Anyone had a series of fractional laser resurfacing treatments?

Hi, and thank you so much for sharing your experience. I have a small scar on the tip of my nose from where I had a mole burnt off over 20 years ago. It left a slight depression and I have been thinking this fraxel laser might work to pull the depression up and level out my skin? I guess it would be similar to an acne scar. My doctor said he is concerned it will just make the depression deeper? Can you give me any advice and tell me your outcome and experience so far? Thanks, Sandra

Wow - perhaps you should look for a new doctor. I was a lifeguard in college and my chin and lpi were droopy and full opf lines. One treatment (4 weeks ago) and I see a major difference. People are coming up to me to tell me how young I look. Even my waddle is tightened under my neck. I found Actvie FX to be very effective. I loved it. I was actually one of the first people my doctor did. He also did and 80 year old man who absolutely loves his skin

Hi there: Can you share with me, your doctor's name? I live in Atlanta as well. Thanks Editor note: you must join RealSelf so you can be contacted privately with doctor recommendations and feedback. This requires free registration for an account. When registering you must opt-in to receiving private contacts (a check box).

Can you please tell me the name of your doctor? I'm in the Atlanta area and looking to get fraxel for acne scars. Thanks!

I have had 5 treatments to address acne scaring. No change!

I had regular laser on my face. I had it done because of acne scarring and sun damgage.It can make it deeper. If you have scar revision 6 months prior to laser it will be erased. Scar revision they cut wear scar is and and pull together and stitch. then after 6 months perform the laser, results are fantastic. Research Dr. go with a plastic sugeon. I had a friend who didn't research and had full face and she did not research or have scar revision.Scars are deeper, rest of face looks great, but she wanted scars gone also. I told her what she should do, and she was in a hurry, listened to wrong Dr.had it done and scars do look so much worse. Everyone this is your face, i dont care how big or how small. research, ask around, call previouse patients(If doctors have nothing to hide they will have a call list and pixs)I volunteered mine number i was so pleased.RESEARCH RESEARCH BEFORE PROCEDURE!! GOOD LUCK.

I'm happy that your results turned out great. I too have acne scars and sun damage and was looking into laser resurfacing or fraxel. What do you mean by scar revision? They cut each acne scar? You must not have have but a couple scars. I have lots of scaring on my cheeks and can't imagine all the stitches they they would have to use. How could that look better? Sorry for so many questions but I'm soooooo ready for my skin to look better. Don't know which way to go.

I find it very hard to believe if you're over the age of 40 that your skin was tightened! any plastic surgeon will tell you this is hard to do without a face lift and liposuction.

Hi, I just did a fractional co2 laser on the entire face and plus spot treatment on my scars abt a month ago. Overall my face looks great but there re no improvement in my acne and chicken pox scars. In addition, I developed PIH on the scars areas which are treated with higher intensity of laser. I am seriously considering doing scar revision on my scars. I have been doing a lot of research online and there are a mixed reviews. A high percentage of people complained of dented linear line scars after scar revision. Can you please let me know based on your personal experience, how do you rate your scars after revision.

Hiya sounds wonderful, I have deep acne scarring on one side of my face, so too want to go ahead with the Fraxel laser treatment! Just wanted to know if the scars are totally gone now? Hope this finds you well and happy!

Acne scars look almost invisible right after the fraxel, but once the swelling is gone, scars are back to be the same. I had it done and it did nothing for me; however on the first week after the procedure my scars were amost invisible and I was happy, not anymore. Paid 2,000 for it.

Just curious what you're thinking now? I got mine done too and all the scars were gone due to swelling. Now that the swelling is gone they're all back. I think I see a slight change butnot much. I've been debating whether to pay the $3K for another 3 treatments so I would like to know where you stand. Thanks, Daisy

I read your comments with curiosity. Did you have only one treatment or did you do the series of treatments? The process is recommended at minimum of three Fraxel treatments and spans a time-frame of 4.5 to 6 months. The treatment takes place at the surface of the skin and also beneath it where collagen has to start building again. Age plays a role, too, because the older we get, the less collagen we produce. You should go someplace where your "before pictures" are taken at the get-go and then two months after the last treatment. Make sure the pictures are with a standardized piece of equipment that you put your face into. If you don't, you'll never be able to compare apples to apples.

i did send reply about a week ago not sure why it did not show up.well my second treatment of fraction laser was more intense but still did not need any numbing topical,swelling lasted about one week had just a little breakout in treated area.the bronzing of skin lasted about 10 weeks i do have a olive skin tone and i did ask my doctor to increase laser intensity.the cool touch laser was painfull even with numbing topical and it just gave me deeper scars.well hope this helps and good luck.

