Fraxel Laser: Stories

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So Far So Good (photo) - New Orleans, LA

  • posted 1 year ago
  • updated 1 year ago
  • Before FL and Fraxal
  • First day after 3rd Fraxal treatment
  • this is what the 3rd day of my 3rd fraxal treatment looked like. Red, swollen, scabby.
  • 8 days after my 3rd fraxal treatment. No swelling left. Some pinkness here and there. The biggest improvement I am seeing is with the sun damage I had. There was a very large spot on the bridge of my nose and it has greatly improved. I am wearing no make up and this photo is untouched, just my washed, old face with a new hair color that I will be re-dying asap now that I see it ...lol:)
  • My results to date 3 weeks after my 3rd fraxsal treatment.(Untouched photo. I am wearing eye make up) HUGE improvement in sun damaged areas and fine lines. I have one more treatment to go in May. Over all I would say fraxsal is worth having. Everyone is different, so results Im sure will be also but I am happy with what the fraxsal has done for me thus far. It was a worth while additive to the facelift. Only real advice I can give is FIND A GREAT DR. TO HAVE THIS DONE BY. Good luck :)
  • And if you can't have fun and enjoying being you, what good is it all? Dress it up :)
  • I am going to post the pics of my Face lift here also just to let folks see what it was like for me. This pic is the day of my FL. home from the operation. I also had a breast implant exchange done with my FL to remove 25 year old implants that were ruptured. This was a long recovery. I would have to honestly say I did not feel like myself for a good 4-5 months after the operations. A lot of down time. Im glad I did it, I would do it all again, but know this is MAJOR SURGERY. Not to be taken lightly. There is really no pain, just discomfort and a lot of frustration with the ups and downs of the healing process. Good luck to all of you out there on your cosmetic adventures :) FYI: The total for the FL,neck lift, brow lift, fat transfer, breast reconstruction, botox, filler and Fraxsal has come to a whopping $35,000.00 . Yes, CRAZY I know. (This was a new car, a VERY nice new car....But I don't care about cars. So this is my new ride:) Also, have people who love and support you in this quest. You'll need them to be there for you and be understanding as you transform yourself. I have been married for 25 years and have been a stay at home mom of 5 great kids for 23 of those, my family was amazing and really helped me through this journey. I am blessed.
  • 1week post op
  • 2 weeks postop
  • 3 weeks post op
  • 4 weeks post op
  • 6 weeks post op. Feeling like the end of all the swelling and bruseing is near

After having a full F.L. My Dr. recommended Fraxel...

  • 3 Apr 2012

After having a full F.L. My Dr. recommended Fraxel to treat the condition and texture of my skin as a addition to the F.L. I had my 3rd Fraxel treatment yesterday ( I will be having 4 in all ). Today I am very swollen and starting to "crust up" a bit. (Par for the corse) Over all I would say the Fraxel has addressed the pigment issues I had pretty well and has helped with over all skin smoothness and condition. Is it a huge difference? No, not huge. Is it worth the cost? Yes and no. The costs with all of this stuff is crazy, but do I like what the outcome has been? YES!!! I am so happy with my F.L. and thus far the Fraxel treatments. I am starting to feel good about the way I look, and that has never happened for me before. The pain side of the Fraxal is really not that bad. It hurts, but its not unbearable. They numb you before the treatment so it is more like a stinging. ( If you have ever had a tattoo, its very much the same sensation, only on your face....) I love my Dr. and his staff and simply cannot recommend him enough. He is wonderful.

Great review?

Kamran Khoobehi, MD

My Doctor: Kamran Khoobehi, MD

My rating:

Doctor's Bedside Manner
Answered My Questions
After Care Follow-Up
Time Spent With Me
Phone or Email Responsiveness
Staff Professionalism & Courtesy
Payment Process
Wait Times

Dr. Khoobehi is the best plastic surgeon I have ever been to. He is a perfectionist and highly qualified. You will be very pleased with your results .

Comments (42)

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I did Fraxel almost 2yrs ago but had to stop due to acne break out. I just did my second fraxel. Obviously I had a great deal of time between each fraxel and my first one I did see improvement. It was not a lot but my face did smooth out little more and didn't notice any difference in my skin texture. I know everyone skin type is different and everyone has different results but it's good to hear you are seeing results! I'm exicted!
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I like more the facelift results than the laser. I just don't get it.
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The FL is major surgery. It lifts and removes sagging skin, but it does NOT deal with skin texture or pigment issues. Doing both kind of gives you the best result possible for older skin. The fraxsal alone would not treat the bags, sags and droops. The F.L. alone would do nothing for skin texture and pigmentation issues. Thats really all there is to get. :)
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I saw your pics and thought, 'she must be around my age' and I am 42. You look great! I am on day 2 of 'recovery' from my first treatment. My eyes are more swollen than yours appear to be. I had the BBL (broadband light) followed by the Fraxel in the same session and will do microderm in two weeks. $1,800 for a package of 3 (for doing the BBL, Fraxel and microderm three times each).
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good luck to you on your treatments. Im having my last one on monday. Can't say I'll be sorry to not under go the down time any longer. Best to you, Im sure you are beautiful!!!!:)
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Love all the info you shared on your post-facelift photo! Honestly, I would have guessed the price tag for all of that to be much higher than $35K. Seems worth it to me. Do you mind me asking at what age you started doing fillers & Botox?

