Fraxel Repair settings for acne scars

I have several rolling acne scars on my temple & forehead and I have olive skin (between 3 & 4 in the Fitzpatrick scale). My local doctor recommended me Treatment Level 8 with 15mjs and 4 passes.

I have 3 questions:

1. Will these settings be enough to see improvements?

2. Is the risk of hyperpigmentation lower with these settings?

3. Are the skin areas on temple and forehead meant to be treated at lower settings because they are thinner?

1 answer to “Fraxel Repair settings for acne scars”

A: I'm not a big fan of lasers for acne scars and certainly not on olive skin

Joel Schlessinger, MD

Olive colored skin is not all that good for laser treatment as it can frequently be plagued with dark coloration after the procedure.  Additionally, scarring in general isn't all that much improved by lasers, whatever the setting!  I'd look into having a restylane or filler injection for this to see... more

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Comments

scarface
17 posts
15 Oct 2008

anyone ?

scarface
17 posts
18 Oct 2008

thanks dr.joel. your advice is really appreciated. anyone else have any other opinions?

asgcag
1 post
6 Nov 2008

I have worked with an performed laser treatments for 10 years, while I agree with the opinion that olive skin does not go well with a CO2 laser, I cannot agree with the statement that fillers are better for acne scars than laser. A 2940 erbium yag combined with a 1540 erbium glass will yield excellent results and are perfectly safe for type 3-4 skin.

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