Ablative Fractional Lasers

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Ablative fractional lasers shine an intense beam of light at the skin in a dot-matrix (imagine tiny polka dots) pattern. The light completely...

Ablative fractional lasers shine an intense beam of light at the skin in a dot-matrix (imagine tiny polka dots) pattern. The light completely removes (ablates) the epidermis in this dot-matrix pattern, leaving some of the skin intact. It also stimulates the underlying dermis to produce more collagen and elastin over time. Ablative fractional lasers attempt to approximate the efficacy of ablative lasers while not completely removing the entire surface of the skin, thus reducing side effects.

This procedure is normally repeated 3 times in 1-month intervals, and you should see gradual results with each session. And after your last session, your skin should continue to improve.

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Vanity

January 29, 2012

Pros:

- Smoother Skin
- Eliminated superficial scarring on cheeks
- Even skin tone
- Two day downtime + one vanity day
- My marionette lines are gone

Cons:

When you take off the Vaseline ready to see your GORGEOUS skin you just paid a fortune for... you find whiteheads all over your nose, cheeks and chin. -I thought my life was over.

If I read these reviews before I had my Pro-Fractional laser operation - I don't think I ever would have gone through with it... It is not THAT BAD you guys. It all depends on what the doctor is working with. I am a 21 year old female who has had a history of persistently light-moderate acne - depending on what time of the month it is. I had a problem with some superficial dents on my cheeks and really just wanted my skin to look like a 12 year olds. If I had baby skin and a few pimples I could live with that. Procedure was PAINLESS ok.. PAINLESS!!!! My doctor performed at 11% and 200 microns with Licodine numbing cream before hand and the procedure lasted about 10-15min. It was uncomfortable around my eyes and chin but I would not say it was painful - more irritating than anything and I have NO tolerance to pain. If i get a papercut I will cry all day from my low pain tolerance and neurosis. I did not bleed - I had about 10 dots of blood that you could not notice unless you were right up to my face. 48 hours later I washed my face and was mortified by my breakout and uneven skin texture/tone but the next morning it was 40% better with 70% of the new breakouts gone. This is a procedure you really have to wait on - be realistic. They are not burning off everything in sight - they are creating 1000's of microscopic pinholes in your skin. You wanted fast healing? Well your going to have to wait for the results. In three weeks I am getting another one done at 300 microns. I definitely think everyone should stop reading all these negative comments and think for themselves. My choice was a very fast one, I had read about the laser, and in 48 hours I was at the dermatologists. Best choice I have made for my skin in a long time

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Ella Mitchell9

December 22, 2011

Pros:

It works.

Cons:

It is painful, expensive, scary and you can't leave home for at least 3 days.

I am quite surprised to see that so many people have negative experiences with this. I have done this 3 times now. I have acne scars but no fresh acne. About 3 years ago, I did one round of FCO followed by a lighter round about 2 months later to further stimulate the collagen growth. I definitely saw improvements over the next few months/years. Smaller scars has disappeared while the larger/deeper ones looked shallower. I did not realise how much my skin had improved until I saw my "before" photos from 3 years ago. That was enough for me to go ahead and do it again a 3rd time. So far, it has been 1.5 weeks since I had my 3rd round. The effect it has had on my remaining scars was above my expectations. I am still a little pink from it but the healing seems to be complete. With a bit of light makeup, it is almost as though I have never had any scars. The first time around, I did my research based on the procedure itself (how it works, what to expect, how to take care, etc) but not so much on reviews and feedback. I have only just seen these reviews so it is a little surprising. If I had seen this earlier, I might never have dared to attempt the procedure. I guess the effect really depends on your skin type, the care taken by the dermatologist and also the after-care. All I can say is make sure you have a qualified and creditable dermatologist to carry out the procedure. If you happen to have extremely sensitive skin, you may want to reconsider going through with it as it may not be suitable for your skin. If you are still having active acne, you may want to ask for oral antibiotics to suppress it as the laser treatment stimulates the skin and may cause fresh breakouts. From days 1 - 5, it is quite normal to see "additional" scars, redness, peeling, crusting (you name it!). I will admit that it is really scary. I call it the "toast bread" look. But it is only temporary. It will get better when your skin heals. I think it is def

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andyvresis

October 31, 2011

Pros:

none that i can see
none that people close to me can see

Cons:

i got a horizontal scar on my face! it's not transient pigmentation either it's an actual gash
some of the small scars that were there are worse than before.

