Fast facts

Laser resurfacing


What it is: Laser resurfacing is a skin care treatment that gradually removes layers of skin in areas that are damaged or wrinkled.  Upon healing, the skin may naturally rejuvenate or repair skin flaws. Laser resurfacing procedure can be performed on the entire face or specific areas, depending on the patient's needs.  


What it addresses:  Damaged skin or aging skin, including these conditions:

- Fine lines
- Sun damage
- Facial Scars
- Uneven pigmentation


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Question

Is Fraxel better than ActiveFX for skin resurfacing?


Asked by: Anonymous

Answers (3)

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1
August 15, 2008

ActiveFX and Fraxel are similar

If you ask this question to a physician who has Fraxel they usually will say Fraxel and if you ask this question to a physician who has Active FX they will respond Active FX.

The unbiased truth is the Deep FX and Active FX (which our office has) and the Fraxel Repair are very similar in efficacy within clinical trials. Deep FX and Fraxel Repair are the only two devices I am aware of than can penetrate at deeper levels than any other fractional CO2 devices.

HOWEVER, Deep FX is the ONLY ultrapulsed device on the market. Does that make a clinical difference? Maybe or maybe not; however, the delivery is more constant with ultrapulsed Deep FX. The Active FX spot size is larger and offers top layers to be treated while the Deep FX or Fraxel (repair) offers deeper collagen penetration, I believe very similar clincal results.

The difference between Deep FX and Fraxel Repair?

  1. Deep FX is ultrapulsed and Fraxel Repair is superpulsed.
  2. Fraxel Repair may require 2-3 passes of the laser over the skin being treated if the physician would like to increase the area being treated. Deep FX allows a physician to increase the "dots" or density in one pass without having to pass over the area again and again.
2
May 4, 2008

Fraxel re:pair is better - deeper, smaller penetrations

Steven Weiner, MD
Steven Weiner, MD
Board Certified
Facial Plastic Surgeon

Let me add a couple more points.

  • The Fraxel re:pair has microscopic zones that penetrate thru the skin - 1/10th the size of a human hair. The Active Fx uses a much larger spot size.
  • The Active Fx doesn't get nearly as deep as the Fraxel re:pair. The Deep Fx is closer to the Fraxel re:pair, getting about 1mm in depth, but the re:pair gets 1.6mm.

All 3 lasers - Active Fx, Deep Fx, and Fraxel re:pair are CO2 lasers and CO2 will be the best for scars, wrinkles, tightening and usually require only one treatment. (I'm fairly certain my depth numbers are correct; sorry for the conflicting data.)

 

3
April 30, 2008

Fraxel vs. ActiveFX: So you want to look younger?

Michael A. Persky, MD
Michael A. Persky, MD
Board Certified
Facial Plastic Surgeon

Active FX is a fractional CO2 laser. Active FX penetrates to a maximum of about 300 um or 0.3 mm. It is a superficial treatment that treats pigment and fine to moderate wrinkles with minimal tightening of the skin.

Active FX can accomplish its effects in one or more treatments. The downtime is 4-5 days of swelling and redness.

Fraxel has two different lasers:

1.  Fraxel re:store (and re:fine), which are non-ablative fractional Erbium lasers.

They treat pigment and fine to moderate wrinkles up to a maximum of 1400 um or 1.4 mm deep, again with mild tightening on the face. It requires a series of 4 or more treatments. There is very minimal downtime (sunburn for two days).

2.  Fraxel re:pair, the newest addition, is an ablative fractional CO2 laser that treats up to 1700 um or 1.7 mm deep.

It can treat both superficial pigment (brown and red) as well as fine, moderate, and deep wrinkles with impressive skin tightening in a single treatment. The downtime is two days of weeping skin, and another 5-7 days of redness, but the results are dramatic.

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