I'm a 52 year old Caucasian man who cancelled a second Fraxel-Restore session today for acne scars on my cheeks after reading about worrying side effects by patients: 'orange peel' affect, 'pin holes', and 'fat loss', accompanied by some disturbing pictures. However, I’ve noticed that the doctors on this site discount these side effects as coming from Fraxel. My Fraxel practitioner is a highly qualified and experienced dermatologist, and I'm now wondering if I'm worrying unduly. My dermatologist admitted that there was little or no effect from my first session – in spite of having a high Fraxel Restore setting of 60 millijoules power, treatment level 6, and 1550 nanometeter setting with 8 passes – and has kindly offered me a full refund. One thing that concerned me is that my session lasted only 6 minutes. I quizzed my dermatologist on this. He thought it was 15 minutes (it wasn't as I timed it), but said it wasn't the time but the number of passes that mattered. Is it possible to effectively cover my whole face with 8 passes in just 6 minutes? The Fraxel website suggests 15-25 mins. From my pics you will see that I have moderate acne scars with my biggest issue being a large acne depression on my cheek. Is Fraxel Restore itself likely to be effective here, or will I need supplementary work such as subcision or possibly a stronger laser such as Fraxel Repair? Finally, I would be very grateful for recommendations for the best Fraxel practitioner in London or the UK.
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September 1, 2015
Answer: Fraxel restore over multiple treatments can give more improvement than fraxel repair but filling for deep depressions is needed
Without injuring the epidermis, the Fraxel Restore laser can induce signficant collagen production in one's dermis beneath the epidermis of the skin. Treatments can be repeated monthly for many treatments. The risk of scarring with Fraxel Restore is extremely low and much less than the potential...
Hi RL. We would need a bit more information to know if fractional lasers can help. Fractional lasers are definitely used for scar treatments, but more so for texture than color. For the color, is your skin lighter or darker colored than the surrounding skin? This makes a difference for wha...
I will start by saying stretch marks are very difficult to treat. With most treatment options, expect 30% - 50% improvement. I like to use a series of Fraxel Dual treatments to improve the appearance of stretch marks. We numb the skin with a numbing cream and use a cold air...
