“Extremely disappointed with results.”
Active FX: NOT worth it
Pain: Severe
I had fine lines and wrinkles on my face, especially around the eyes (Crow's Feet) and forehead (Frown Lines), loose eyelid skin, brown age spots, uneven skin tone and acne scars.
I had the Active FX procedure done in January, with high hopes. Unfortunately, it's now April and I see no improvement whatsoever. I still have the brown spots; in fact, I seem to have more than before the Active FX (like it brought some out that weren't visible before). The wrinkles are exactly the same, the acne scars are exactly the same, my skin tone is still uneven and my eyelid skin is still loose. Also, I experienced some extreme pain when I had my Active FX. My cheeks and forehead were not so painful but I had to be held down so I wouldn't move on the doctor when they did around my eyes and mouth. I try to always be an optomistic person and look at the bright side of things and so I hate to have to report this bad experience. The Doctors and their staff were very nice. But, I spent $2,000 and see no improvement at all.
Apr 2, 2008Comments and replies (68)
43 posts
3 May 2008
Ouch! I'm the laser physician in Chelsea who did the procedure and invite Juladair to please return to the practice to get a free touch up on the areas that did not turn out for her. Higher settings can be used to get rid of fine lines and brown spots and further tighten the skin. Air conditioned cooling is now available for pain control. Hope to see you back.
43 posts
30 May 2008
Hi Julie, That's great about the brown spots being gone. The pink will fade. Please be meticulous about sunscreen to avoid hyperpigmentation or repigmentation. As for the chin acne scars, they take many treatments to go away although they will fade a little each time. There is a new handpiece to the machine called Deepfx. It targets acne scars better, although I haven't seen outcome data yet. It's been available for about 5 months and I'm waiting to see if it really works before purchasing it. Active Fx's domain is really texture, tone, tightening and brown spots. It completely misses red lesions and only slightly treats acne scars. Please stop by and let us see you in another 3 months for after photos. I'll bet you'll be beautiful. Regards, Dr. H.
3 posts
1 Jun 2008
i had active fx a 2 months ago in chicago by a well known plastic surgeon. this surgeon is opening his own stores for the skin. i went to this doctor trying to repair acne scars and to smooth out my skin. i was under the impression i was going to receive a deep fx treatment, later finding out this doctor had just trained for deep fx treatments by the distributor a month after my procedure. which is on record. if i had this knowledge in no way would i have allowed this procedure. also the doctor went over my face twice in some area s, from what i researched and spoke to other professionals this is a mistake. the fx lasor is designed to skip natural pigment, using this fx twice would not accomplish this goal. the procedure was horrible !! i would never recommend !!! i was given 3loratab for pain, and doc used paste that was supost to dull the pain, he did not use paste on entire face, slight area on left cheek and slight area on right. i asked if this paste should be spread all over, doc stated this paste was not pliable and it was essentially used to dull needle injections. in my opinion something was done incorrectly. i endured the most horrible pain in my life, mind you i had suffered 3rd degree burns as a child, that was a cake walk. the pain was so horrible i wanted to die, and the doctors assistant had to hold me down from uncontrollable body tremors. even know this was horrible pain i thought of stopping mid procedure, but then wondered what my face would look like then, so i went on.. my face has not improved at all, acne scars seem more apparent ( much worse ) and now suffer from hyperpigmentation because the docs office sent me home with the incorrect spf (15) for my face.. after seeing doc asked what he thought, he found no noticeable improvements but went on to lecture me on sunscreen because i have brown spots all over !! at this point i did not know i was using sunscreen 15 so i put up with lecture, after going back home thinking i applied this sun screen religiously how could i have hyperpigmentation ?? that nite i noticed the 15 spf and was deeply upset. because i found after all treatments a sunblock is required or sunscreen of 60 or higher. during this follow up i asked doc if he would redue procedure he stated no. i am so deeply depressed because of all this then to be treated in such a manner by doctor. i am in the process of building a web site for all to know about the talents of this doctor and to warn others. and have every intention of following up with legal and lic actions ... to anyone considering this procedure research !!! ask for photo s of other procedures which i did not do and remember, just because a doctor has credentials does not make his hand from god.. look foward to hearing from you ............ pete
43 posts
1 Jun 2008
Dear Pete, You raise some very important points about this procedure: understanding what is to be done and expectations about outcome. Since the procedure is only one year old, we doctors learn more each month from patients' feedback. You should really tell the doctor in a detailed letter exactly what your experience was. I suspect he'll call you in and offer to help. When I saw my patient's note on the blog, I was mortified and contacted her immediately. We worked together on correcting the problem areas at no charge to her and with better pain control that we had established one month after her procedure, and, I believe, parted on good terms. About 30% of patients get hyperpigmentation from the procedure and summer is definitely more pronounced. Get a good hydroquinone cream (hopefully from the doctor and medical grade) and bleach it out. It works very well and truly goes away between 6 and 12 months. We give our patients a factor 30 sunscreen with 17% zinc oxide at the time of the procedure. One final point: the collagen building continues over 6 months, so you'll get more results (and filling in of acne scars) over the next several months. Keep an open mind and watch as the months go by, being certain to use the sunscreen, hydroquinone and hopefully a retinol to help the skin. Good luck!
