Had (3) Fraxel II treatments over the course of 3 months to address rolling acne scars. After the first treatment I was really excited because I'd thought that all of my scars had disappeared over night, but after 3 days when all of the swelling had gone down I realized that all the improvement was just due to swelling. I went back for 2 more treatments expecting improvement and getting none. From reading messages on this board it seems that perhaps Fraxel alone is not the right treatment for rolling scars and maybe I should have tried subcision first. The place I went to did not even mention subcision. I will try that next.

My doctor was a board certified w/good rep. He was very professional when i first went in but when he saw the results he changed. Practically threw me out of the office. Before surgery he said he could take care of any problems that came [link removed]plete turnaround after.So many doctors didn't want to touch me.Sent me to other doctors.Found out he used the highest level on me & wreck my skin. I've had fraxel 2 x's, about 5 ipl, perfecta 2x's & affirm at least 4x's& still getting more. Had to get a filler for some that were too deep.Still don't go out without 1 or 2 hrs of prep time & so much anxiety every day looking at it. I found a silicone patch that seems to smooth them out a bit.Old marks were nothing compared to the problems I have now. The new doctor said he wouldn't try co2 or any laser to take off my top layer now. Skin is too thin now, has 2 b built up from underneth. At least I got my money back from complaining so much but spending so much more fixing.

You always see lots of negative reviews; but most people wont take the time to write a positive one. This works. I am in my late 30's and have suffered with severe acne since I was 13. When I was 23 I went through Accutane treatments. This brought my acne under control, but never got rid of it. In the last year i began having significant problems and needed to see the Dermatologist again. for the last 7 months i have been on a treatment of Minocin and Stievamycin. This has completely cleared up my skin and i have been "acne free" for 3-4 months. it was time to do something about the years of damage and my MD recommended Fraxel Re-Store. the procedure took approximately 2 1/2 hrs. it was 1 1/2 hrs for the numbing cream to work and then an hour for the procedure. I have heard several people compare the pain to being minor; like a shock. i will tell you it HURTS! perhaps this is because of the level of damage, but i had 8 passes over my entire face at a high level and by the end of it I was coming up off the chair with each pass. That being said, the results show. it has been 4 days and the swelling and redness are down significantly. i am able to go to work and it looks like i spent too much time out in the sun. It itches like crazy, but a good moisturizer helps with the itch. make sure moistureizer is hypo-allergenic and non comedogenic. I have read several others have problems with breaking out after the procedure. i also had a slight breakout of small whiteheads; but i think it was more to do with fluid under the dead top layer of skin. i have been using an antibiotic since the day of the procedure and have not had any more trouble with breakouts. I used pure all natural aloe all over my face constantly for the first two days. do not get an aloe that is green or blue or smells strong. you want a hypo-allergenic aloe with no colors or smell. natural aloe is very good for the skin and wont clog your por

three weeks after my first fraxel treatment, I noticed a 30% reduction in my acne scarring. I just had my second treatment today and I am awaiting to see results. It will be about three weeks before i will see the results but I will keep everyone informed. I had my first treatment at a level 6 at 40mj. My second was at level 7 at 40mj. I could still talk as i was being fraxeled so I am going to request a level 9 at 50mj for my third session.

Acne scars are debilitating. I'm finally glad there is a treatment that offers me a chance to put the scars of my youth behind me. I know I'll have some work to do build my self confidence, but having a face I can like will sure help me achieve that end.

My skin is much smoother and continues to improve in collagen as per the scientifically proven results. My pores and acne scars are lessened considerably, ~ a good 60 % improvement. I have not had any permanent negative reactions or skin changes. The minimal down time after each procedure and then improvements. I follow ALL directions, wear hats, wear Mexoryl sunblock by La-roche Posay. I have had wonderful results, but it did take until after the 3rd treatment to see big changes. I prefer to do these procedures when the Sun is furthest from my location. Since I'm in L.A., I steer clear of these procedures during mid- Spring through Summer, only to do them starting in November- March. After the 4th procedure my skin made another leap in smoothness, pore size, the bumps and pits from acne scaring are lessened. I'm eager to do my 5th come November and see what results will surface. Skin care budget is in lasers now rather than expensive skin creams. I'm using Sh

Depending upon which laser you use will determine your end result. CO2 is still considered to be the "gold standard" for acne scar revision. Fraxel laser (4 to 6 txs) will give you result but it is only about 50 to 80 percent of what you can acheive with one CO2 treatment. The result is very dependent upon the experience of the Doctor or Laser tech. Please research your clinic.

