Fraxel Re:pair

[Office Lase 0]

3 days ago I had Fraxel Re:pair done on my forehead for acne pit scarring.

I know there are a lot of people who had fraxels done but it seems like not a lot have had Fraxel Re:pair. Re:pair came out a couple years ago. Basically 1 Fraxel Re:Pair = 5 Fraxel Re:stores. Re:pair goes deeper into the dermis.

For acne scarring they recommend 1-3 Re:pairs where previously they would recommend 4+ for Re:store. In Southern CA they have 6+ offices that have a Re:pair laser. From talking to others this type of laser in not commonly found across the country.

Anyways I see the trend for scarring shifting to Re:Pair. Anyone have the Re:pair done and wants to share?

I will try to post pics once healing happens. There won't be much to show anyone for about a week or so as it is red and I haven't peeled yet.

[DudleyDoRight 144]

Office, I am a 2 time veteran of Fraxel Repair. Fraxel Repair is what Fraxel Restore promised to be. Relient did a great disservice to the public by naming the 2 lasers so similar. There has been nothing but confusion since Repair came out. You constantly hear "Fraxel doesn't work", and they are talking about Restore, but their comments reflect on Repair when in fact, most have not had Repair. 2.5 years ago I was lucky to run into an honest doctor who said Restore would not help me. Last Jan 2008 when Repair came out I started investigating. By May 2008 I had my first Repair done at 70mj-60%, and realized an overall 30% improvement. In Jan 2009 I had my second Repair done at 70mj-60% and 11 weeks post op I am stablized and realize about 60% improvement. The biggest change has been in my atitude, and that is the best. I am scheduling my third Repair in Nov 2009. I have had Dermabrasion and CO2 and neither produced the results of Repair. The doctors on RealSelf were the first to clue me in to the fact that it take multiple treatments with Repair for acne scars. They say 1-3, I say 2-4. Good luck!

[Emhfali 0]

dudley, what type of scars do you have/had?

[imbajoe 0]

Office, I am a 2 time veteran of Fraxel Repair. Fraxel Repair is what Fraxel Restore promised to be. Relient did a great disservice to the public by naming the 2 lasers so similar. There has been nothing but confusion since Repair came out. You constantly hear "Fraxel doesn't work", and they are talking about Restore, but their comments reflect on Repair when in fact, most have not had Repair. 2.5 years ago I was lucky to run into an honest doctor who said Restore would not help me. Last Jan 2008 when Repair came out I started investigating. By May 2008 I had my first Repair done at 70mj-60%, and realized an overall 30% improvement. In Jan 2009 I had my second Repair done at 70mj-60% and 11 weeks post op I am stablized and realize about 60% improvement. The biggest change has been in my atitude, and that is the best. I am scheduling my third Repair in Nov 2009. I have had Dermabrasion and CO2 and neither produced the results of Repair. The doctors on RealSelf were the first to clue me in to the fact that it take multiple treatments with Repair for acne scars. They say 1-3, I say 2-4. Good luck!

That's so amazing Dudley, I'm very happy that you have received such wonderful results. If you have any before and afters of your scars, I would really appreciate you posting them. Cheers!

[DudleyDoRight 144]

Emhfali, the only thing I know I don't have is icepick.

Imbajoe, I am not likely to post any pictures until I am totally satisfied. Even the pictures I have don't seem to reflect how bad I considered things were before I started. Fraxel Repair is the best thing I have ever done, but the effects are cummulative and you have to have patience.

[Office Lase 0]

Congrats Dudley on the improvement in confidence/attitude with the good results. Acne scarring is a very hard thing to fix and I'm glad it's coming around for you.

Wow 70 mJ - 60 % - those are high settings! I looked over at the machine right before I had it done and I saw a 50 and a 15. I assume 50 mJ and 15%. Not sure though. I was hurting big time during the procedure!! I wish I had a valium or something. I had nerve block shots and the numbing cream. I drove home by myself afterwards.

Everything is going ok post-procedure but I have one concern. I had the procedure done only on my forehead and I wonder if I will still be able to see a noticable difference between the treated and untreated areas once I am completely done healing and the redness subsides. Dudley, what have you noticed? Did you get it on your entire face? Can you see a difference between treated and non-treated areas? If it's a problem 3-4 months from now I might have the doc do Re:pair over my entire face if I have the money to do it. For now I will be wearing a hat all the time to cover up the treated area...

[Office Lase 0]

Not sure if anyone out there knows but does Re:pair help reduce skin redness from broken capillaries? I have redness on my face and it is embarrassing when I blush. My cheeks are the worst and I would like to have more of an even skin tone which I think Re:pair could help... but I'm not sure if it would reduce redness from broken capillaries. I may need the V-beam laser for that.

[Emhfali 0]

@dudley: hmm okay, i don't have icepicks, too. but do you think you had (very) bad acne scarring? or were your scars not sooo bad?

