mini peels at each because an aestician (sp?) told me it would greatly reduce my scarring, so that at my 10 year high school reunion I'd feel confident. Well, someone who hadn't seen me since said he remembered me because I used to have 'bad acne'. Stunned (because I could never admit to myself that it was that bad), I said, "are you sure that was me?" and he said, "yes, I can tell because you still have the scars". I can't tell you how bad I wanted to crawl into a hole and cry my eyes out)!)

So, anyway, sorry for the sob-story, :boohoo: i'm just so ready to get these self-esteem killers off of my face and out of my life!!

Any advice you can provide on Smoothbeam vs. Fraxel II, I would so greatly appreciate it!!!

 

I would go with the Fraxel if I were you, Smoothbeam really doesn't do much for your skin except for maybe taking out some redness. I don't think it can improve much on the texture and tone that the Fraxel can do. Fraxel is a much stronger machine where it will cause your face to swell, get red, bronze, flake... all the good stuff :clap: , where as you really don't go through anything with smoothbeam.

As for the price is pretty close, it was 500.00 for Smoothbeam and 600.00 for Fraxel (both cheeks only) , but honestly you get so much more with Fraxel.

Oh boy that just reminded me I have my 10 years reunion next year :wacko: . My acne scars didn't happen until after high school, during my first 2 yrs of college. I'll cross my fingers that my acne scars will have more improvement by then. YIKES!

 

Hi guys,

I've been trying to research treatments but am so confused. :eh:

Each time I get sold on a procedure, I read something that tuns me off.

I've talked to a couple of dr.'s, but since they all offer different treatments, they tell me theirs is best.

(AGH!)

I just wanted to get some feedback.

I have mild scarring on my cheeks and a small amount around my mouth/chin.

Most of these came from acne I had in the 10-11th grade (i'm now pushing 30).

I'll admit that mine probably aren't as bad as some, if I stretch my skin, they go away, and in certain lighting they aren't REALLY noticable. On the flip side, if I gain the slightest bit of weight, or in bad lighting, my face looks AWFUL.

(Case and point, two years ago I spent a pretty penny on 10 microderm sessions w/mini peels at each because an aestician (sp?) told me it would greatly reduce my scarring, so that at my 10 year high school reunion I'd feel confident. Well, someone who hadn't seen me since said he remembered me because I used to have 'bad acne'. Stunned (because I could never admit to myself that it was that bad), I said, "are you sure that was me?" and he said, "yes, I can tell because you still have the scars". I can't tell you how bad I wanted to crawl into a hole and cry my eyes out)!)

So, anyway, sorry for the sob-story, :boohoo: i'm just so ready to get these self-esteem killers off of my face and out of my life!!

Any advice you can provide on Smoothbeam vs. Fraxel II, I would so greatly appreciate it!!!

 

I would go with the Fraxel if I were you, Smoothbeam really doesn't do much for your skin except for maybe taking out some redness, I don't think it can improve much on the texture and tone as the Fraxel does. Fraxel is a much stronger machine where it will cause your face to swell, get red, bronze, flake... all the good stuff :-), where as you really don't go through anything with smoothbeam.

 

What an idiot that guy was. Some people never grow up, do they? I haven't tried Smoothbeam, but I've been pretty happy with the results from Fraxel. It probably wouldn't cost you too much, because it doesn't sound like you need a lot of areas done. It might be worth checking into. One other thing that helped was Cool Touch laser. It also helped fill in some areas on my cheeks, and it wasn't as expensive as Fraxel. I have had severe scarring, so I needed more than the Cool Touch. Good luck in your search.

Man, i'm considering fraxel, but the swelling sounds pretty bad. i just couldn't fit into my schedule being swollen for almost a week.

Isn't there anti-swelling medication that you can take to prevent this?

i wouldn't think the swelling has any benefit, so stopping it somehow would be great.

Also, i can't find a pic that shows just how bad the post fraxel swelling and redness is, i'm curious-- can someone post one> thnx

how are the results for scarred pores from fraxel??? these enlarged/scarred pores are getting me down a lot more then the shallow scars i have itself...

 

nobody knows?

simply me, ive asked about this a lot. search my posts. some say it helped, others said no, a few said it made it worse.

we've discused this. swelling with fraxel is most likely good. if you take ibuprofen or something to keep it down then you are lessening the inflammation reaction which is part of what causes new tissue to be laid down. but maybe we are wrong. at least one persons doctor told them not to take anything to decrease swelling for this reason though.

