Canceled 2 treatments - San Diego, CA

I had my first fraxel yesterday. I showed up early for the numbing cream, The hour went by fast because I was nervous! The procedure itself didn't take too long but WOW it DOES hurt. It is doable if you keep telling yourself why you are doing it. The RN was super sweet and talked me through it. Tears came out, couldn't help it but the pain passes fast.

I had 4 passes and honestly don't know if I could have taken another. Each pass hurt more. Not trying to scar anyone but just be prepared it will hurt but it will be over fast. Keep the cold air blower on! The nurse held it for me.

Afterwards she gave me and ice pack as my face was throbbing and swollen. It's an odd sensation; you can feel the heat beneath the skin. Within just a few minutes my face stopped throbbing and I looked in the mirror! Wow face was beat red and swollen! Was a little shaky (my body always does this shocky thing even when I get dental work) so next time will bring some fruit or something for afterwards.

Minimal pain within an hour but I was pretty swollen for the rest of the day and very red.

2nd day my face is getting rough with little brown spots. Also still swollen but not as much. Also not very nearly as red. If anyone who didn't know me probably wouldn't notice! I wish the slight swelling would stay as I look great!

I put undecided as my rating becuase I really shouldn't judge it until I get the other three treatments.

Updated on 6 Apr 2011:

Today is day 9. I had a pretty bad break out of acne after the whiteheads, but now that is almost healed. All redness is gone and honestly my face does look younger but my doc is honest and said it is probably swelling (though it doesn't look swollen to me.) My skin is just about back to normal except for the lack of sagginess. My doc said 20% of people get an acne breakout but it is temporary.

I wish this was the final result but doc said after 1 month I will see all swelling gone. I still have three treatments to go. He said after three along with the fillers my face will look 10 years younger and I trust him. Doc said it takes a while to rebuild collagen so he won't do the juvederm under the eyes until 1 month past treatment as it could puff the eyes too much.

I have to say after reading many of these negative posts I was afraid to do this but my doc is one of the top fraxel docs. Plus I am married to a doc (different specialty) and will say docs don't just "do this for money" as many people have accused. Most doctors care very deeply about their patient's well being and don't want to scar people. Sure there is always going to be a bad reaction or bad doctor but they are the exceptions.

Day 3 (2 days after treatment).
Skin is getting more rough but hardly red, more pink/tanish. Also minor breakout of whiteheads. Swelling is gone. I was told all this would happen ahead of time so no surprises. It's way easier than I thought after reading some of the reviews. I do miss using my regular skin products but they said to wait a week.

Today is day 10, all redness, acne etc is gone. I have been wearing spf 70 sunscreen and a hat and will continue to do so out in the sun. Sun damage is the number one cause of bad skin. Look at the skin on your butt or an area that doesn't get sun and you won;t see any lines, wrinkles, spots, etc.

It's been almost a month since my 1st fraxel. I have a couple spots i'm concerned about but doc will check them out. My forehead has a red square patch in the center, and the pores are very enlarged. Forehead also feels lumpy. The rest of my skin looks great. I did get a bruise below one eye but it is going away. Most people have noticed a change and say my skin looks good even though I haven;t told them it was done.

Yesterday I had my second fraxel treatment. First I'll address the pain issue. YES it hurt more the second time! I really didn't think I could get through it but I did. Had over an hour of numbing cream, but still it hurt, especially on the forehead.

I was still red and had minor swelling from the first treatment. My doc said I have sensitive skin so he used 30/6 instead of the 40/8 he did last time. I'm glad he did as I would rather error on the side of being conservative than too aggressive.

Today I have less swelling and redness than the first time. I also got some post laser cream which contains hydro-cortisone, aloe and moisturizer. The moisturizer I was using had salylic acid which was probably too much in the healing process. For all you women that love make up I got some yellow powder that gets rid of redness to wear under your powder foundation. I actually wore it yesterday and went to lunch after the procedure. Today I am not so puffed up my eyes aren't swollen like last time.

So yes these setting are more conservative but down time is nothing. Yes I'm still red but it can be covered. Comparing my before and after pixs I definitely looked tighter so am looking forward to these results. I plan on getting a genesis treatment to get rid of the redness after all this as I do have red skin.

