“Not really worth it”

I had four Fraxel treatments at $800 a piece. I did it hoping to correct (or even fade) small acnes scars and years of laying in the sun trying to get a tan. I'm fair-haired and I burn easily.

My treatments were spaced a month and a half to two months apart. I read a post where someone had four (?) treatments spaced over a year. In my dermatologist's opinion, that's too long in between treatments. For best results, treatments need to be on a timely basis and scheduled about 2 months apart.

For me, each time, the laser was adjusted to make a deeper pass into the skin. I quit after the fourth treatment because I honestly wasn't seeing what had been promised to me. My skin looked fresher, but it did nothing to smooth out the texture or minimize wrinkles. I was extremely disappointed and felt like I'd just thrown $3200 down the garbage disposal.

I also read that someone had no "down time". Good for you! I, however, did have 3 days of down time. My skin was red and swollen with lots of flakiness. I couldn't even use a concealer to hide the redness because the skin was flaky. So basically, I stayed in the house for 3 days after each treatment.

I will say, and this may be a given, that it is so important that you use a total sunblock when going through these treatments, as your skin in very vulnerable to the sun's rays.

For anyone considering it, I would think twice about it. It's expensive and you're probably better off starting with a chemical peel to see if you get the results you want. So no matter how much your dermatologist/plastic surgeon raves about Fraxel, think twice. It's a lot of money for, in my opinion, a lot of nothing.