Shyone, 40 mjs was the max on the machine they used on me. My most aggressive treatment was 8 passes at 25 and 2 passes at 30 over areas with scarring. Your treatment was super aggressive compared to mine. I reread the press release about the pros of the new fraxel, but frankly, I sometimes wonder whether I could have gotten a much better result if I had been treated at 40 mjs with the intial fraxel. Wow, that would really hurt.

 

Does anyone have any literature on the efficacy of the new fraxel, beyond the August press release?

 

how are the results for scarred pores from fraxel??? these enlarged/scarred pores are getting me down a lot more then the shallow scars i have itself...

 

I found that the Fraxel helped with my scarred pores more so than my enlarged pores on my nose. I'm not having him do my nose this second time around because I didn't see enough of improvement to do it again. For me, Fraxel has worked well on my scars other than ice pick and large pores.

Man, i'm considering fraxel, but the swelling sounds pretty bad. i just couldn't fit into my schedule being swollen for almost a week.

Isn't there anti-swelling medication that you can take to prevent this?

i wouldn't think the swelling has any benefit, so stopping it somehow would be great.

Also, i can't find a pic that shows just how bad the post fraxel swelling and redness is, i'm curious-- can someone post one> thnx

 

I am on day 3 after my first Fraxel with the new laser and the doctor went pretty agressive and my swelling is better today. I went out in public with some makeup on to cover the redness. I look great with makeup, my scars are gone due to the swelling that is left so this makes me happy but I know it won't last but for week or so.

I guess it looks like a sunburn and it flakes like one too but if you moisturize then you can deal with the flakey skin. The serum I bought from my surgeons office (Replenix) really helps with the flaking expecially after washing my face, that's when it's the worst.

If you took off a Friday from work, you should be able to go back to work on Monday or Tuesday at the lastest.

I did the Smoothbeam 3 years ago when that was the best option. Now my surgeon only does Smoothbeam for active acne and uses the fraxel for scarring/ discoloration.

So I agree, go for the new Fraxel.

If anything I'd like fraxel just for the redness. I went on accutane, and ever since my face has always been weird. My face won't really tan anymore, instead it just turns red. sigh

Just my own personal opinion, but I can't wait for my next fraxel treatment. Actually, needleing or fraxel. I love the swelling. When I swell my scars are gone. It's such a great feeling walking around with no scars. The redness is what I could do without. I guess everyone has there own thing they worry about, but lets be real here. We all are dealing with the same thing....scars. It sucks! What one is willing to deal with, another one isn't. The one thing, besides the scaring, is that we are all willing to put ourselves through more heartache to better our appearance. Just like everything else (besides our scaring) we are all different. We all react differently. This thread started to get me down for a while just because I'm starting my fraxel treatments. Actually, the thing that got me most annoyed were people giving their own thoughts on it and have NEVER had it done themselves. Some have had success and some have not. All have had different levels of intensity with different results. My opinion is that deeper is better. We all don't have wrinkles...we have scaring. Therefore, we require a deeper level of treatment to break up the scar tissue. To me it's pretty straight forward. Unfortunately, a deeper level of treatment will result in more side effects (swelling/redness for longer periods than clinically stated).

 

Hi guys,

I've been trying to research treatments but am so confused. :eh:

Each time I get sold on a procedure, I read something that tuns me off.

I've talked to a couple of dr.'s, but since they all offer different treatments, they tell me theirs is best.

(AGH!)

I just wanted to get some feedback.

I have mild scarring on my cheeks and a small amount around my mouth/chin.

Most of these came from acne I had in the 10-11th grade (i'm now pushing 30).

I'll admit that mine probably aren't as bad as some, if I stretch my skin, they go away, and in certain lighting they aren't REALLY noticable. On the flip side, if I gain the slightest bit of weight, or in bad lighting, my face looks AWFUL.

(Case and point, two years ago I spent a pretty penny on 10 microderm sessions w/mini peels at each because an aestician (sp?) told me it would greatly reduce my scarring, so that at my 10 year high school reunion I'd feel confident. Well, someone who hadn't seen me since said he remembered me because I used to have 'bad acne'. Stunned (because I could never admit to myself that it was that bad), I said, "are you sure that was me?" and he said, "yes, I can tell because you still have the scars". I can't tell you how bad I wanted to crawl into a hole and cry my eyes out)!)

So, anyway, sorry for the sob-story, :boohoo: i'm just so ready to get these self-esteem killers off of my face and out of my life!!

Any advice you can provide on Smoothbeam vs. Fraxel II, I would so greatly appreciate it!!!

