Side Effects of Too Many Fraxel Restore Treatments?

I have seen some wonderful results with Fraxel Restore for acne scarring. Some patients take a six month holiday after a series of five or six, as more collagen is continually produced after the last treatment for this period. There are other patients, whose scarring is so deep and wide that as long as their schedule and budget allow, the treatments continue while we see improvement, without any fixed maximum number of treatments.

Fraxel Re:store is definitely among the most effective and worry-free treatment option for the removal of
acne scars. Many times, people with darker skin tones are worried about the power of laser treatment as
compared to results on white skin. My Asian patients are often time very pleased to find how well the Fraxel
laser works for them. There’s nothing wrong with having six or more treatments, however, after the fourth or
fifth one I would recommend taking 5 or 6 months off to give your skin time to heal itself before scheduling
more work.

Hi Narik,
As long as your physician is using the proper settings for your skin type and condition, you can continue to have Fraxel restore treatments.  We usually continue to treat patients as long as there is noticeable improvement from the previous treatment.
Good luck and be well.
Dr. P

Thank you for your question. Fraxel Re: Store is one of the safest and most effective methods to treat acne scars, especially in ethnic skin.  From your history it appears you will need 5-8 treatments. I recommend taking a minimum 3 month break in between your treatments to see your results. This is because final results are seen after dermal remodeling. Best of Luck!

Thank you for your question. Fraxel
Re: Store is one of the safest and most effective methods to treat acne scars,
especially in ethnic skin.  From your
history it appears you will need 5-8 treatments. I recommend taking a minimum 3
month break in between your treatments to see your results. This is because
final results are seen after dermal remodeling. Best of Luck!

This very question came up at a recent meeting with all the best laser surgeons in the world at Mass General (Harvard). Dr. Rox Anderson, the inventor of fractional laser resurfacing said he saw no issues with multiple treatments.

He even stated that your incidence of skin cancer will be lower (not higher as some bloggers have stated) with the resurfacing.

 Fraxel laser is an ideal tool to improve acne scarring.
We typically perform a series of 5 treatments then take a break of up to 3 months.
At that time, we re-evaluate and can continue for up to 5 more treatments.

What great news that you are seeing improvement. Fraxel Restore is one of the most effective and safest treatments for acne scars, especially in ethnic skin. You will likely need 5-8, based on your history. I usually recommend you take at least a 3 month break after #5 since the full benefits of Fraxel are seen after the dermal remodelling has had time to kick in.