1 post
3 Jun 2008
I am 47 years old and an x heavy smoker. I quit the nasty habit 7 years ago. I was also raised in south Florida and my face skin has taken the toll along with the aging process. I have loose skin around my jaw and neck, fine laugh wrinkles (one side more than the other), laugh wrinkles around eyes and my forehead has deep wrinkles. I also have the lovely wrinkles between my brows but not as bad as I've seen in others. My question is why should I waste money on many, many treatments of laser skin resurfacing, etc. etc instead of a one time face lift that would take off 10 years of age and THEN go in for some laser treatments. After the face lift, I would need wayyy less laser. Something to consider out there people. :-) I have a consultation with my plastic surgeon who offers all these things. I'll let you know what he says. By the way, I've already had my eyes done by him 7 years ago and he did an excellent job.
43 posts
3 Jun 2008
Beverly, You raise some good points. But I would actually do the treatments in the opposite order. Get a C02 fractional resurfacing before the facelift. That way, you are lifting nice healthy skin rather than making damaged skin taught. Be sure to work on your skin with excellent medical grade products including a retinol, cleanser that exfoliates, sunscreen with zinc or titanium and some peptides or tissue growth factor. Do this after your facelift too to keep the skin healing from your prior smoking. You're going to look great.
13 posts
13 Jun 2008
I had ActiveFX a month ago, and there has not been one single improvement--or change of any type--as of today. I had my face and neck "done" for $3,000. That was minus a $500. discount for booking the appointment within a given time. The doctor is a very intelligent, well-informed physician, and a beautiful person. Plus, many years in the realm of skin-care and lazer resurfacing. This MD suggested that I consider the ActiveFX to improve my concerns of hyper pigmentation and to have a more even skin tone. This MD added that it would also improve--some skin toning, which I wasn't concerned about, but was happy that it would "do" more than I had known. I am taking pictures of my treated areas, week-by-week and I am patiently waiting for some degree of improvment. I am a realist and not looking for a miracle. I didn't mind the pain, I didn't begrudge the cost, and I didn't expect fantastic improvement! But, here I am with a very lonely feeling, confused thinking, and looking exactly the same. This is a wonderful web-site to share our experiences---than you so very much.
43 posts
13 Jun 2008
Dear Lazerlee, Hold tight. At one month, I'd say most people are disappointed. When I saw the very disappointed comment above and that it was my patient, I had my staff call every single patient who had the procedure over the past year to ask their satisfaction. It was overwhelmingly positive. Only the writer on the blog and one other patient were disappointed. All others were delighted. I redid the two disappointed people to try to achieve the best results possible for them and remain optimistic that it will do so. By 4 months, one really sees the improvement in texture, tone, brown spots and fine line reduction which then maxes out at 6 months. Be meticulous about sunscreen and take photos only monthly. I suspect you'll be as pleased about the procedure as the others eventually were. Regards, Dr. H.
13 posts
14 Jun 2008
Thank you for reading my post, responding to it, and offering your encouragement ! This is a great way to share everything we experience-- and that makes it positive. RealSelf.com offers an education about a procedure (s) that can be "unknown" to many of us. Thank you, again.
43 posts
15 Jun 2008
Lazerlee, You're very welcome. I have learned so much from this blog as a doctor and what patients need to have this procedure work for them. It really makes us better at what we do by getting pain under control, results improved and expectations realistic. Best regards, Dr. H.