 

I would go with the Fraxel if I were you, Smoothbeam really doesn't do much for your skin except for maybe taking out some redness. I don't think it can improve much on the texture and tone that the Fraxel can do. Fraxel is a much stronger machine where it will cause your face to swell, get red, bronze, flake... all the good stuff :clap: , where as you really don't go through anything with smoothbeam.

As for the price is pretty close, it was 500.00 for Smoothbeam and 600.00 for Fraxel (both cheeks only) , but honestly you get so much more with Fraxel.

Oh boy that just reminded me I have my 10 years reunion next year :wacko: . My acne scars didn't happen until after high school, during my first 2 yrs of college. I'll cross my fingers that my acne scars will have more improvement by then. YIKES!

 

 

 

Hi guys,

I've been trying to research treatments but am so confused. :eh:

Each time I get sold on a procedure, I read something that tuns me off.

I've talked to a couple of dr.'s, but since they all offer different treatments, they tell me theirs is best.

(AGH!)

I just wanted to get some feedback.

I have mild scarring on my cheeks and a small amount around my mouth/chin.

Most of these came from acne I had in the 10-11th grade (i'm now pushing 30).

I'll admit that mine probably aren't as bad as some, if I stretch my skin, they go away, and in certain lighting they aren't REALLY noticable. On the flip side, if I gain the slightest bit of weight, or in bad lighting, my face looks AWFUL.

(Case and point, two years ago I spent a pretty penny on 10 microderm sessions w/mini peels at each because an aestician (sp?) told me it would greatly reduce my scarring, so that at my 10 year high school reunion I'd feel confident. Well, someone who hadn't seen me since said he remembered me because I used to have 'bad acne'. Stunned (because I could never admit to myself that it was that bad), I said, "are you sure that was me?" and he said, "yes, I can tell because you still have the scars". I can't tell you how bad I wanted to crawl into a hole and cry my eyes out)!)

So, anyway, sorry for the sob-story, :boohoo: i'm just so ready to get these self-esteem killers off of my face and out of my life!!

Any advice you can provide on Smoothbeam vs. Fraxel II, I would so greatly appreciate it!!!

 

I would go with the Fraxel if I were you, Smoothbeam really doesn't do much for your skin except for maybe taking out some redness. I don't think it can improve much on the texture and tone that the Fraxel can do. Fraxel is a much stronger machine where it will cause your face to swell, get red, bronze, flake... all the good stuff :clap: , where as you really don't go through anything with smoothbeam.

As for the price is pretty close, it was 500.00 for Smoothbeam and 600.00 for Fraxel (both cheeks only) , but honestly you get so much more with Fraxel.

Oh boy that just reminded me I have my 10 years reunion next year :wacko: . My acne scars didn't happen until after high school, during my first 2 yrs of college. I'll cross my fingers that my acne scars will have more improvement by then. YIKES!

 

 

Where did ou get this 600$ Fraxel treatments.I am in CA ,bay area and i am unable to find any doctor that can do fraxel for this rate .

few more questions,would be very thankful if some you could reply.I dont want to make a mistake of not asking patients who have gone under the procedure & do it just by doctors words.

-has it helped anyone with PIH ?,also slightly dented PIH?

-Also how do most of you manage work or school,when ive read so many people say it takes atleast 5-7 days to recover?,if i do it on thursday is it nto possible for me to go to work on Sunday?

-The pain how is it,could someone decribe me this? is it like the usual rubberband snap like with other lasers just more painful ? or like the burning of chemical peel? or something else which someone could describe

-has anyone got hyperpigmentation or any other side effects and made thier face worse?

As to how I manage time, I am a stay at home care giver, so I am able to hibernate for extended time periods.

For me, rubber band snaps might work as comparison for the lower settings. Last time, my doc went up to 40mjs. I'd compare that pain to something like repeated bee stings. It was difficult to tolerate but I managed. I almost had to stop.

I compare the burn after procedure to having had a giant cigar put out on my face. That does not last for long, though - only 4 to 6 hours and once that is past, I'm fine. The swelling doesn't hurt, it's just uncomfortable.

So far, I've not had hyperpigmentation problems. No worsening of any area either. Of course, I'm still swollen a little since last Tuesday's procedure, so it's hard to know for sure as of now.

As to how I manage time, I am a stay at home care giver, so I am able to hibernate for extended time periods.

For me, rubber band snaps might work as comparison for the lower settings. Last time, my doc went up to 40mjs. I'd compare that pain to something like repeated bee stings. It was difficult to tolerate but I managed. I almost had to stop.

I compare the burn after procedure to having had a giant cigar put out on my face. That does not last for long, though - only 4 to 6 hours and once that is past, I'm fine. The swelling doesn't hurt, it's just uncomfortable.

