What's the difference between Fraxel CO2 Laser and other CO2 lasers?

Fraxel or Fractionated CO2 lasers treat skin in a segmental manner where the laser leaves untreated skin in between treated skin to allow the skin to heal much faster. This leads to less downtime and less risk for complications. But you always have to remember that the more aggressive you are the more results... more

Fraxel lasers work a bit differently than the traditional CO2 lasers.  Fraxel leaves areas of normal skin between the treated areas to allow for a quicker healing time, thus minimizing the redness in patients.  Traditional CO2 removes the superficial layers of the skin throughout the treated area.... more

Hi Gail, Fraxel is the original fractional non-ablative laser system, and has established a strong track record of solid clinical research, FDA clearances, and proven results.  The safety of fractional technology has now been combined with the effectiveness of CO2 lasers. Fraxel re:pair has earned... more

The older ultrapulsed CO2 (carbon dioxide) laser resurfacing treatments involved removal of the entire surface of the skin creating a wound equivalent to a second degree burn. This took about 12 days to heal and the redness that developed after healing persisted for many months, sometimes up to a year or more.... more

Gail, Traditional laser treats the entire surface (kind of like using a large paint brush). Fraxel lasers fractionate or split the laser into very tiny beams (kind of like making a bunch of dots) which cover the surface. With each laser, everywhere the laser hits undergoes thermal damage. The advantage of... more