I had it done and I can't see any improvement. Those close to me can't see any improvement. Well, that is all fine, but in fact we can all see it has made things WORSE! There is a new gash on my face, which is not pigmentation, it is a horizontal scar. And some small scars are now larger. What can I do??? This is so stupid and regrettable. I don't care about the money I jsut want results. But how can they screw up so bad. Don't want to bring out the lawyers just want things back the way they were. I wanted just a little improvement to begin with but now it's a case of trying to figure out how to minimise the damage. More fraxel needed...?? OMG what are my options.

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TrixA

October 3, 2011

Pros:

At this stage, after 8th day, none.

Cons:

Pain, swelling, terrible cold sores, Not enough info on side effects, pushing for more spending,

So far I see some grooves on my skin I did not have before, my face is still bit swollen and red. Sun spot did not fade, and few acne spots appeared. I am not impressed and upset that cold sores might leave scars? Very expensive, and pressure on more purchases made me feel used for money with empty promises and no improvements.

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Mal

September 25, 2011

Pros:

Reduced my scars, made some of them go away completely. Definitely see a huge improvement!

Cons:

Downtime.

I just wish to share my experience on the Co2 Fractional Laser (SmartXide). Was initially very afraid because of all the negative reviews I saw here, but decided to go ahead anyway because if you never try, you never know. It's been a week and a half since my treatment and I am so happy I went for this. A little background - I am 23, Chinese, fair skin and have mild scarring (about 10 small ice-pick scars and a few boxcar scars). I asked my doctor before treatment what are the possible risks and he told me the main risk is hyperpigmentation. This doesn't happen to all people, just some. I shared with him about what some people say here about more scars, visible pin-pricks and grid marks from the laser even weeks after their treatment. He said this is because the settings of the laser were set too high by the doctor. If you are really concerned, just ask your doctor for possible risks, and ask him to give you a light setting for your first treatment. A 9-12mj will give you downtime for 3-5 days. I did a 17mj treatment which was enough for me. I think some doctors will agree to doing a test patch behind your ear, you can try it. Anyway I think I healed well because I really avoided the sun and makeup completely for 7 days. I just remained indoors and took a lot of water, vitamins, fruits, and rested a great deal. The pain is also bearable, as long as the doctor gives you numbing cream during the treatment. After that, just stay in a cold room and you will be pretty comfortable. On the night of treatment, it stung a bit when I washed my face before bed. Day 2 onwards, there was no pain, just a rough skin texture from the laser damage. I started peeling on the 4-5 day by little small dots. I think the key is to find a doctor you trust and who understands your concerns. I'm happy I did. Don't be afraid to try especially if scars have been affecting your life and confidence!!!

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regretpopping

September 13, 2011

Pros:

Looks like it might of helped for one larger boxscar

Cons:

-Can still see lines of demarcation
-Still patches of red skin
-Few Red Lines that weren't there before
-Left cheek still tingles

Fractional Erbium Laser: I'm not going to write a review bashing or blaming lasers like a lot of people on here have done. It's my own fault for not taking care of my acne before it caused damage to my skin. However, I will say that I haven't seen too much improvement. I underwent a free trial on a new prototype laser and was very optimistic since my doctor seemed very high on it. I'm suppose to have another free treatment shortly but I'm going to pass. I heard that Co2 lasers are the only ones that will give improvement to scars but this was suppose to penetrate as deep while being safer. I took about a million before and after pictures and I'm not quite sure if the laser caused any new damage, I am positive though that it didn't help and I do regret receiving treatment. I definitely have blotches of red patches that were not there before. So I don't think I would fare too well with a Co2 laser like Fraxel Repair. I just would advise anyone to do research and be 100% sure this or any procedure is what they truly want. I scoured the internet non stop for about two weeks but did feel rushed into it since it was free. I still do trust my doctor and the practice since they are very kind and only want to help. I just haven't seen the benefits. Who knows, I was told collagen production takes awhile and it would take 3 months to see it's full effect. Just hoping that one day they will perfect stem cells or some treatment so we can all fix our damaged skin. Good luck to anyone who undergoes any treatment and sorry about the lengthy review.

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eeddaka

September 11, 2011

Pros:

none

Cons:

fat loss
orange peel skin
widened pores
more scars
random indentations in skin
permanent redness
sensitivity to the light
severe dryness
hyperpigmentation
inflammation
aging of the skin (wrinkles, lines)

