What's the difference in results between a fractional Laser like the Icon 1540 and a RF fractional device like the Venus Viva?

Question

My goal is to smooth out mild acne scars and reduce pore size with 3 treatments. The Icon 1540 treatment is significantly lower priced than the Venus Viva treatment. Both treatments claim to help with acne scars and pore size but obviously use different technology. Is on better than the other for mild acne scars? Skin tone is Olive. Thanks

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

you need a formal consult, as the icon and viva do VERY LITTLE IF ANYTHING for scars.

at home peels like cosmelan, enlighten and aerify along with dermarolling (MTS roller with anteage MD ampules weekly) should be started now and do more than those devices.  in office halo/co2, MNRF like fractora will do more for you (show us photos!).

if you have post inflammatory hyperpigmentation/melasma/discoloration that needs cosmelan or enlighten peels at home which we can do virtually and send to your home along with aerify peels regularly, vivatia foam, restorsea 10x, faith essence serum, and cosmelan 2 cream.

Acne scar treatment needs a combination approach for improvement.  For the best results, one should target the acne scar type.  As everyone has a unique pattern of acne scarring, the best solution is a tailored one.  Typically you need fillers like bellafill and sculptra for atrophic indented type scars with or without subcision.  Subcision for depressed tethered scars.  Vascular lasers like yellow laser, aerolase, excel V or IPL for redness or thick scars. And lasers such as fraxel, erbium, co2 or fractional radiofrequency like venus viva, skinfinity, intensif or fractora microneedling RF for textural issues and superficial scarring.  Deep ice pick scars and narrow box car scars are best treated with TCA CROSS and punch excision.  All lasers are combined with microneedling and PRP to get even better results and improve healing times.   The majority of patients will have a collection of different scar types, and hence a tailored treatment plan is needed by an expert physician.  It is never about the laser or product that gives the results, its about the expert behind the equipment that gets you the outcome.  Scars cannot be cured and will need life-long treatments to maintain and build on the results.  For those at high risk for hyperpigmentation (darker skin types or asian or hispanic or mixed ethnicities) we already pre-treat the skin with cosmelan or enlighten lightening peels to prevent complications from energy-based or chemical-based treatments.  Best, Dr. Emer.

David S. Rosenberg, MD · Answer

both are great treatments for acne scars, the Viva is a little more expensive because of the disposable tip cost, but the Viva is also safer for darker skin types and since there is no flash of light we can get closer to the eye with it

What's the difference in results between a fractional Laser like the Icon 1540 and a RF fractional device like the Venus Viva?

Answers (2)

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