I'm surprised this has such low ratings. I've had great results and about 70% improvement in scarring with 11 sessions of the Fraxel DUAL 1550/1927 laser over the past few years. Background: I have thick oily skin, with rolling and boxcar scars from teenage cystic acne. I use prescription strength retinol nightly (Tazorac 0.1% gel) to keep my skin clear, however despite clear skin, there was still plenty of scarring and in the sunlight my skin texture looked worse than an orange peel. I had heard that Fraxel dual was the gold standard for getting rid of acne scarring and despite some poor reviews took the plunge and it was the best decision I've made in my life. I do around 3-6 sessions per year (the max # of sessions you can do is 6 a year) and paid about $570 for each session because my local provider had a package discount. I logged my experience with the settings and recovery for reference below. Most of the sessions were administered on the highest setting (70 MJ) because I have light, thick skin and thus can handle it. I really didn't see much results before hitting this highest setting, so if you have similar skin type I would highly recommend being as aggressive as possible in these sessions. Recovery took about 5-7 days for me to get rid of swelling and crustiness (as in I stopped looking like a red lobster blowfish hybrid monster and can leave the house again with full coverage makeup). Full recovery with skin being back to normal (no redness, no peeling) and where I can wear light makeup normally again is about 21 days. I found using aquaphor helped greatly in speeding up restoring the skin's barrier. To get rid of flakes and molting I resumed my prescription retinol tazorac immediately the night of the treatment and it helps drastically as well (note this is generally not a recommended approach - most doctors advise stopping retinol 2 weeks before and resuming 2 weeks after, but I chose to not follow this because I know my skin can handle it. And I got really good results.) The only negative I can think of is that the actual treatment is quite painful. My nurse does 4 horizontal and 4 vertical passes and on the highest setting, even with numbing cream, every single pass feels like the sharp side of a heated knife mildly scraping against my skin. But it goes by quickly if you think about other things. No pain no gain right? Fraxel Log 2014 October ' 55 MJ: Lots of pustules, took a long time to heal November?? : no pustules; lots of redness many weeks after 2015 November ' 55 or 60 MJ: no pustules, took ~ 6 days December ' 60 MJ: took 5-6 days 2016 November ' 65 or 70 MJ ' most dramatic improvement but very dry and flaky in the healing process December ' 70 MJ ' healing took shortest time; laser pressed lightly. But had red patch and peeling skin near nasolabial fold for weeks after 2017 May ' 70 MJ: This is the 3rd day but my face texture seems so smooth, like normal skin. It used to be really rough, dry, coarse and flaky, even when I use tazorac religiously following the session. June ' 70 MJ ' I would say my skin is 70% smooth now. In darker lighting/shadows there are still the pits, but I'm hopeful the next few sessions will get rid of that. July ' 70 MJ August ' 70 MJ September ' 70 MJ: skin continues to be smoother with each session. Rolling scars seem to have flattened considerably; the icepick scars look more like big pores now which can be covered with primers (Benefit Porefessional) and setting powder (Tarte smooth operator amazonian clay setting powder)

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.

It's only been a month or so after my first fraxel so maybe the redness will disappear and I'll return to normal again some day soon:) If that happens I'll probably come back and post another review (a more positive one). Until that day I'm not that impressed with Fraxel II.

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.

in my case to remove pigment: Number of treatments: 5 to my face -They explained that each time about 20% the skin is treated, leaving 80% to help rebuild that 20% and so that you don't 'look' like you've been put through a serious treatment. Cost: $1,000 each (but I bought a package for $3,800) Pain Level: numbed at office for 1 hour before and it wasn't that bad, felt like a sunburn that night though & dry itchy the following few days. Since I have brown spots I've been using a prescription bleaching cream everyday, up to the day of treatment, and then I wait 5 days and start using it again. They explained that this would help fade the dark spots and it's been working nicely. Microderms and chemical peels only treat the surface, as I've tried those for years. Photofacial is not recommended for my olive complexion, but Fraxel is safe for Hispanic and Asian skin types from what I read. Use a super light face lotion to help dryness, but you want it to flake off.

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.

I had been trying a lot of things because I'm a trainee for the entertainment business, and obviously, that means acne definitely can't be there. One of my friends who did it recommended it and so I tried it, and I have to say, it hurt a lot. But on the same note, it's painful but I'm always excited for my next treatment. It really is worth it, it cleared up the current acne that I had and also made my skin texture much more smoother and did a great deal on the acne scars that I had. But the most noticeable thing is that my face used to be pretty oily, but now, it is completely dry (but moisturized). If you plan on traveling to Seoul, S. Korea anytime, be sure to drop by Kangnam; they have so many dermatologist clinics that offer Fraxel, they're all competing with new specials and prices. *Be sure to remember that on the day of the treatment, you'll be red and won't want to go anywhere other than stay in your home. It's not painful after the treatment though

I ve had a total of 2 treatments so far and the results are evident. I can also completley agree w/ oregon comments on the agressivenes the doctor needs to have on treating the area.I notice the intensity my doctor uses when going over the more severe scarring.And I know thats going to impact the outcome of my results. And so far its looking as though their is a light finally at the end of the tunnel.And Im excited!!!

I would be happy with 50% improvement, but not sure if I would get there.

swollen for 1.5 days - red for 1 day...brown for a long time. My face does not shed dry skin easily - i feel like i have a mask of brown crust on my face which won't come off. I cannot scrub my face as it is not recommended - i hope this goes away soon...its been 5 days since my 2nd fraxel treatment. would i recommend it? that's really undecided... any help on getting rid of the crust wud be appreciated!