Anyone had a series of fractional laser resurfacing treatments?

Its the biggest rip off ever. I had it done a couple of years ago. It did nothing except make me look like someone beat me up. My face was red and swollen. I was stuck in the house for a week. I threw away a couple thousand dollars and my under eyes took over a year to fade. It gave me darker circles than I had before I had it done. Don't let anyone do this to you. Its complete bull. I had a plastic surgeon do it. It does work!!!!!!!!

My face is worse also. Don't do it

HI IRACAIRLEY HOW WAS YOUR SMARTXIDE TREATMENT? ARE YOU HAPPY WITH RESULTS??? I AM STILL THINKING OF DOING IT MAYBE THIS MONTH. I WANT MY SKIN TIGHTEN AROUND THE EDGES OF MY LIP AND NOSOLABIAL, EYELIDS, I WOULD LOVE TO GET THAT YOUTHFUL PLUMP LOOK HOPE YOUR HAPPY WITH RESULTS.

Hi, Zorimar. The jury is still out on this one. Had this done 11/24; today is 12/6/08. Most of the "little dot" crusts are gone, but I am still red. I have been able to do a pretty good job of hiding the red with makeup meant for use after cosmetic surgery. My skin healed quickly meaning the tiny areas where my skin was a little raw are healed. That happened by the fifth day or so. My skin does remain sensitive though so I'm careful when I wash. The biggest surprise for me is the recovery time. I expected that by now the redness would be gone. What I see under the redness is that the texture of my skin hasn't changed which is one of the things I wanted. Maybe too soon. Having said that, I also think that the marketing of SmartXide makes you think you'll see quick results but you won't. I definitely wanted to believe this! I think you have to wait a month or so. Even my doctor told me that I would need to wait about a month to see the effects of the collagen growth. Plus this is supposed to be the next step up from Fraxel which my doctor says totally lasers off the surface of your skin (unlike the little dots in smartxide) so the recovery time is really long. So I guess I need to keep that in mind. Within seven days I was at work with makeup, probably looking a little strange if you really looked at me, but I was there and looked decent. Right now, I have already schedule my second smartxide treatment for 12/20. Before then I'm watching my skin like a hawk. Depending on what I see, I will keep the appointment or I'll cancel. I'll post my progress here.

I hear the total fx w deep fx is a one time treatment and works better then all the other lasars. has anyone tried this? I have an appointment next week w/ a doctor for a consult.

hi jackie22 well the smart dot laser is also a one time treatment the doctor told me. its suppose to be the newest co2 laser. and a few states has them because its so expensive from Italy the Deka. im still deciding myself what laser i want. i want it to work good and was hoping to finding something less than 2,000. that will tighten and plump up the skin.

lracalriley, did you have the smartxide done in san antonio? were you pleased with your doc? did you have acne scars you were trying to get rid of or just large pores?

Tacobellfreak, I did have it done in SA. I am OK with the doc-not the greatest customer service but the price seemed good and I have had the doc do a firming laser & retexturizing laser on me a couple of years ago. So I felt comfortable going back. I have some light (not too deep) acne scars and patches of large pores. I'm very light skinned with blotchiness & redness around my nose. I think you could say my skin is coarse & thick. I just turned 55 so my skin is getting drier but I have a huge problem with whiteheads & blackheads! Although my skin still looks pretty good for 55, it was starting to get crepey with tiny little surface wrinkles. So any or all of these things would be nice to get rid of with the Smartxide. Monday Dec 8 made 2 weeks since I got lasered. It wasn't until this past Friday that all of the tiny dot scabs had fallen off. I still continue to show some redness, actually light pink, on my neck, but it feels so smooth & soft! Now let's see if it tightens up any. Now to my face. The doc told me that she used a really high setting near my eyes to try to help with my sleep creases, so I'm still redder there than anywhere else. But I'm able to cover it up just fine. Where I really wanted to see some change was in the texture of my skin and I think I'm seeing that. Even though the little scabs have flaked off, I see some very fine peeling going on, but when I step back from the mirror my skin looks much smoother and less blotchy than what I recall. I'm really excited about this and hope that I continue to see improvements. As I said in earlier postings, I think it's going to take at least a month to truly see the results. SO far I like what I'm seeing and I have my next appointment late next week!

hi Iracalriley what was your their price range in South America. what part of south America??? near Columbia or Ecuador? I know its cheaper of course you would want a reputable Dr over there. im planning to go their this summer. haven't researched what lasers they do over their. its good to know they do the smartxide. thanks for letting us know on your progress. be patient. my aunt felt the same when she had the treatment. first three days were the worst. i live with her so i know

SA meant San Antonio, Texas. I paid $1700.00 for one treatment. My sking has definitely improved but not to the point I would have liked, but it hasn't even been a month yet. I am having a second one on 12/21. I hope that's a good idea since I've seen some stuff on the 'net saying that one treatment is all that is needed. How many did your aunt have?

ooh ok. well im in Phoenix,az area. he charges 2300 and sometimes he will give 20% off. i went in mar it was 2000 he quoted me 1700. he said its one time treatment only laser. he said in rare cases it may be two treatments. offers free consultation. I can give you his web it talks about the laser. this can help with your research. did they use the Deka machine from Italy. i would research more before spending another chunk of money on something you may not need. can you call clinics in your area where they do this same laser and if they reaquire more than one treatment. its been 6 mos my aunts sag in the jowl are looks great. the sag area got a lot firmer. the collagen plumped the sag area. its still slightly there. it improved 80% in my opinion. it awesome instead of getting going under the knife and sometimes your face changes. good luck.