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?

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acne scars deep

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2 Doctor Answers | Asked by scarface in UK

Doctor Answers (2)
Community Comments (0)

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

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 how it goes first. If it works (and you have to go to an expert for this), that may be your very best option. Good luck!

Fraxel Rpair Settings for Acne Scars on Olive Colored Skin

When treating acne scars, it is important for the laser to penetrate relatively deeply into the skin. In my judgment, 15 mJ will not penetrate deeply enough. Depending on the depth of the scars, in our practice we would treat the acne scarring on olive colored skin at up to 40 mJ. However, we would lower the intensity level on Fitzpatrick type IV skin to level 7. If there is concern about hyperpigmentation, then pretreatment with hydroquinone for a few weeks prior to Fraxel Repair... more