“Fraxel Ruined my Face”

I received a email from another lady in Ohio I wonder if you have the same doctor..I will forward her email....

What is the Dr's name? I'm being treated in Columbus, Ohio now. I've had two treatments so far and it isn't going so well.

Please contact me directly and let me know what doctor you went to so I don't make the same mistake....I live in Dayton, Ohio. I am looking into Fraxel Laser. Thank you so much.

I had a co2 full face laser in 96, microdermabrasions and an obagi blue peel. In 2008 I had 4 fraxel laser treatments. First I was under the impression that the results would be permanent after at least three treatments. My skin did look good and the scarring appeared much better and less noticeable. But I was extremely dissapointed in being told during the treatments that I would need treatments every 6mos to 1 yr to maintain the effects. Weel my skin did look good for a while. Then sometime after I developed hyperpigmentation in different areas on my face. I had patchy areas on my forehead, upper cheek bone at he corner of my eye, and the worst was my whole upper lip. It looks like a 24 hr 5 o'clock shadow. My cheeks seem "white" and a shallow scar has turned into a white spot also. My whole face is different shades and makeup doesn't completely cover or even out. I feel like I look "grey". I wish I never did this. A waste of looks and money. I should have done a co2 again.

Rest in peace

Oh and this laser did not change DNA. To suggest this is perposterous. If it had changed the DNA you would now have what most people call skin cancer!! Carcinogens such as pollution, UVA and UVB rays ie sunlight and tanning bed exposure, chemicals, poor diet containing carcinogens, heck if you like your cook outs and eat charred burgers and hot dogs... those are carcinogens. Carcinogens after prolonged exposure to healthy cells can mutate DNA. Once this happens, the mutated cells continue to divide and produce identical copies that build up forming cancerous lesions.

I would like to know if you had Fraxel yourself since you seem so knowledgeable on the subject. Melasma is not only hormone related. It can be due to thyroid conditions, heredity, etc. Look it up! I had two pregnancies and never developed melasma. So much for the hormone theory. I refer to my spots as melasma but they look more like "burns" because they are more like grey areas not darker brown. I also have hypopigmentation in the form of depressed white "scars" and what we refer to as "tracks". There are broken blood vessels, enlarged pores and orange-peel looking skin. Hundreds to thousands of people could not be making this up.

Then the correct term would by hyperpigmentation. It is more generalized. Hyperpigmentation is called by many things. The sun, hormones (and your thyroid affects your hormones), excessive exfoliation also causes hyperpigmentation. Broken vessels are also caused by many different things. Enlarged pores is part of your skin type and are a sign of oilier skin, acne scarring, or even caused by smoking. Any doctor should tell you how intense the Fraxel Laser is. There is a lot of down time with the Fraxel and a lot of people do not realize that. It will take several days to recover from a procedure like that. It is a laser and it does destroy parts of your skin cells and it takes time for those cells to grow back. Your skin has many layers and the cells grow from the innermost layer and gradually move outwards. This process takes anywhere from 40-80 days depending on your age. That is a lot of recovery time. If you want to have a procedure as dangerous as this then you should research the doctor before deciding who to go with. There are doctors who use lasers like these who are not certified to use them. No normal doctor should be using any laser. You should see a State Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. and yes I do in fact stress the work State Board Certified.