Good or Excellent Response
46%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Moderate Response
81%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Side Effects
Low-Medium
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist or plastic surgeon? Make an appointment to get this procedure done. Don't have a dermatologist or a plastic surgeon? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find a dermatologist or the American Society of Plastic Surgeons to find a plastic surgeon.
Used Non-ablative Fractional Lasers? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
July 21, 2009
Cons:
There is down time from two to ten days depending upon which laser is used but we have never had anyone that did not get any result.
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.
May 20, 2009
Pros:
evened out skin tone, scars appear lighter, not as deep.
Cons:
painful and expensive
there is no miracle cure for scarring. The Dr. told me I would see about 50-70% improvement. I think that is what I got. Go to a good Dr. with a lot of experience. Mine was great. I had 3 treatments and may do a couple more. They build upon each other so you must be patient. You are not going to have 1 or 2 treatments, come home, look in the mirror and all the scars are gone. They do say the collegen will continue to rebuild 6 months after the treatment. It is painful but when you think of the results, it's worth it.
April 25, 2009
Pros:
I am amazed. I've had four done and some of my scars are completely gone, while the others are severely diminished. It helps, though, that I took lots of vitamins, ate well, and did yoga breathing during the recovery time.
Cons:
Expensive for the average person. Painful during procedure.
It worked. The scars are either gone or minimized and best of all, it seems to have stopped the cystic acne by healing the sebaceous glands. My skin simply functions better now. It truly feels like a rejuvenation rather than a mere cosmetic fix. Considering the money I have spent on all sorts of acne treatments, getting a fraxel treatment every other year or so for maintenance seems do-able. I had none of the negative effects that others have written about. No crusting and I was socially presentable within two days. Much may depend on the doctor and the type of fraxel done.
April 7, 2009
Pros:
smother skin loads more confidence
Cons:
a little red for a few days and it is a bit painfull but no pain no gain
haveing tried many different treatments for slight acne scaring including 2 exoderm peels and 1 cool touch laser .I have to say this treatment is by far the best i have tried with results i could have only dreamed of i have had 5 fraxel restore treatments spaced 4 weeks apart did not see much inprovement after 2-3 treatments but treatments 4-5 i really could see a big inprovement it has really changed my life and i feel so confident with the way my skin looks now with everybody telling me how good i look
December 20, 2008
Pros:
best resurfacing ever without a lot of downtime - it must be done 3 weeks apart for 4-5 treatments for best results
Cons:
very expensive and hurts a bit
I will do it once a year as I can afford it to keep my smooth skin but you have to do dan's regimen or you're face will break out and cause scarring or spots right back where you started.
October 6, 2008
Pros:
My skin feels softer, smoother, pores appear smaller. The light in the laser gives off heat and cleared up all of the bacteria under my skin and active acne. My "poc" mark on my forehead is lighter. Not gone, but looks better after 1 treatment.
Cons:
I was expecting a lot of pain but only felt pain in certain areas. (jaw line and temples...OUCH!) Afterwards I was red. I was a little swollen right after but not enough to stay indoors.
Bottom line, the pain factor all depends on you. Many people have said it was so awful and I went in thinking I would die. If you've had laser hair removal, you can do THIS. My Med-Spa had a really great after treatment gel and that helped with the "heat" and "reddness" afterwards. I've only done 1 treatment and already feel it was a positive. I have 2 more to go and can't wait to see how much better my skin gets by the end. So, if you can afford it, do it. Just make sure you find someone who knows what they're doing. Sounds like there are a lot of uneducated Dr's out there performing this treatment.
July 29, 2008
Pros:
Not long recovery. See way smaller pore size, face feels smoother and looks smoother and so far about a 50% improvement in my acne scars on my cheeks, plus stopped breaking out.
Cons:
feels like bee stings while getting it done. Burns like your face is on fire for an hour or so after done, and face red and swollen for 24-48 hours, then feels tight and dry for about a week
So far so good. I paid for 5 fraxel treatments and 1 pulse light treatment. I see dramatic improvement in my skin and acne scars. The redness of them 80% lighter and the depth is about 50% lessened. I stll have to treatments to go and it supposed to take 6 months after your final treatment to see the whole results. I go next monday for the pulse light to help sun damage and skin discoloration, etc. then back for the other fraxel treatments. Bottom line so far so good, worth every penny. Will keep posted of final results
July 9, 2008
Pros:
Amazing results, everything!
Cons:
It all depends on where you go and who does it.... PLEASE shop around, when you have your consultation make sure you are talking to the ACTUAL person who is going to be performing work on you, and make sure you are confident that they know everything
I cant believe the dramatic results from this procedure, my wife is a laser technician, so I get ALOT of services done for free. I used this for my stretch marks, burn scar, facial wrinkles, and sun damage. I can honestly say that EVERY problem I had was taken care of. After the first treatment it took 2 days till i started getting noticed by strangers saying what amazing skin I had, and even friends swore I had a real face lift. If you follow what your tech says, I cant say for other clinics, but where i went was very professional and informative, so just follow your techs instructions and you will be amazed!!!
Speaking on the pain, I had to try it without any numbing agent to give it a honest review and case study, so It was pretty bad, it was worse than Laser Hair Removal, but not as bad as Laser Tattoo Removal. Then I used the Numbing Cream, and It was 1000% better, I barely had any pain at all, just be sure they use a tetracane Based Cream.
July 2, 2008
Pros:
Fraxel Re-Store is what I used.
Downtime is low: 12 hr after my first treatment, my swollen face is almost 80% back to normal. Scare will get better, side effect none.
My God, do yourself a favor. . try this and get your face and confidence b
Cons:
Pricy. . .
Imaging you can look good under florescent, back lit light again. I'm an asian male, 30 y.o, fair skin (light asian) my scars were many smalls on cheeks/temples, with 2 or 3 moderate spots on one cheek and lower chin/mouth area. Moderate scars were with cyst. Base on the study, the improvement is almost guaranteed cause Fraxel is a physical device that force your skin to regenerate (the good ones stretch to fill where the laser hit) I know it's a matter of time and how many treatment so my concern was only with down time. I can happy to report that with Fraxel Re:Store, I can go to work on the second day and just claim I went to the beach, no problem. Beside the price, I think this is the answer to our scar healing prayer. . you owe yourself a consultation at least. . .
I am expecting a 60% improvement for my moderate scars, 90% for small 1s. I can't believe I can have my old face back, I'd go to hell just for 50% better! Best thing for my face ever! Thank u, Dr. Groff from La J
June 25, 2008
Pros:
It actually works!!!
Cons:
patience is virtue!!!
after completing my 5 series of treatments i was utterly disappointed... there was only a slight improvement.... it's been almost 3 mths since my last treatment... n guess what it actually works.... not 100% but about 60-70%... so bottom line is dont be disappointed and just quit if u do not see any result after your 1st or 2nd treatment... even after your last one... it's totally worth it!
p.s: pls continue taking care of ur skin even after u completed ur treatments. wear sunscreen and avoid the sun!!!! eat vitamins!!
Pros:
I have worked in a laser clinic since 1993. I have seen remarkable result from CO2 resurfacing for acne scars and some good results from Fraxel lasers