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Fraxel Restore. More Aggressive Than I Thought. - Dothan, AL

  • Worth It
  • Cost: $1,500
  • Dothan, Al

Wanted to target fine lines, acne scarring,...

  • 14 Oct 2012

Wanted to target fine lines, acne scarring, blemishes, sun spots, and overall tone of skin. Longer than expected downtime. Thought I could go back to work on day 3... Not!

Day 1---Swelling and tightness, a little pink. Stays this way for days 2 and 3 --but way worse. A lot of swelling around eyes makes u look like you've been beaten. No bruises though. Brown pigmented dots start to form and rise to top on day 3. Uglyyyyy. Tight and cracking. Puss bumps and some bleeding on areas hit the hardest like around corners of mouth. Don't have any plans for a week. Seriously!

Day 4---worst day because your skin is wanting to slough off but it's not ready. If u rush it, u will bleed and scab. On the 4th night I was able to put my face under sink with soap and cold water and gently exfoliate a lot of the brown dots with my fingers. Be careful though.

5th day better but swollen still. That's where I am at the moment. Hoping to have fully exfoliated face by tonight.

It is Almost two months later after my first...

  • 25 Nov 2012
It is Almost two months later after my first fraxel restore, and am using the obagi blender and retin a micro .04% to maintain results. Personally, I feel like it has rejuvenated my skin by five years. That's worth it to me. hope the retin a keeps my skin in good shape. Getting my second fraxel on dec 12. Might ask to turn it down a little since last time I was out of commission for five days with scabbing and major swelling. I'm still glad I did it. You have to be ready for a change because its very expensive and u look horrible for five to six days.

Okay so after 2 fraxel restores and retin a micro ...

  • 26 Mar 2013
Okay so after 2 fraxel restores and retin a micro .04 percent for 4 months I'm happy with my results. 5 yrs younger looking for sure
Name not provided

Not sure about the outcome

5 out of 5 stars Overall rating
5 out of 5 stars Doctor's bedside manner
5 out of 5 stars Answered my questions
5 out of 5 stars After care follow-up
5 out of 5 stars Time spent with me
5 out of 5 stars Phone or email responsiveness
5 out of 5 stars Staff professionalism & courtesy
5 out of 5 stars Payment process
5 out of 5 stars Wait times
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Comments (34)

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Whoa, think I am going to cancel my scheduled first ( and I thought ONLY) Fraxel treatment. I was blessed as a kid, no acne, no scarring. I just wanted to have my small lines diminished and get rejuvenated. Does NOT sound worth it...

