Laser Resurfacing: Stories

I had laser resurfacing a few years ago and it was painful but well worth it . I recommend laser before opting for fillers or lifts for sure....AND it's much less money.

:)

Hi to all my viewers of my laser resurfacing video. The laser treatment, in this video is called erbium fractional laser, which I originally thought was fraxel. The concept of the treatment is very close to fraxel laser treatment. Erbium fractional removes pin point dots of skin, keeping healthy skin, intact, to heal quickly, just like fraxel does. So, the concept of my video, of laser resurfacing of erbium fractional verses Fraxel is close. I thought, I was having fraxel, when the Professional, told me fractional laser. I just wanted to educate everyone on this. Thanks, Hans Moore

This is not Fraxel laser. Dr. P

Thanks for posting this! I'm going to be having fraxel done for hypertrophic scarring, and this gives me a better idea of what to expect. Looks painful, but not painful beyond tolerance. Once more, thanks again!

Well all I can say is that doesn't look like any fraxel I have ever seen. I haven't watched the video yet and I'm only going by the pictures but that is terrible!! Not saying you look terrible just terribly painful. I had Fraxel last year and I could go in public the next day without anyone noticing anything and wasn't in any pain. It looked NOTHING like that.I even went for one appointment and had forgotten to tell my husband and he didn't even notice at first. My Dr. originally thought I would need 4 treatments with 3 IPL's alternating between them every 4 weeks. She said she would never do but one pass at a time and you have to wait 4 weeks between treatments. I even tried to get her to do it before 4 weeks and she wouldn't. From hearing all you and seeing your pictures I'm glad I listened to her now. She does put local on your face and gives you demeral injections but not enough to knock you out. I drove myself home after waiting around about 1 or 2 hours to let the demeral wear off. She ended up only doing 3 Faxels and 3 IPL's and I LOVE the results. Okay I'm going to watch the video now. To everyone seeing this, don't let this and some others experiences scare you off of Fraxel. Do your research, talk to past patients of the doctor you choose. Make sure you know exactly how they do the treatment before hand. Okay I went and watched the videos and have come to the conclusion that there is a difference between a fraxel (what I had) and a fractional (what you had). I would love to see some updated pictures with the final result. BTW, I was raised about 1 hr from Roanoke in Wythe County.

you did not say how deep the lazer went, how many microns deep. I think this makes alot of difference in the results and healing time. Do you know how many microns?

Its different than restore, because fraxel restore is non ablative and probably less painful. http://www.palomarmedical.com/palomar2.aspx?pgID=1173

I think thats the Palamar lux 2940 which uses fractional technology. I had it done to my face in costa rica, it might have been a little different machine though.

Thanks for sharing your experience and the video but that machine IS NOT Fraxel. I saw many videos of Fraxel before and I just got treatment done yesterday. Whatever you did, it's great that it worked for you but that's definitely not Fraxel. I can even see that the handle of the machine does not say "Fraxel."

Hello, Do you have any contact info for your dermatologist? I'm very interested in getting a treatment with her. Her price is also very reasonable. Thank you!

Your face is bleeding wow looks pretty raw. I hope you healed up and it looks good now. Mine didn't bleed or look that raw luckily. I had a full face, hands and arm treatment with Fraxel. What a great new procedure. Little swelling and super red but no bleeding or blisters. Healed up nicely and looks great. The Esthetician did several passes at full power to make sure we got all the damage then backed it down a notch to do the eyes. She then made several more passes over the entire face and neck again to make sure it was all covered evenly. She had a cold air hose feed blowing on my face as she did it so that helped with the burning sensation. I also have a high tolerance to pain but really it was not that bad. Straight thru and didn't stop. I had a couple of photo rejunivation treatments several years ago and they did really well but I still had a lot of sun damage that it couldn't fix. That is where Fraxel comes in. It is more pain but it goes much deeper to get all the damaged areas. Pulls the wrinkles right out and the skin looks silky smooth now. I am 57 and went back to my surgeon that did my eyes and neck plastic surgery. The best in Dallas and his people are awesome. This is one of the most critical things you must do is to find the best out there. It is your face and mistakes are not pretty. Don't scrimp on face procedures or any medical procedure for that matter. Be sure you pick a place that has the certified Fraxel machine. There are knock off machines out there that some offices have and they don't do the same quality of a job. It is most important that the Esthetician is experience with Fraxel. Ask how many she has done and how long she has been doing face work. Go to several doctors for consultation and interview them and their Esthetician that does the procedure. After seeing some of the photos on this site and reading some of these poor people's experiences please take your time to pick the right Doctor. I am doing three more treatments over the next year to get all the areas cleaned up. I played outdoor sports all my life and the sun is killer on your skin. I wish I would have done more to protect my face. Typical guy tough it out and hated sunscreen and lotion. Now I am paying for it. Two girls I know (35 and 46) had Fraxel done with my doctor and the results were fabulous also. They did three treatments and said each one was easier and the skin totally changes to almost baby soft. At least their skin looks that good. At 57 mine will never look that good but it is 100% better now. Don't be a sissy go for it....but be smart and find the best Doc out there.

Me again Dahon, I just realized that I hadn't uploaded a photo of my disaster and that you were addressing Hans....But if you look at his and imagine it about 100% worse, than you will get "my" picture. Sorry for the confusion. Actually, you probably don't want to see my photo...it would scare the bejeezes out of everyone. And, the sad thing for my vanity is, I wasn't all that unattractive for my 62 years, but I was a model in my 20's and I just wanted my even toned skin back! Silly Me!

Hi Dahon, Well, I am at day 13 and those areas that you mentioned are still there. Healing, ever so slowly. I had another doc look at my mess of a face and he said that the administering doc went over those areas more than once, too many times infact and so those are essentially third degree burns and may leave scars. I have one that has also "cracked" through on the bridge of my nose and it is very deep. I think I just ended up with a wacky, un-trained nut case who just happens to be a dermatologist. I am thinking legal action, just to stop her from destroying anyone else's face. I am so happy that you had good results. Thanks for asking and for sharing.

The red marks are your face after the procedure looked like small cuts. Those weren't there before? The top left and right of your forehead and near your ears. I had fraxel done and my face didn't have those deep red marks. Did they go away?

Hi Hans, I really appreciate your video and comentary. Had I seen it "before" I had my procedure last week, I probably wouldn't have had it. Now after having it, I have to say the pain was excruciating, worse than childbirth. Mine was administered by a doctor and I had asked her to stop, several times, so that I could catch my breath. She did NOT. This is day 7 post procedure and I am still a swollen, red blotchy mess. It might just be the way it was administered, but I am still in a great deal of pain. My treatment was the ActiveFX. During the consult, I had told her I did not want my eyes done. But she did them anyway. Yes, she inserted a metal shield, but did not follow my wishes at all. I say to anyone reading this. Be very careful when selecting who does this procedure. I thought I was....obviously NOT. Thanks again for sharing and I hope that you are happy with your results.

Oh yeah, How are your results? After that great video, you can't let us down now! :)