Also, we do have a community dedicated specifically to facelifts. I know they would love to have you share your story there as well! :)

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I started with botox and fillers at 52. They worked well for a bit but when my marriage went into the dumps I aged dramatically from the stress.... You may share my story any place you think it would help others.
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I've tried Botox & fillers w no luck for that area. Just a big waist of money. I hear the CO2 laser takes months to recover from & u suffer from hypo pigmentation. Not to mention everything is so expensive. I've talked to drs about the co2 laser, fraxel re pair & restore & active/deep fx laser. Everyone of them say the laser they use is the best & what I need. My skin isn't that bad (of course to me I see the worst..don't we all. ha) I'm 41 & the sun damage has finally reared it's ugly head. The lines under my eyes is what drives me the most crazy but if I'm gonna do this I would like to do smthn that I can also do on my neck & chest as well. Might as well get rid of all the damage I've done through the years w one surgery, right? I know sum lasers this isn't a possibility. I also do NOT want to damage my skin even more. I wish I knew someone in Houston who has done this & knows of a good dr. Thank u Megan for responding. I really appreciate it. Bk to doing some more research.CALGON TK ME AWAY!!! lol..BTW, MOINNOLA u look FANTASTIC!!!!! Dont let anyone bring u down.
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I saw your reply, no worries - you'll get the hang of it soon enough. :)

I think you are doing the right thing by just doing a lot of research. For me, I read reviews & look for people with similar skin as mine. I find the laser choices pretty mind boggling, and yes there is considerable downtime for recovery, so I have yet to venture there. Keep reading reviews & posting questions - thank goodness for awesome people like Moinnola who are willing to share their experiences so we can learn!!

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Is this the same as active & deep fx treatments. The more I read & research the more confused I get. Every doctor tells me smthn different. FRUSTRATING. My concern is fine lines under my eyes & sun damage. Any opinions???
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Depending on what kind of lines you have under your eyes, they are hard to treat. :-/ I basically have crows feet that appear to the sides & under the eyes...some doctors say toxins (botox, dysport, xeomin) others say fillers, still others recommend something like CO2 laser...so I hear ya when its tough to know what to do!

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I'm knew at this. I replied to u Megan, but not in this box. I hope u see it. Let me know. If u didn't see it I'll repost.
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I did the Fraxel Re:store on my hands a few weeks ago and am going to have them (and my arms) done again on Wednesday.

After the treatments on both my face and hands I had a lot of swelling for the first 2-3 days so I didn't return to work until the 4th day. I have also had flaking that lasts about 2 weeks.

After the 2nd treatment on my face I had a few blemishes that looked like white heads but turned out to be small puss pockets. I gently picked them with a needle and they came right out. I didn't have them with the first procedure, but I think she used a higher setting on the laser the second time.
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Wow... exciting posts! In the spirit of sharing and validation, I too was able to see dramatic results in my facial skin after 4 successive (6 weeks apart) fraxel treatments (BTW no down time) texture, pore size, fine line/wrinkes especially at the eyes all remarkably improved. Yes, at 57 and lucky enough to be able to afford it, I have had a face and brow lift, and I get a bit of botox to the brow a couple times/year but if I had to choose one cosmetic treatment to keep, the laser is by far the biggest bang for the buck!
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I am a 63-year old woman that has tried many different procedures since I was in my late thirties. Fraxel Re-Store is the latest.

Believe me when I say that there is no procedure out there that will fix everything. I have had 2 fraxel treatments over the last 2 months and have seen a difference in the fine lines around my eyes and the scarring caused from surgeries. Fraxel has also gotten rid of broken capilaries and helped reduce the size of a few large pores.

It's true that the full effects from Fraxel won't show up for several months; however, I am pleased with the results thus far. I realize I will still need to continue with botox and fillers. Fraxel is not designed to do what those procedures do. It's just another method to be used in conjunction with other anti-aging products.
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You have been through a lot. I think you look great and everyone is different. It is apparent the one poster didn't have a good experience. That's fine but you are pleased and excited. That's also fine!
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Look as I said in the beginning of this, I went through a full face lift, neck lift , brow lift and fat grafting to my face. The fraxal was recommended by my Dr. to help with the pigmentation , texture and fine lines. I have had 3 fraxal treatments 1 month apart and will have one more treatment next month. I did not see too much on the first 2 treatments. On the 3rd (I really got swollen, scabby and red on that one) after things calmed down I really did see a big difference in my skin. I had a lot of sun damage and that has greatly been reduced. I don't claim this to be a wonder drug. I use botox as well. Its all just what it is, it helps in subtle ways but you are not going to look 20 again (I was hoping myself that could happen ) I have spent a truck load of money and gone through a great deal of discomfort, but I think the results have been very, very good. I am never going to be a beauty queen, but I am doing what I can to look the best that I can look at almost 55.
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OK, after reading this comment from you & learning you are 55 I have to modify my above comment. You don't look great, you look AMAZING!!!! I never in a million years would have said you were anywhere close to 55.

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Well as Dolly Parton once said: "It costs alot to look this cheap". :) Thank you, you made my day.
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Haha, gotta love Dolly!! Or any woman for that matter, who bucks others judgements and instead chooses what makes them feel happy with themselves! :)

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Wow weee! You look bloody unreal! I'm glad I kept reading! I thought photo 1, perhaps 35 and photo 6 with the makeup, I thought 28!!! I'm gobsmacked that you are 55! I'm considering getting fraxel refine. I also think I look good for my age. I'm 44, and most people think I'm around 38, but hoping to look early 30s. I have mild sun damage and fine lines. The thing that worries me the most is the pain! Highly considering it now though!
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She posts pics with no detail after the first few days and you think she looks great? Let's see what you look like after 8-12 months up close. This is the most unscientific review of a treatment I ever read
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She does look great, and no one is claiming this is hard & fast scientific information, we are simply sharing our experiences.

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I think you look great!
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thank you. :)
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