The girl is wearing some eye shadow that's all. the angle is almost dead on which is much better than most of the junk on the fraxel site. these pics are by far the best quality before and afters i've seen in six months of searching . . .
I think she is wearing blush too, but trust me...blush accentuates scars more than it hides them so I don't think it is a problem in the after photos. That is a good representation of what people who've had fraxels mean by better texture. You can still see that she has scarring but it softens it and the skin as a whole looks smoother.
Not scarless but an improvement nonetheless. I wish they would say what levels they used on those patients.
The girl is wearing some eye shadow that's all. the angle is almost dead on which is much better than most of the junk on the fraxel site. these pics are by far the best quality before and afters i've seen in six months of searching . . .
I think she is wearing blush too, but trust me...blush accentuates scars more than it hides them so I don't think it is a problem in the after photos. That is a good representation of what people who've had fraxels mean by better texture. You can still see that she has scarring but it softens it and the skin as a whole looks smoother.
Not scarless but an improvement nonetheless. I wish they would say what levels they used on those patients.
maybe you can write them and find out.
i rotated the first after picture so you can see the scars from the same axis point of view.
I actually think texture (of non-scarred skin) looks better inthe before photo. the fraxel makes normal skin seem grainy. i wonder if it goes back to normal over time?
Can Fraxel be done on Dark Skinned individuals? Sorry if its been brought up already. Long thread lol
some asians on here have had it done. no black people though. although its supposed to be safe for all skin types.
here is another link with microscopic pics of skin and MTZs:
http://www.aspirebecome.com/physician/nt_fraxel.asp
http://info.laser.hc360.com/2005/09/23112721046.shtml
**this one is in chinese but actually has a scale with the micron depth! seems the MTZs are over 200 microns in diameter though. that's twice as large as the fraxel site says.
The girl is wearing some eye shadow that's all. the angle is almost dead on which is much better than most of the junk on the fraxel site. these pics are by far the best quality before and afters i've seen in six months of searching . . .
I think she is wearing blush too, but trust me...blush accentuates scars more than it hides them so I don't think it is a problem in the after photos. That is a good representation of what people who've had fraxels mean by better texture. You can still see that she has scarring but it softens it and the skin as a whole looks smoother.
Not scarless but an improvement nonetheless. I wish they would say what levels they used on those patients.
maybe you can write them and find out.
i rotated the first after picture so you can see the scars from the same axis point of view.
I actually think texture (of non-scarred skin) looks better inthe before photo. the fraxel makes normal skin seem grainy. i wonder if it goes back to normal over time?
I actually take slightly 'grainy' skin over scarred skin anytime. Plus I showed my mom (who happens to visit) the picture and she actually said..for a couple thousand bucks, that's not too bad improvement and she added "Sometimes you can't put a price on improving your self esteem"
Hi there
I'm new to this site so bear with me in case of mess ups!!
Have some acne scarring to my temples and cheeks which I was hoping to decrease with fraxel this summer. After reading some of your posts i'm now seriously in doubt. Is it really likely that my scarring could actually get worse??
Your posts have also made me realise that the downtime can be rather significant. Because of this I am considering the option of only having two treatments done this summer and then waiting until next year to have a further two or three treatments (Live in Africa so I'm only in Europe for short periods once a year). Do you think this would reduce the possible benefits??
Any comments??
I think there is no risk your scars will get worse, unless you go for super high settings. There is hyper risk if you have darker pigment, but people seem to be dealing with this ok. I think this is likely to be a "no pain, no gain" procedure. If you don't have high settings and downtime, you probably won't see much gain unless you have many treatments.
While I have seen many benefits in textures and pore size, the improvment in scars with much depth has been minimal for me (but more improvement may be on the way?). My guess is that the optimal interval spacing is monthly for higher settings in connection with scar correction, but that you will not lose all of the benefit of having 2 this summer, by delaying to have the next 2 years from now.
Tough call, but good luck.
I think there is no risk your scars will get worse, unless you go for super high settings.
What does qualify as super high? I have read so far that for scars to be improved, you'll need to be in the setting of 20MJ? (I'm not familiar with Fraxel)...so if we go that high, especially for Asian skin type (III) that might cause the hyperpigmentation?