[DudleyDoRight 144]

Office, the first time they did my forhead at a lower setting the 2nd time it was 70mj-60%. I had some Rosacea that seemed to go away after the Repair.

Emhfali, I always thought my complexion was as bad as Edward James Olmos.

[AcnePwns 8]

How is does Repair cost vs Restore?

[DudleyDoRight 144]

Fraxel Repair and Fraxel Restore DO NOT COMPARE in type of laser or price. It is apples and oranges, and that is exactly the type of confusion I am talking about. Fraxel Repair is an ablative CO2 laser that costs $3-5 thousand, and it is much more intense than the non-ablative Fraxel Restore Eribium laser that runs under $1,000. You must wait 3-6 months in between Fraxel Repair treatments and the wait is much shorter for Fraxel Restore. Repair and Restore are as different as night and day, and should not be compared. The only thing close to Fraxel Repair is DeepFX, and I like Repairs rolling delivery better than FX. I hope this helps.

[Office Lase 0]

Dudley, did you only have the forehead done with Re:pair? Did you notice any difference between treated and non-treated areas a couple months later?

UPDATE: It is day 5 after Re:pair and my skin is itchy! I'm trying hard not to itch. I hear that being itchy is a good sign meaning I'm about to turn the healing corner and have my dead skin flake off revealing new, fresh skin. My skin is smooth and tight - I love it. The acne pit scars aren't really noticable. Howevermy skin is still a little swelled up and therefore I can't trust the skin will show no signs of scarring a few days from now. I have a checkup appointment with my doc tomorrow. I have a conference this week in Florida to go to so hopefully the doc will clear me to catch the long flight and be able to attend. I will post pics when I get back.

[Office Lase 0]

Re:pair really is a whole different beast from Re:store. Better results at a higher price and I believe a longer downtime. It has better results for acne scaring, brown spots, and skin tightening to look younger. More powerful which is good if you can find a good doctor with LOTS of experience using it.

[PokerFace 0]

Hey Dudley, I have a question. At what point does the redness from the re:pair completely fade? I'm currently doing a series of re:store and haven't seen that great of results as of yet. Doctors keep telling me that any fractional CO2 laser will give me horrible hyperpigmentation and say that I'll be red for up to six months. I find this hard to believe.

What's your experience with redness? Which doctor/clinic did you go to?

[DudleyDoRight 144]

Office, I had the whole face and neck done so there was no line of demarcation to deal with. I can see where this could be a problem when not doing a large enough area.

PokerFace, at one week I was flying to Florida, and nobody there said anything. At 2 weeks I was back at work, and everybody thought I had a tan from Florida. By 4 weeks almost all of the redness was gone. Hyperpigmentation is a problem for some so investigate it thouroughly. Most doctors will reccommend only the flavor of laser they are selling. If you have dark skin you must be extra careful. I don't know all the issues surrounding the hyperpigmentation issue because it didn't effect me.

[Office Lase 0]

I sorta wish I had my face/neck done instead of just the forhead. I'm flying to Florida this week and it would have been a great excuse for a sunburn. Instead I will be returning to work with a hat to cover my forehead (lasered area). Who knows how long I will have to wear it.

Dudley would the demarcation line be more of a change in pigment color or change in smoothness from treated and non-treated?

[DudleyDoRight 144]

Office, the only thing that stood out to me was right at the bottom of the neck and that was covered by my shirt. You were also treated at a lower level than I so it may not be noticeable, and the Florida sun is a great excuse. I lived there for 18 years.

[Office Lase 0]

I spoke to the doc today and both he and the nurse mentioned that many patients at their office have had partial face (ie. cheeks, forehaed) treatments and haven't had trouble with largely noticable demarcation lines. Time will tell for me

[AcnePwns 8]

Well this is definitely not an option for me then.. at least not any time soon. I don't have that much money to spend on one treatment.

[PokerFace 0]

thanks for the response Dudley.

You mentioned you could fly back to Florida in a weeks time. Where did you have the procedure done and by which doctor? It sounds like this doctor got you good results.

[Office Lase 0]

2 Week Post Update after Fraxel Re:Pair.

I am attaching photos to help those who are considering this procedure. I had the laser only on my forehead as the rest of my face does not have acne scarring.

The skin is still a little red. Redness is suppose to gradually go away after 1-3 months. However, as you can see from the "before" picture on the right my face is already red to begin with (I'm planning to do v-beam for this).

I am not sure how much my scars have improved but I do see a little improvement. My skin is smoother and a little tighter. I was told I would need 1-3 treatments. This was the first.

Note: The picture on the left is after Fraxel Re:pair. The picture on the right is the before.

[FourMurasame 0]

The result is great Office!

I have post acne scarring from teens and Im Asian. Just yesterday I had Re:store done and I did asked my dermatologist what was the difference between Restore and Repair. I signed up for a package of 5 treatments at a discounted rate.

Straight away he said "I will do Restore on entire face, but I will ONLY do Repair on spot areas. You're Asian, you cannot afford to have Repair done entire face and risk pigmentation."

