What is Fraxel Recovery Like?

In the initial few days, there will be swelling and redness, such as occurs after a sunburn. There should not be any substantial pain or tenderness, however. Down time should be no more than a few days with the exception of redness. To ensure quick recovery, follow post treatment skin care guidelines.

For most patients, the treatment with the Fraxel requires no more than one to two days of downtime and, for many patients, no downtime. This is slightly variable in my experience, so as a precaution I would allow for one day of recuperation if possible. Once your get the procedure done, there is a slight redness of the skin and swelling of the skin for many patients. Also, for the initial 4 to 6 hours you might feel a stinging or tingling of the skin very similar to a sunburn.... more

After treatment with the Fraxel re:store, which is a non-ablative laser (doesn't destroy the tissue) you will be red and swollen like a sunburn for 2-3 days. But there should not be any pain or tenderness. You will apply a moisturizing cream and may want to use cold packs for the swelling. Antihistamines like Claritin or Zyrtec can also be helpful in managing the swelling. Then you may have some skin peeling that could last for several additional days. Not everyone has skin peeling, and... more

With any ablative laser swelling is a wanted response. The more aggressive the treatment more downtime with swelling and redness. Post fraxel treatment involves discomfort such as a bad sunburn. The treatment on a low intensity is still prone to have some swelling 2-3 days. Proper post op care is always a must in assuring a speedy recovery.

Universally, nobody complains of pain after the procedure. Swelling is the worst on the second day after the procedure and gets better by day 5 or so. Seeing streaking is common and will go away. Redness lasts up to 3 months, but usually about 3 or 4 weeks.