I am thinking this....get a couple treatments in early August....in second week of September I have a family reunion.
Will I see any improvements at all before then?
hehe alright... soooooo i decided to give fraxel another go.. for those who know me, i've done 3 treatments already and they've given me decent results. settings were set at 15/20/22mj... ANYWAY well i was looking around to find a treatment for my hypertrophic scars on my chest and back when i came across a doctor in socal that does 4 treatments of fraxel for 2.5k which is like... WHOA CHEAP!... ANYWAY i had my first treatment out of the 4 done on... thursday and as expected... the bloody thing felt like hell fire. i mean... i am grown asian male, but for me to shed some tears - that's pretty rough.. from my memory 20mj didn't hurt that much and i didn't have vicodin that time. 
..in the end, all is well. my face does look like a basketball but beside from that everything is cool. this last treatment was at 18mj in case you were wondering. do you guys know of any other method of keeping the swelling down other than putting ice on it? i've been using this foam spray thing called.. olux... and it has helped a lot. the thing is... i ran out and i can't more until tomorrow AND i still have some swelling left. 
ta-ta, alex
Yoyo
I would get a treatment ASAP and another in about 1 month, so that you are close to fully healed by early Sept. If you go above 20, I think you will see improvement by then, but many docs won't start that high. Some people can't tolerate the pain, etc.
I really believe in adequate spacing so that the next procedure does not damage newly formed collagen or otherwise interfere with healing from the first procedure. Moreover, this gives you time to assess your full healing response to the treatment to guide you in settings for your next treatment. My Doc gave me a lot of lattitude on settings, after the first one, and I went for way more energy than any of their previous patients.
I think there is no risk your scars will get worse, unless you go for super high settings. There is hyper risk if you have darker pigment, but people seem to be dealing with this ok. I think this is likely to be a "no pain, no gain" procedure. If you don't have high settings and downtime, you probably won't see much gain unless you have many treatments.
While I have seen many benefits in textures and pore size, the improvment in scars with much depth has been minimal for me (but more improvement may be on the way?). My guess is that the optimal interval spacing is monthly for higher settings in connection with scar correction, but that you will not lose all of the benefit of having 2 this summer, by delaying to have the next 2 years from now.
Tough call, but good luck.
I think there is no risk your scars will get worse, unless you go for super high settings. There is hyper risk if you have darker pigment, but people seem to be dealing with this ok. I think this is likely to be a "no pain, no gain" procedure. If you don't have high settings and downtime, you probably won't see much gain unless you have many treatments.
While I have seen many benefits in textures and pore size, the improvment in scars with much depth has been minimal for me (but more improvement may be on the way?). My guess is that the optimal interval spacing is monthly for higher settings in connection with scar correction, but that you will not lose all of the benefit of having 2 this summer, by delaying to have the next 2 years from now.
Tough call, but good luck.
Do not seem to have the hang of this reply thing yet!!
Well I have European skin so hopefully hyperpigmentation should not be a problem, have also started using something called urbutin on my face. Its a natural product reducing pigmentation.
However you say I may not lose all my benefit. Does that imply I will lose some???
The girl is wearing some eye shadow that's all. the angle is almost dead on which is much better than most of the junk on the fraxel site. these pics are by far the best quality before and afters i've seen in six months of searching . . .
I think she is wearing blush too, but trust me...blush accentuates scars more than it hides them so I don't think it is a problem in the after photos. That is a good representation of what people who've had fraxels mean by better texture. You can still see that she has scarring but it softens it and the skin as a whole looks smoother.
Not scarless but an improvement nonetheless. I wish they would say what levels they used on those patients.
I have at 4 fraxels done so far by them at the baylor clinic, and they say they won't go over 20mj. So I assume that is what level she has had done.
I don't know if you would lose some of the benefit. I can only say that protocols are for at least 4 treatments (that is what I have had) and the reason for this is that only about 17% or so of face is treated per session due to the fractional (pixels, or columns of light beem) treatment. So, I can see an argument for having at least 4 so that you get close to 100% coverage during a reasonably concise treatment period.