Sadly I do tan and dive 1 to 2 times a year.

I'll do a chronicle of treatments I've done over the years:

2001: CO2 laser resurfacing (TERRIBLE! pain, oozing for weeks, pink for 8 months! Result was 70% approx. Not worth it)

2006 : 1st Fraxel using older model (SR750 I think?). Pain was tolerable.Pink and scabbing for 3-4 days, up and about 4th day. Result was ok, around 30%

2007 : 2nd Fraxel using older model SR750. Same thang

2008 : 3rd Fraxel using SR1500 (Im not sure if its Restore i did that time I'll have to ask the doc). Much faster healing then older model. 4th day Im all smooth and beaming. Also I have oiley skin, I noticed with Restore, I was basically oil free for weeks. Yes no joke, no shine. Result was slightly better too at around 40%

2009 7 Apr: 4th Fraxel using Restore. The pain is different from rest, milder and treatment was much faster. Today at 24 hrs post treatment, I feel like Im ok to go out. Somehow Restore is very much different from rest of fraxels Ive done.

I'll keep updating.

But 1 thing did help me speed up my healing. This was taught by my beautician. I bought a infra-red light facial therapy to be used 3 times a week, 10mins per session. Its suppose to help oxygenate and promote cellular dynamics. Everytime Ive had a pimple or after a fraxel, my face, especially the redness heals exceptionally fast. But you're not to do this light for 2 week post laser treatment.

In any event, I would rather go through multiple Restores then Repair. Im just so traumatized by CO2 done in 2001.

But strangely a friend of mine mentioned Restore penetrates deeper then Repair. Is it true?

[kingziggy 0]

The result is great Office!

I have post acne scarring from teens and Im Asian. Just yesterday I had Re:store done and I did asked my dermatologist what was the difference between Restore and Repair. I signed up for a package of 5 treatments at a discounted rate.

Straight away he said "I will do Restore on entire face, but I will ONLY do Repair on spot areas. You're Asian, you cannot afford to have Repair done entire face and risk pigmentation."

Sadly I do tan and dive 1 to 2 times a year.

I'll do a chronicle of treatments I've done over the years:

2001: CO2 laser resurfacing (TERRIBLE! pain, oozing for weeks, pink for 8 months! Result was 70% approx. Not worth it)

2006 : 1st Fraxel using older model (SR750 I think?). Pain was tolerable.Pink and scabbing for 3-4 days, up and about 4th day. Result was ok, around 30%

2007 : 2nd Fraxel using older model SR750. Same thang

2008 : 3rd Fraxel using SR1500 (Im not sure if its Restore i did that time I'll have to ask the doc). Much faster healing then older model. 4th day Im all smooth and beaming. Also I have oiley skin, I noticed with Restore, I was basically oil free for weeks. Yes no joke, no shine. Result was slightly better too at around 40%

2009 7 Apr: 4th Fraxel using Restore. The pain is different from rest, milder and treatment was much faster. Today at 24 hrs post treatment, I feel like Im ok to go out. Somehow Restore is very much different from rest of fraxels Ive done.

I'll keep updating.

But 1 thing did help me speed up my healing. This was taught by my beautician. I bought a infra-red light facial therapy to be used 3 times a week, 10mins per session. Its suppose to help oxygenate and promote cellular dynamics. Everytime Ive had a pimple or after a fraxel, my face, especially the redness heals exceptionally fast. But you're not to do this light for 2 week post laser treatment.

In any event, I would rather go through multiple Restores then Repair. Im just so traumatized by CO2 done in 2001.

But strangely a friend of mine mentioned Restore penetrates deeper then Repair. Is it true?

if you got 70% improvement with co2 laser. why was it not worth it? was it the downtime.

also office, my scars are mainly located on my forehead as well. please let us know whether you feel this procedure was worth it

[unfortunate1y 0]

wow. HUGE improvement. id say over 70% easily. veery huge improvement. im guessin there might still be some microswelling? it looks fantastic though. thank you for sharing your pictures, im going to get some laser treatment done and having the before and after photos on this site has dramaticaly impacted which one im leaning towards. I'd say another 2 or three with results like that and your going to look baby smooth. and FourMurasame, your improvement is at 170%? lol. sounds impressive. you prob meant improvement as per how your skin was right before each treatment rather then before all of them...thanks again for the photos office! keep it up.

[Office Lase 0]

Kingziggy, I think it is worth it if you have the time, money, patience, don't mind some pain, and aren't looking for a miracle. It's weird, a lot of people who have repair done say the results go away after a month or so but my doc says the skin will continue to grow collagen after 6 months and the results will continue to improve.

FourM, Repair goes really deep into the dermis unlike fraxels before. This is why it is believed to be the best fraxel to improve skin distortions such as scarring. It sounds like you have some great results! From those percentages you must have no more scars, right?

BTW if you do it make sure you get lots of pain killers before the procedure. Ask the doc to give you vicodin and bring a friend to drive you home afterwards. I wish i did!!!