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
March 13, 2008
Cons:
Very painful to me. Huge swollen face for 48 hours. "No downtime" is insane. Needed Vicodin afterward and my pain tolerance has always been pretty high. 5 days after treatment had a terrible acne breakout. Like a rash, but some of the acne remains.
The improvement in the upper half of my face gives me hope in spite of the pain and aftermath. Unfortunately those of us with acne scarring are willing to go through almost anything to finally have smooth skin. I will reluctantly but hopefully continue my fraxel treatments. But would love some suggestions on how to deal with the problems I had -- particularly the acne breakout since this is the problem that got me here to begin with. My dr. is treating my scarring very aggressively. I am willing to tolerate the pain (although next time I will go in having taken a Vicodin). But I'm afraid that the additional breakouts are just going to contribute further to my scarring. Time will tell. Next treatment is in two weeks.
November 29, 2007
Pros:
The pain is tolerable, the cost for spot treatments were alot less expensive than doing the whole face
Cons:
Your face is red & swollen so you think it is going to work. Then a week into it you notice the scars are coming back....
I am tired of being SOLD on products because the doctors know how badly you want results.I have had 6 Fraxel treatments done. The first series was one a week for 4 weeks. I saw a slight (10%) improvement in my scars after 6 months. After a year I went back to the same doctor & had 2 more. No additional results at all from those additional 2 treament. I would stay away from the Fraxel treatment for acne scars it just doesn't help.
Then I tried the Fractional Lux 1520 which is a more aggressive laser (they claim), it's more expensive but less painfull. Still recovery time is 3-4 days of redness. I has 2 treatments out of 4, every 3 weeks. I did have alittle improvement on 1 large scar I had but that was it so I quit going. The bottom line is we all wish we could find a doctor who actually understood what we are going through. It's about the money. I am going to start asking if they will guarentee the procedure. If they believe in the procudure & the results they will do it.
October 20, 2007
Pros:
smoothed out skin a little
Cons:
expensive, very uncomfortable, sweeling after treatment---waiting to see
cancelled my appt for session 2--will wait and see my results first
October 1, 2007
Pros:
Reduces scarring
Cons:
expensive and painful
I have had 3 sessions so far and have been very pleased with the results. I had depressed scars on my chin from hormonal, cystic breakouts. I have to add again even through reviewer (also from atlanta, maybe same dr) make sure your doctor is using the latest, second version of the Fraxel and leave numbing cream on for the full hour - major difference in comfort level. Will need more than one treatment. My dr charges $3900 for 4 sessions and does not have an option for fewer treatments.
September 26, 2007
Pros:
minor improvement of some scarring
Cons:
expensive, very painful, left me with some discoloration followed by a major breakout of a small blister-like rash across cheeks and chin
I have a great dermatologist who was very excited about my trying the Fraxel. After three treatments and $3100 later, I was left with one side of my face darker than the other, skin that is breaking out unless I am on an antibiotic and using a topical cream every night. The first two treatments were tolerable, the the third one was the killer. I am 55 years old and haven't had any breakouts in years. As a result, my doctor gave me two photo - rejuvenation treatments at no cost. I'm very sorry I tried Fraxel. I am pretty much back to where I was before I had the treatments, but out a lot of money. The swelling you experience after each treatment is almost psychologically cruel - your face looks great, (red, but scarring is gone) only to have it all come back when the swelling goes down. Don't get your hopes up.
September 15, 2007
Pros:
4-5 days followinf procedure, noticed that my skin was smoother and softer
Cons:
minimal improvement after three treatments. The price-- Jesus!for 2800, I expected a significant improvement.
I would recommend doing this in the winter, as your skin needs to be as pale as possible to optimize laser effects as well as minimize the difference in face-body coloring you will have following treatment. I have superficial pink-red scars and medium tan Caucasian coloring; I did not find this to be very effective, esp. not for the price. Six months later, I have undergone two MD chemical peels and am much more satisfied with the results, at about 1/4 of the price. I would suggest exploring other options, considering the ridiculous price tag.
August 30, 2007
Pros:
Have had 2 treatments with Fraxel II. So far, just skin tone improved. The pain is minor with numbing gel.
Cons:
Ridiculously overpriced at 1000 to 1250 per session. Should be 1/2 or less to provide value equal to results.
The treatments have been at 50mj / level 7 and 65mj / level 9 respectively. 14 passes, with extra passes over deeply scarred areas. This is fairly aggressive treatment. After the peeling, skin is red, then pink for 2 weeks. The skin is delicate and scratching or rubbing with towel can leave abrasions / marks. Skin bronzes and looks like a fake tan, doesn't match rest of body. Have to use skin bleaching to counteract bronzing, but the bleach turns skins irritated red in areas. In the morning, the results are similar to a freshly washed face after a nice shower. skin appears tighter and glowing at times and then later in the day, it turns darker again and looks unnatural and scars seem to stand out more than usual.
I don't tell anyone that I had fraxel done. I want to see if anyone can see a difference without any prompting from me. So far, not a word from anyone. I have 3 more to go. and the results are supposes to be noticeable after the 3rd. As of now, fraxel does not impress me.
June 10, 2007
Cons:
Had my 3rd fraxel. Very little improvement on skin texture. Mild acne scars still there. The blue dye stays on several days. Right after treatment is the worst: the pain, the swelling, blue tinged face.
After 3 treatments, I have yet to see any kind of good results. Skin texture the same, minor acne and dermabrasion scars still there. Am exceptionally unhappy about having to have a blue tinged face for several days after treatment. The dye is hard to wash off. Am glad I have only 2 more treatments left in the package that I bought. It's such a pain to go through it.
May 24, 2007
Pros:
minimal down time.
Cons:
benefit (or lack thereof) does not justify the huge price tag
I had 4 treatments last year, prior to the upgrade in techonology to the Fraxel II. $4,000 later, I had no improvment at all in my scarring. There was very mild improvement in my skin firmness and some fine lines, but this was gradual after treatment. I was very discouraged, as others with my type of scarring (rolling) seem to do better with Fraxel than I did. Prior to the Fraxel, I had had 5 treatments of a combo of Erbium YAG and Smoothbeam,which also did nothing. I just met with a new laser Dr, who says the Fraxel II might actually work for me. Needless to say, I'm skeptical. After close to $10,000 of treatment that did not work, it's hard to commit to another round with another laser, though maybe new Dr will make the difference. NOTE TO THIS WEBSITE: THIS TREATMENT (FRAXEL) SHOULD BE UNDER THE CATEGORY OF SCARRING TREATMENTS, NOT ACNE TREATMENTS.
May 23, 2007
Pros:
3 days of down time, manageable pain. I have had 5 Fraxel treatments for the ice-pick scars on my cheeks area. The last treatment was 3 weeks ago, I have to say the results is minimal.
Cons:
Costs. Not sure if I would go for the scheduled 6th treatment.
I would be happy with 50% improvement, but not sure if I would get there.
Pros:
I have had one Fraxel treatment exactly two weeks ago. The skin on my cheeks shows nice improvement with smaller pores. However, it was the scars on my chin that were the real concern for me and I notice NO difference there.