So far, I've not had hyperpigmentation problems. No worsening of any area either. Of course, I'm still swollen a little since last Tuesday's procedure, so it's hard to know for sure as of now.

 

did you just have one treatment ? or youve finished your course? how many days would you say its not possible to go out and not freak people out.I want to do it but i can give 2 days holiday then work? is that possible?

did you just have one treatment ? or youve finished your course? how many days would you say its not possible to go out and not freak people out.I want to do it but i can give 2 days holiday then work? is that possible?

 

This was my third treatment. I wouldn't go out unless it was an emergency for about 3 days.

By day 4, I'm decent to go out with sunscreen and makeup to cover the redness. At least, I don't notice anyone staring at me, lol.

I have two more treatments to go.

what scars does fraxel work best for? I have scars on cheeks, forehead, temple, and nose. they are rolling scars. Also how many times do i have to have the procedure done and how long does swellin last

Shyone, are you being treated by first gen or second gen fraxel?

Shyone, are you being treated by first gen or second gen fraxel?

 

Second generation.

The Reliant clinical rep was present for my first treatment, talking with the doc about settings, differences in this machine from the older one, etc. I tried to listen but I was super nervous and missed most of it, lol.

Does anyone have before and after photos? I'm going for Fraxel treatment in 5 days and it is an older model. My skin is very red though, I'm afraid she might not let me get it done. Most of the redness are from using Obagi and that my skin is extremely sensitive. I'm very nervous and pessimistic about the result. I've been reading alot of negative reviews. What should I do to decrease the redness? Will steaming my face help? I am applying aquaphor ointment tonight with mix of essential oil. My skin has been red for very long time, I was wondering if Fraxel really help with redness? What setting and passes should I suggest her to start in or should I let her decide? I take it that we shouldn't expect to see any improvement on the first treatment at all? I'm also curious what type of scares benefits the most from it. Will the first treatment help remove the excision scars that I've had? I really appreciated if someone could help answer all of my concerns.

I posted pre/post pictures on photobucket awhile back but took them down.

My best benefit was removing ruddy color. I received a small benefit on very shallow scars, but absolutely no help to inscision scars or scars with any depth. I think/hope the new generation fraxel may work way better on scars than my first genration modle did for me.

If you have scars, I would go as aggressive as doc will permit on first try.

I don't understand why, but apparently, the new generation is not as painful, even thoguh the burning goes deeper to stimulate collagen growth at the level necessary for scars. I wish I understood this better so that I felt more confident in the efficacy of the new machine.

 

Shyone, are you being treated by first gen or second gen fraxel?

 

Second generation.

The Reliant clinical rep was present for my first treatment, talking with the doc about settings, differences in this machine from the older one, etc. I tried to listen but I was super nervous and missed most of it, lol.

 

shyone - do you notice a difference in any large pores or ice-picks if you have them?

I posted pre/post pictures on photobucket awhile back but took them down.

My best benefit was removing ruddy color. I received a small benefit on very shallow scars, but absolutely no help to inscision scars or scars with any depth. I think/hope the new generation fraxel may work way better on scars than my first genration modle did for me.

If you have scars, I would go as aggressive as doc will permit on first try.

I don't understand why, but apparently, the new generation is not as painful, even thoguh the burning goes deeper to stimulate collagen growth at the level necessary for scars. I wish I understood this better so that I felt more confident in the efficacy of the new machine.

 

Fixing the color of my face and texture would be well worth it in itself.

I have mostly scared pores and samll ice pick and 1 large chicken pox. I have 5 excisions so I have linear scars from those. Overall I am at a point where I can cover most of my scars with makeup but you can definately see the bad texture w/o makeup. The doctor told me that I wouldn't be needing the new Fraxel because my scars aren't that deep but on the other hand they do not have the newest model yet. I also read form another posts that Fraxel help eliminate most of their shallow scars or scar pores. I really hope it is true w/ me. Billyboy is it possible I can view your photos? I really want to see the difference w/ my own eyes if you don't mind. I'm really trying to stay positive. Thanks

shyone - do you notice a difference in any large pores or ice-picks if you have them?

 

I don't have ice picks, most of my scars are the rolling kind. I have some large pores on my nose.

I've seen some improvement in the rolling scars, but no noticeable change in pore size.

I'm pretty sure I still have residual swelling from the most recent treatment, so I'm not going to say the improvement is huge or anything.

I sure wish the swelling is all gone and the way my skin looks now is how it would stay. But it looks so much better that I'm certain there is still swelling present.

Plus, I've had a second round of flaking. (I hope this is a good sign!) I still have a little redness, too. So I think there is still some swelling present.