Fraxel Laser for Acne Scars on Asian Skin?

Hi Jilodo,
Asian skin is prone to post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) which causes the treated skin to darker more than untreated areas. Patients need to weigh the benefits of improving their scars verus the risk of living with darker skin for an unpredictable amount of time. We have treated many Asian patients, the PIH always fades over time.
Most Asian patients are pretreated with topical skin care to help minimize possible PIH, and then treated after their laser treatment with skin lightening products. Fraxel restore is much less likely to cause PIH than Fraxel repair.
Your skin should not be burned.
Good luck and be well.
Dr. P

You can undergo Fraxel laser treatment as long as your acne breakouts are under control. We all have or or two pimples now and then, and it is completely fine to proceed with Fraxel treatment. It is important that your provider thinks that your skin is ready for laser treatment in order to minimize any side effects. Moreover, your provider has to know what topical and oral medications were you using since there has to be certain time gap between your last application or dose and first laser treatment (as it is the case with Accutane and other medications). Good luck!