Today is day 4 after my second treatment. So far this has been MUCH easier than the first. No whiteheads or acne like last time. Redness is easy to cover with powder, and swelling is minimal. I think the lower settings are the reason why. Hopefully I will have as good results but honestly I'm thinking the people that had a hard time was because the settings were too high. Maybe there is so many variables with skin type it's impossible to predict outcome. So far I'm happy and plan on my third treatment. The only part I HATE is the actual procedure but it's only 20 minutes.

Just had to post an update. Today is day 8 after my second fraxel. I am starting to see real improvements finally other than the temporary swelling. My skin just looks better, is tighter and smoother. Many of the spots are gone, small lines and the little bumps I had after the first treatment have disappeared. The only thing I have is a small bit of hyperpigmentation below my eye but am told it will go away. I think the key was I had lower settings, and I used a better product for aftercare. Also bumped up the vit c. Looking forward to my third fraxel...starting to see how good it is going to get!

I think the thing is don't go into this thinking it is an overnight process. Your skin will look bad before it looks good. My face now looks the healthiest it has in years, and I'm starting to get comments about how good my skin looks which I can assure has NEVER happened before!

May 8 -- I was due for my third fraxel but my doc decided to hold off for at least an additional 6 weeks. He said my skin still looks irritated. My skin is very sensitive and is still red even though the last settings were very low. For now I am back using hydracortisone/aloe/moisturizer blend on my face and that is it. My skin continues to look better other than some areas that are still red. I'm very glad I have a good doctor that looks at my face carefully. Getting my fillers on a few weeks and may do genesis if the redness persists.

I made the decision to cancel the last two fraxels. I think it is just too harsh for my skin. I have a mixed final review.

The good--

6 weeks out of my second treatment my skin looks fantastic from my eyes and below. It is tighter, smooth and i look much younger. It is pretty amazing. Tone is more even too, and many spots are gone. I really wish I could complete the treatments but see below for the reasons i am not.

the not so good -- the "boney" areas of my face-- cheekbones, forehead and outer corners of the eyes are still having issues. My forehead still has that bumpy enlarged pore look, and the red patchy look has not gone away. Fortunately I have bangs to cover it.

The outer corners of my eyes still have the little bumps. texture looks very rough. the wrinkles are gone though so pick your poison!

My cheekbones-- one is still slightly swollen and one has a spot that is painful. I have been using hydrocortisone/aloe/vitamen moisturizer still to make that area less tender. It is getting better.

Overall I am happy with the way my face looks but am afriad to do further treatments until the trouble spots heal, and even then the settings will have to be so conservative not sure it is worth.

Honestly the tighening and smoothness that has occured so far exceeded my expectations. Becuase of this I don't see any reason to continue.

Bottom line, is it worth it? I think it depends on YOUR skin. I think there are so many variable reponses to this treatment it is hard to predict the outcome. So for now, no more lasers for me. (I don't really need any more!)

My doc is very kind and said this is a process and will do everything to make this heal and for now the best thing is let it rest.

So I wanted to update another month later. My skin has fully healed after 2 treatments. As I mentioned before I opted to cancel the additional 2 treatments. The area around the outside corners of my eyes is still bumpy but not noticeable.

I think this procedure is hard on sensitive skin and takes a long time to see the results, but now my skin looks great I don't need makeup. I've also had juverderm and botox and yes I do look 10 years younger! I guess I'm lucky to only need 2 treatments.

Well it's been six months since my first tx so I thought I'd update. I had 2 treatments of the restore.

Was it worth it? I think it is overpriced. I originally bought 4 treatments but canceled the last 2. My skin is very smooth and it cleared up the sun damage. On the downside the sides outer corners of my eyes have the pitting. But, no wrinkles! Also I have some hyperpigment under one eye.


Now I'm using retinol almost daily and my skin is getting even better but not sure if it is from the fraxel or retinal. If I had it to do all over again I would have used the retinol alone to see if there was an improvement.

I'm changing my rating to not worth it because of the potential for damage in some individuals and you can buy lots of precription strength retinol for the same money.