Hi Redhead, Can you tell me more about your experience with the Palomar Lux 1540? Now that about 8 months have gone by how do you feel about the results? How many treatments did you receive? How much improvement did you see in skin texture and did you feel it was worth it? I just had my first treatment about 6 days ago and am still red but my skin has calmed down considerably. The first few days after treatment i had a great deal of redness, pustules, irritation and itchyness and was worried about scarring. The redness is just starting to subside (today) and I am wondering about what kind of improvement I can expect to see and if i should go through with another treatment in 8 weeks. Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide.

misskitty, My daughter has acne scarred skin and wants Fraxel. What is the difference in what you had and Fraxel?

I would take your daughter to a board certified cosmetic dermatologist for her laser treatment. I know there is a lot that they can do for acne scars using a variety of different lasers (including fractional and fraxel). For deeper scars i think there are ways to correct them surgically too. There is also dermabrasion and dermal fillers - talk to your dermatologist. The fractional Lux1540 treatment is similar to fraxel in that they both use high precision microbeams to create narrow columns of tissue coagulation. These columns stimulate the body's natural healing response and cause new healthy tissue to form. There is less down time after a fractional treatment because only a portion of the skin is treated at one time. Also less risk of infection. On the flip side you need more treatments to see results and the treatments can be pricey (ranging from 400 - 800 per treatment). fractional is different from fraxel in that there is no long prep time required before hand (fraxel requires a blue dye be applied before hand - not something you can do on a lunch break). Since the fractional Lux1540 hand piece has a cooling tip the blue dye is not required. As far as my personal treatment, here has been my experience so far (it has been about 3 weeks): It took a full week for my skin to look somewhat normal again. The first few days were especially red, swollen, dry, flakey, several pin-head sized pustules formed but they resolve on their own. I was a little freaked out at first but now that my skin has calmed down i can see a little improvement (nothing dramatic, but i should see more improvement over the next two months). I have sensitive skin, melasma and am prone to post-inflamatory hyperpigmentation. After your daughters laser treatment make sure she handles her skin with kid gloves - her skin will get dry and flakey BUT absolutely no scrubbing and NO picking - I scrubbed a little and wished i hadn't because my skin felt so raw afterward. Have her use a high quality post laser treatment cream (such as skin ceutials epidermal repair cream). I also used a little neosporin because i was paranoid about infection, but i don't know if doctors recommend this. Good luck! http://www.palomarmedical.com/palomar2.aspx?pgID=1059 (palomar medical site - lux1540 fractional) http://www.fraxel.com/fraxelskinscience.cfm (reliant laser site - fraxel)

did you get the good result after the 1st treatment? i also got the treatment but so far it has been a month but I did not see the improvement. I will have the second one this week again, the doctor said you will see the result at leat after the 2nd treatment. will see

Hi I had the same treatment with the palomar lux 1540 and I swelled up like miss piggy. Looked like someone beat the crap out of me. I've had three treatments a month apart and one extra treatment under my eyes. It cost a lot and I can't say it did much. I still have discoloration on my face. Under my eyes were so dark everyone said I looked tired all the time. I really wanted the dark circles under my eyes gone and they told me it would take care of them. I really like the doctor I went to but this laser doesn't seem to be all it cracked up to be. My last treatment was in January. Under the eyes are lighting up a little. I wish someone could tell me which laser would really work to get rid on the broken blood vessels under the eyes and around the nose. Nothings really made much difference so far.

Hello there, you certainly seem to know a lot about laser surgery. I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I'm a 22 year old male with some acne scarring in my checks and jaw-line. It's not the worst case, but it's bad enough to completely rob me of my confidence and self-esteem. So, i went see a dermatologist and he said that i should start out on some special topical creams called "Obagi". Then he said i could try the Fraxel laser surgery.. I was kinda weary to just jump into it, especially because the dermatologist works for the same company (Kaiser Perminente) that i would be going to for the laser surgery. So, i saw another dermatologist and she said that the med group (not sure if that's the right terminology) she works for can preform Fractional laser surgery. That's what she recommended. What, in your oppinion is better?? Which one has less risk of giving me worse/deeper scars??? That's like the last thing i want.. I asked about dermabrasion, but she said that's just for the outter layerand that wouldn't really do anything for my scars.. Anyway, if anyone has any advice or has had any sucess please let me know.. Thank you all

Ari- check into the Pixel laser, Ive had it done and from the sounds of it you would be perfect for the procedure. Less invasive than Fraxel and is highly recommended for scarring. Good Luck

I actually got the fraxel laser surgery. It's alright. I've already had 3 treatments. I was recommended by the doc to have 4. I see a little difference. Not the greatest, but the progress is noticeable. I just have a little advice for anyone who has, or is, going to get laser surgery- your face will look really smooth for the first 2 to 4 weeks post surgery, so don't think that what you're seeing during that time is permanent. One mistake I made was by putting my appointments too close together(30 days. My face was possibly still a little swollen but looked to be smooth. I'd say put your appointments at least 40 to 50 days apart- that way you can REALLY see the difference.