Frankly, I don't think anyone knows. If this is your only option, go for it. I think Fraxel is a big advance in treament safety and the like, but don't expect a huge improvement in scars.
Good luck.
I have not heard or experienced a permanent grainy texture after fraxel. Frankly if it left normal skin grainy who on earth would do it. It was developed for sun damaged skin, which usually looks orange peely so does not make sense. Maybe someone else knows something different.
Peach Pie
The grainy skin can be seen in some of the higher res pics. while scars look much better, the after texture of non-scarred skin looks sandy.
I read the MENDS take a month or more to fully heal. so im just curious if it goes away eventually.
I was researching it and came across the patent application for fraxel. it says sometimes the MENDS form Focal Macroscopic Necrosis (FMN). You can see some of these in the baylor.edu link if you click on the link to see photos of the healing process. At24 hrs the woman has some small FMN on her cheek.
Was wondering if anyone knew if there is a difference between a bleaching cream and a melanocyte suppressing cream. My derm prescribed me soloquine to use for several weeks before my first fraxel treatment to suppress the melanocytes to decrease hyperpigmentation. Is this different than a bleaching cream? And what's the difference between Equino Micro (sp?), hydroquonine, and Triluma?
Was wondering if anyone knew if there is a difference between a bleaching cream and a melanocyte suppressing cream. My derm prescribed me soloquine to use for several weeks before my first fraxel treatment to suppress the melanocytes to decrease hyperpigmentation. Is this different than a bleaching cream? And what's the difference between Equino Micro (sp?), hydroquonine, and Triluma?
Is this the new format for these threads? I don't like it.
I think Equino Micro has a retinol in it - which I understood was contraindicated during fraxel, but my doc gave me samples of the stuff until I could get the prescription filled for a hydroquinine 8%. I opted not to use it because of independent research I had done and just filled the prescription immediately.
I found a site with better pictures than fraxel.com. It's a university site so i think it's reliable:
http://www.bcm.edu/dermatology/?PMID=2331
I emailed the site about the treatments used on the woman with scarring. The Dr. was very quick to respond and seemed very interested in the discussion among patients. Here is what he sent me:
"Fraxel is a great technology that everybody is still trying to better use. Each treatment I do is actually a little bit different depending on the skin type and skin problem to be treated. I too have wondered about the using lower fluences (and higher density) vs higher fluence and lower density and cannot give a final answer.
I have found the best thing (so far in my practice) is to gear the treatment in one direction but to add in the other. For example, if I remember correctly, the patient with the acne scars on the temple & cheek had 4 treatments (3 before the picture and 1 immediately afterwards). Half of her sessions were with roughly 10mj/2000mtz + spot 15-20mj/375-500mtz to scars & the other half of her session were roughly with 16-20 mj/1250-1500mtz + spot 16-20/250mtz.
Her scars did fairly well (most people need ~5-6 treatments, she was a little quicker). It seems to be a much more reliable technology than the non-ablative devices like the Smoothbeam (which we also have) but I always tell patients that the average seems to be about 50% improvement on average. Nearly everybody seems to get improvement, but the rare nonresponder is tough due to the expense of the treatment. On the plus side it is a lot easier on myself and the patient compared with ablative resurfacing or the deep chemical peels (another option).
One quick disclaimer. When I took her followup pictures it was at a slightly different angle (I tried to make it perfect but pictures are tough and I didn't realize it until later). Clearly there is good improvement but when I judge pictures the angle of the photograph, facial expression and lighting make a big difference in a photograph. This one is decent, but I will try to get another better one of her in the future (or just put a different patient on)."
I responded asking if I could post his response and he said no problem and he also added this:
"The only thing I didn't mention is perhaps the most important. I believe that the results are more dependant on the total energy used than the exact settings used. I once compared my treatments to another Fraxel physician who was not getting great results and on the surface they appeared to be equivalent. When I asked how much total energy was used I was consistently significantly higher. This happens because although the same parameters are used the amount of overlap can vary significantly from physician to physician significantly. That doesn't mean the other physician was giving a bad treatment, it just might take more sessions to get the same result."