I, too, became a sucker. I had read the negative reviews and was worried about this procedure but I trusted the dermatologist when she said "how can you believe people on the internet more than me, a board certified doctor?" Well, what I should've realized was that, wherever there is money involved, you have to be suspicious. The people writing the bad reviews online are brave enough to share their stories and caring enough to want to warn others of the risks that doctors will not tell you. After this, I can never trust any doctor again because the truth is, their clinics and practices have become money-making machines and they don't really care about their patients anymore. Anyways, I had one treatment of CO2 fractional laser over 21 months ago and the damage is still surfacing more and more. My skin looked ok for the first 2-3 months but that's when the redness and hyperpigmentation showed up and never went away. Then the fat loss (this may not seem like a big deal but it is, trust me, I took the fat in my face for granted. Losing it has altered the structure of my face so that I don't even recognize the person I see in the mirror anymore). It is severely depressing to lose your face. I know this sounds outrageous, but others out there who had this procedure can attest to what I'm talking about. The skin texture has become dry, leathery and has so many shallow pits in it, it resembles the skin of an orange. To get a good idea of what your skin will look like, long term, go find an orange and consider whether you'd like that as your skin. Also, my skin's become so sensitive, I can't go outside without a hat, staying in the shade and SPF 70 sunscreen. Also, being only 25, but with the laser induced wrinkles and lines, I look like I'm at least 40. My 60 year old mother and father have better skin than I do. The bottom line is, don't put any kind of lasers to your face. No matter the condition of

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Snookie

August 15, 2011

Pros:

More even, smoother skin

Cons:

Down time is about one week, stayed slight pink until my next fraxel treatment.

I have just received my 3rd fraxel and have 1 more to go. I am happy so far but I am concerned reading some the bad reviews. Some had problems after 1 or 2 years following fraxel stating that the damage will start to show looking worse than before. Can those who had fraxel after several years and are happy with the results, please share their experience? That wouuld be encouraging to know in the long run things can be ok. Did your skin look worse than before fraxel?

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hinbe25

June 12, 2011

Pros:

none!
and don't get false hope by reading reviews of people that aren't a full year out from this procedure

Cons:

Expensive at $900 a treatment x 4
Doesn't work
fat atrophy
loss of skin elasticity
permantent redness
enlarged pores

I very much agree with Anonymous from La Jolla CA. Don't reveiw this procedure untill you're at least 6 months out, but more like a year or futher. These lasers plump your scarrs for about a month after each session and honestly your face does looks great, but sadly you've only been tricked into thinking its working, so you do more like the doctors say. However, once you stop the treatments, after about a month or 2 the swelling goes down your face looks exactly the same as before the treatments, or maybe worse if you end up with permanent redness in areas like I did. Then, a few months later you're in for the real treat. After about 6 months was when the real side effects kicked in. I started noticing enlarged pores, I had permanent redness at the base of my nose and smile lines, loss of skin elasticity, and fat atrophy. The tissue on my face continued deteriorate for at least a year. It aged my skin so much by the time I was only 24 (I was 22 when they were done). I wish I had never had these done. They did nothing for my scars and aged my skin drastically

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hinbe25

June 12, 2011

Pros:

Co2 maybe shallowed some of my deeper scars, but sooo many more cons than pros, including more scars.

Fraxel none

Cons:

I have had both fraxel restore (4 at $900 each) and traditional co2 resurfacing ($3,200)and both only made me hate my face more.

Fraxel
didn't work at all
enlarged pores
made scars widen
caused fat atrophy
caused permanent redness around nose and smile lines

Co2
long and gross down time
hyper and hypo pigmentation
caused lots of little 'nick' scars and ridges in skin
further fat atrophy
further enlarged pores
caused burn like appearance and tex

I really hate lasers. They ruin your skin in so many ways, are too expensive, and don't work, but doctors love to push them on people because they make so much money. The only type of person I would ever even think to suggest this procedure to was someone with really, really bad scarring all over their face. Like moon crater bad where all the side effects might be worth the reduction of scars. And then I would only suggest the stronger lasers (yag, traditional Co2) with a very experienced doc that can show you pics of THEIR work. But again I would only maybe suggest this procedure in the worst of worst acne scarring. I would never suggest fraxel to anyone though. It doesn't work, cost tons, and as much as they say there is no risk there are side effects. I had quite a lot of moderate and mild scarring scattered all over my face and a couple of deep scars. So, from what the doctors said these seemed like the best options because there were so many scars to treat and few of them could have been treated with subsition/punch graph or similar methods. I was so wrong to listen to them. I wasted so much money and they ruined my face. I have lost so much fat in my face now and the texture is so uneven I won't even wear makeup because it looks horrible on my skin and makeup was the only thing that use to give me confidence by hiding my scars. Because of the fat lose I am already thinking of a face lift and I'm only 27. Not that my skin is really saggy, but it is lose and by no means taught, causing scars to be more noticeable, lines and the appearance of my face to be different. Please don't use lasers!! On a positive note, I started using derma rollers and now stamps. The stamps really, really work!! You just have to be a little patient. I do it once a month. Stamp (1.8mm) all areas 15-20 times and start seeing results in a week. My scars have improved so much in the last few months. I just wish I had discovered this before my face was wrecked b

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