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POSTED UNDER CO2 Laser REVIEWS

Total FX - CO2 Fractionated Laser for Acne Scarring - Not Worth It!

ORIGINAL POST

I had been looking forward to having a skin...

fjpinaz
$3,600
I had been looking forward to having a skin resurfacing procedure since the late 80's. I got cystic "welts" all over my face from taking Accutane in my teens which left me scarred. Fast forward to my 40's, I finally had the money and did research and finally could to make my dreams of smooth skin come true! Actually a less acne scarred face was what I was hoping for...

Quick summary on the day of the procedure: I took the valium and had numbing cream applied. The procedure took about 1/2 hour. I have a high tolerance for pain and I would say I was mildly uncomfortable during the procedure. I wanted my Dermatologist to go as deep as possible to get as best results as possible. I made her aware I wanted her to do as much as possible because I was hoping for a "one & done" procedure. I could not afford to do a 2nd and 3rd procedure as each treatment was over 3k.

I did this procedure over 2 years ago now. The only things that I notably recall is using a ton of Aquafor all over my face after cold water / vinegar face washes multiple times a day. Sleeping was horrible for me as I am a side sleeper and tried to keep my face off the pillow. I was fearful my face would dry out and stick to my pillow (which did not happen). I ate a ton of popsicles (like 4 boxes in 6 days) the cold pressed on my cheeks helped the swelling at the beginning and the itching towards the end. I had to use baking soda and vinegar to get the Aquafor out of hair. Every 2 days I drove to my Derm's office to get my face thoroughly cleaned to avoid any infection.

I have to say I was so incredibly astonished at how are bodies have the ability to heal. When I was on day 1 & 2 I never thought my face would be completely healed at 1 week. I was quite amazed at this healing process but it's not for the faint of heart sort of person. It's hard to walk through this transformation. Even though I was in no real pain, it's just real uncomfortable. I was grateful my mom helped me do the face washes and prepared ice packs for me. Having someone to help you is strongly recommended!!!

Now to the results... if there are any noticeable? I was very excited after a week to apply makeup and I noticed a huge improvement :) at that time. I had been told by the Dermatologist not to get excited too soon as there will be swelling. She was right :( After 2 weeks my face was red and seemed like it went right back to the way it looked before the treatment. I had such high hopes for this to help my scarring as I was told up to 50%. I was told my "orange peel" chin would get the best results. Which now that I am 2 years post op still find it hard to see any real improvement in the texture of my skin anywhere. Mostly I am left bummed out by this experience. I had high hopes and the doctor feed into that hope by saying 50% results but it's more like 10%. I notice since the procedure the huge pores on my nose are not as full of oil as it was before. However after years dreaming about having this procedure I do feel like I got that check off my bucket list.

I want to clarify that the Total FX CO2 (fractionated) is not the same as the old school UltraPulse CO2 (non-fractioned). The newer fractionated lasers are in my opinion not effective from acne scarring (unless maybe you do multiple treatments). If I had it to do all over I would have kept searching for a doctor who still operated the old school "gold standard" UltraPulse CO2. Then I would have had a chance to get the results I was dreaming of. I wish I was not so scared of it... BE AWARE of the patient satisfaction results on the fractionated lasers, it's in the 50% range for a reason.

fjpinaz's provider

Susan Van Dyke, MD

Susan Van Dyke, MD

Dermatologic Surgeon, Board Certified in Dermatology

fjpinaz rating for Dr. Van Dyke:

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Replies (14)

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April 16, 2016
great having fractional laser may 18 thank you for sharing
April 17, 2016
Thanks so much for this review! I've been looking for reviews with pics of results after a year. I'm sorry you didn't get much of an improvement. I've heard you need 3-4 sessions of fractional CO2 to see good results, but with fully ablative CO2 you can have 50-80% improvement from 1 treatment. Did you notice any worsening of your scars or fat loss? This is what I'm most concerned about as I'm considering getting several treatments of fractional CO2 laser treatment, but scared at this point because of many negative reviews.
April 18, 2016
I did not notice any scars getting worse or fat loss. If your already planning on getting multiple treatments you may be happy with the results of a fractionated laser for acne scarring, good luck to you!
April 30, 2016
I've had 2 Fractional CO2 laser treatments and the treatment and recovery were great. From my experience, it is most important to find a skilled doctor to perform the treatment.
April 2, 2017
I've had 14 fractional CO2 treatments (combo CO2RE AND fraxel repair, with TCA Cross the first 6 times or so) and I'm at about 80% improvement. I started about 1 yr and 5 months ago. I've had no worsening of scars, no hyper or hypopigmentation and no fat loss and I'm 47 yrs old. Some mild orange peel texture in a few areas, but consider it a fair trade-off for much improved scarring. Plus, I plan to treat that later with peels or microneedling. And yes, I'll do a review at some point LOL.
December 8, 2017
I would love to read your review.
March 16, 2018
I would also love to see your before/ after and read your reviews! Going for my first CO2 fractional on Saturday for scars, I'm very nervous reading reviews on here, but optimistic too.. I love reading people's healing experiences.
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April 18, 2016
So sorry that your results were not as you were hoping for. It is true that fractionated laser generally gives a 50% improvement with a single treatment so multiple treatments are anticipated (and at reduced cost in our office). Fully ablative CO2 UltraPulse (the old fashioned way) is pretty tough. We used to do them but with general anesthesia and a recovery of many weeks just to get make up back on. The side effect of permanent loss of pigment is the main reason it is not done anymore except in rare circumstances. Even back then, with the more aggressive treatment most patients got 50% improvement and needed additional treatments. I wish there were a perfect answer and am happy to discuss in more depth!
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April 18, 2016
One more story proves that laser does not help at all! Thank you for your post.
April 19, 2016
I do see some improvement, but thank god you had no complications and ended up w/ worse skin than before, which is what happened to me after a terrible IPL. IN your case, the only thing that maybe the dr. is guilty of is perhaps not stressing to you more that due to the depth of your scars, you will not be able to eliminate them, and it will take more than one treatment. Maybe it was impossible to get as much improvement as you wanted w/ one tx. Given the depth of 2 small areas on your cheeks (1 on each cheek), I am guessing that fillers might be a better option, or perhaps as part of a "combo attack." I am interested in the Accutane causation. I have read that sometimes w/ severe inflammatory type acne, the Accutane causes the inflammation to almost explode out of your face and it gets worse before it gets better, and the manage this "explosion," derms should provide steroids during this period. Perhaps the Accutane would have worked if given in conjuction w/ prednisone. Nothing is ever simple w/ skin! Best of luck to you, and I do think you have some improvement, esp. in the shallower scars.
April 21, 2016
I completely agree with you, I was terrified that I would end up worse than how I started with. I am so sorry for you that you to have had complications. I hope your skin can be corrected. It's so disheartening to have skin issues esp. when it's on your face. My scars annoy me on a daily basis. Also what you said on the acne "explosion" is exactly what happened. I wish my Derm would have known to do something to help. Instead she said I had a reaction possibly it's due to the BC pills that you have to take to be on Accutane. This was back in the mid-80's so that could be why there was not as much known about my reaction, I guess. Thanks for your feedback. I wish you luck in your skin correction journey too.