I only had one treatment and see about a 20% improvement. At 800 a treatment, I think I might do one more. I wish the results were greater....

After 3 courses of Accutane over a decade ago, I had 2 Fraxel restore treatments at the highest intensity. One month after the second treatment, I notice tiny pits all over my skin where the lasers were, which gives it a bumpy texture. My pores have shrunk minimally, but my scars almost seem deeper after the treatments. I've noticed that my skin heals much more slowly after the Accutane treatments. My guess is that because of the drugs I've taken in the past, my skin does not respond to Fraxel laser trauma by healing itself. It just gets further damaged. I'm going to visit my doctor before having a third treatment, because I read someone else's review stating that Fraxel after multiple Accutane courses also left them with damage.

I'm a white 52 year old woman. I have had acne scaring since I was 13. In my twenties and thirties I would get that once a month dreaded whopper of a zit prior to my period leaving yet another deep pitted scar almost each month. Do the math on that one! I had my first and only child at 37 it was only then that the acne finally stopped. Mine must have been very hormonal in nature. I have done some modeling and local TV and was always very self conscious about the appearance of my face. Five years ago never having any surgery or cosmetic procedure I decided to do something I had always dreamed of doing - improve the texture of my face. I had it done by a very renowned Chicago Plastic Surgeon. After a consultation he advised me this was the only way to go for my deep scarring. I asked about dermabrasion and CO2 but he said those were old and not really used anymore and this was the way to go. The procedure was relatively new and I was told that the laser was The Doc's "new baby"! That should have been my first hint. Nothing like being a guinea pig for your very first cosmetic procedure! I felt for many of you who described the procedure as being very painful. My guess it you may not have a high pain threshold and thiner skin. Fortunately for me I literally have thick skin and a very high tolerance for pain. The procedure itself was not painful, it was the few hours after. Imagine your worst sunburn on and amplify that by 5. I think people thought I was crazy as I drove home in Chicago with all the windows down in the middle of January, but the cool, crisp air was refreshing and a distraction from the pain. Hint bring some Ibuprofen with you and take it before you leave the office. It will help with the swelling and the pain once the numbing cream wears off. Also make sure you have ice packs or the equivalent waiting at home and be diligent about icing every 20 minutes or so. I'm not going to lie my face looked like I had been in a minor fire. Since I responded so well due to my thicker skin, they went on a higher lever during my first treatment. I had it done on a Wednesday and by Friday was able to go to dinner and a movie with what looked like a minor sunburn. Pealing was very minor and much like the other gals it was brown in color. I found Aquaphor (found at your local drugstore) helpful in preventing infection and keeping the skin moist post lasar to be most helpful. Prior to my fist vist they took a photo of me as they wanted to use me in their marketing materials for a before and after results photo and I agreed to this. After 5 treatments over a span of 6 months I saw improvement of about 25%, which now years later have all but disappeared and most of the deeper scars are all back. Also, oddly I had never had broken capillaries, and they started to appear around the thinner areas of my face right after the first treatment. When I mentioned this, they admitted that sometimes this laser can do that. They suggested that I could have another type of laser treatment to get rid of those! Unreal huh? For about the first year I felt it was much improved, but I'm not sure if that was the Fraxel or the Botox and Restylane I was talked into during one of my subsequent visits. In retrospect, when these new procedures come out the Doctors are very excited about them, but the truth is they really don't know what the long term outcome will be for the majority of the patients. Five years later if I were to do it over again for me and my types of scaring, I would and should have had a more invasive procedure like dermabrasion followed by a strong chemical peel. In fact at a conference about a year later I met another Plastic Surgeon, with whom I consulted with. He was shocked by the other doctors choice for my particular scarring. Another hint- always get a second opinion! Oh yeah... remember the "before" picture they took and wanted to take the after? Guess what? They never asked to take the "after picture" for the practices' marketing collateral. I will let you guess why...Remember what I said about being a guinea pig! Seriously, I think for very minor scarring this may work, but for moderate to severe... not so much folks.