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thanks Marilyn: what has your new dr suggested? are you happy with everything else besides the redness (and line you mentioned)? overall texture? what type of treatment did you undergo? I'm asking because I have just set up another consult with another dr with a different type of laser... I'M SCARED TO DEATH - it's been 4 weeks for me - 1st dr was dermatologist, this one is a plastic surgeon.
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Do not do anything. Go on the site ipl damage and fraxel damage. Look at the pictures. After the fact now. I have some on that same damage. Also there is some damage to my eyes. I am going back to the eye dr. Cornea can get burned. Don't do anything. They lie. I did not expect the terrible burn I got. I thought this was just a lite peel. Fraxel. It turned out to burn my face. Brown squares. I look at the pictures and now the damage. I want to contact the reporter mentioned in the damage website. Melanie woodson
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Dixont : thank you so much for sharing you story! It is very courageous to say the least. I'm so happy for your good out come... it gives me hope :) may good bless your journey
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I had the fraxel laser 1 week ago today, please if anone can update on the results that they have, how many treatments you have had, and the length of time it has been! I am now reading horror stories and am scared to death I made the wrong choice! Please help enlighten me, Thank you and God Bless you all
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Hi faith2ndchances. I've had both the Fraxel Re:Store and Fraxel Re:Pair. I would say your results will depend on a lot of factors...the severity of the issues you wanted to treat (acne scars? wrinkles? brown spots?), the type of Fraxel treatment you had, the laser settings the physician used, the number of passes he or she made, the way your skin heals, and the methods you are using to treat your wounds and newly repaired skin. Personally, I have depressed/pitted acne scars on my cheeks and chin associated with cystic acne. I've had probably a dozen Fraxel Re:Stores, but I wasn't aware at the time there were different "types" of Fraxel lasers. The physician told me he "cranked up the dial" to some of the highest settings, and I went regularly, but I have not been pleased with the results. Again, at that time I was not adequately informed, I was still breaking out in cystic acne, and I wasn't told how to treat my wounds and the new, healed skin. This is both my fault and the fault of the physician, of course. I was burned by the physician's assistant doing the laser during one session. I was high on medication but I remember her doing it. She never said a word, so I didn't think it was "that bad" and didn't treat it as I should have, so now I have a hypertrophic or keloid scar along my jawline. The Fraxel Re:Pair was done by a different physician who had me take various vitamin and homeopathic supplements before and after the procedure in addition to doing vinegar washes every two to three hours after the procedure, wear Aquaphor, and COMPLETELY stay out of the sun. Although I felt she was more invested in the after care -- wound care and healing -- than my former physician, she was not truthful with me. She told me my scars would be 100% gone. I knew deep down that wasn't going to be true, and I was right, but it still hurt me greatly to know she misled me. I had that procedure done July of last year. Although I have not been pleased with my scarring, the procedure did help with the fine wrinkles around my eyes. I'm 33, but I do see them starting to creep in again, so that smoothness only lasted 7 months. :/ I definitely want to have more procedures done to treat my scars. When I have the money I plan to go to a completely different physician who specializes in medical and cosmetic procedures to the ear, nose, throat, and face. Even though I no longer respect the physician who performed the Fraxel Re:Pair, I plan to implement the before and after wound care procedures I learned from her. I apologize for this being such a long reply, but there's a lot to tell! :) I hope this helped you some, and I'm happy to provide you with any further information if needed. Good luck!
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I had the fraxel SR1500 re:store - OMGosh I'm so sorry, I'm sitting in shock and feeling sick right now and the thought of this horror. I went to have deeper scars "removed". But they seem more visable than before!!! Not sure what to do now, I'm not sure about going back for another one NOW, have you considered dermabrasion?
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If you name it, I've probably tried it. Dermabrasion did nothing for my scars. Please don't feel sick and be worried. I truly, TRULY hope you will have a better experience!!! I didn't tell you any of this to shock you, and I apologize if it upset you! I'm only telling you my story...as brutally honest as possible. Plenty of people have been been satisfied with their results. Again, I TRULY hope you receive the level of satisfaction you are seeking!!! I hope to have the traditional CO2 laser done when I have the funds. The ENT and facial plastic surgeon I spoke with told me that I wouldn't have 100% improvement, but told me (realistically) that I could see a 50% improvement with one, and that others could be done in the future. So I'm pretty sure that's what I'll be seeking out when I can do something more. :)
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Why do I have severe red skin? No one mentions this. Three weeks after treatment. Scars red veins. What didvthybdonwrong?
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Do nothing stay calm. Dear abrasion worse. We r all being taken for fools.
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I am three weeks out and red. Blotchy. I hope u o better than me
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Did your face stay red with lines and squares? All over my lip area. Under chin. One big scar red area on forehead.
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marilyn horween: I'm 3 weeks out as of yesterday... not really red, that was only about 1 week after treatment. I do have more visible "dents" than ever before on my face which causes great concern since that wasn't originally a big ssue. I had one spot he was trying to make smaller and it to appears to be more visible than before... not sure what the next step will be! I hope your results turn out good for you... God bless
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The Fraxel was applied to your lips? I didn't think they could do that. I had three treatments. Pretty good results but I do have stubborn pigmentation that won't budge altho it is lighter. The last treatment did nothing which was disappointing. My skin does appear very smooth. So overall I look better. I may consider IPL treatments for a few broken capillaries. Let me know how you continue to heal.
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Marilyn, I'm worried about you. Are you okay?
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Hi. Thanks. My face is still peeling. It is red. I went to another doctor and he said it will take a long time and wanted to know why dr did not go far up on chin near lip. Bottom lip now there is a demarcation It is really depressing for me. I am ok
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Hi. Treatment over lip. Went to another dr who suggested iIPL. Later to get rid of redness. This dr does not like fraxel but he did do it and stopped. My skin is still rough over lip so make up is creepy. Dr told me not to use hrdroquoine to get rid of mr redness. Other dr said use. I am not using just using lots of creams. Oils thinks to hydrate and drinking water.
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Thank you for info and photos, May I ad that is bit unhelpful to see photos during process of healing and than after results without seeing how you looked prior starting this treatment , there is nothing to compare to ?! see my point , so hopefully you can ad photo before you proceeded with this treatment for actual difference/change of appearance to be seen
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Had CO2 fractionating laser done yesterday - your results seem similar so far. My face is really hot - the ice pack is helping - plan to be housebound for at least 3 days. Hope its worth it!
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I have been at home for three weeks
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Goodness! Home three weeks. Wow. My first treatment I missed six days of work. Second about the same and third treatment only about four days. First and third treatments were for pigment. Second was more aggressive for texture and I had more swelling.
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Hi. Did you have marks in squares on your face? I have thicker lines where square mark was and now red and brown. Look just like cat marks on my chin. I hide under make up and go to sleep hoping tomorrow will be better. Look like I have deep red line over lip
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Just turned forty in October. This was my birthday present to me!
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This is day two. I'm extremely red and swollen. Entire face swollen. Looks bad. Skin feels like leather and very tight. Not painful tho. This is totally different from my first laser. However this time I asked for a more aggressive treatment. My first one had minor results. I think the setting was too low and they do that on purpose so you have to come back again. More $$$ for them. Hopefully this one will do the trick. Good thing I'm off work. No way could I go to work looking like this. I work in retail. I'll keep everyone posted.
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I had my second Fraxil Laser today. Some minor swelling on upper cheekbones. I'm s bronze pink color and neck is redder. Feel vert tight. Not painful tho. I'm using Skin Medica Restorative Ointment and Skin Medica Cleanser and Mousturizer. She used more aggressive settings this time to address skin texture. I had mild results from the first treatment. I'm taking several days off. Last time day 4 and 5 were the worst for peeling.
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