Acne.org Products
Good or Excellent Response
46%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Moderate Response
81%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Side Effects
Low-Medium
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist or plastic surgeon? Make an appointment to get this procedure done.
Don't have a dermatologist or a plastic surgeon? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find a dermatologist or the American Society of Plastic Surgeons to find a plastic surgeon.
Used Non-ablative Fractional Lasers? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
July 21, 2008
Cons:
Intensity of final treatment definitely caused a longer,more painful recovery. Burning and stinging skin to the point of almost unbearable because its non-stop and any applied creams hurt, except Aquaphor and olive oil. Worth the pain? YES!
I was born with beautiful, translucent, fair skin and being a Calif. girl, it was almost impossible to keep out of the sun, resulting in severe sun damage and topped with horrible acne as a teen. 20 yrs ago, I visited a top doc who told me to wait for less invasive technology to become available. A big thank you to that dr. Fraxel IS that technology and nothing comes without a price. Compared to other options for laser skin rejuvination, Fraxel has the least amount of after care issues with the best results. My advice is to be smart and go to the best DOCTOR possible. A Dermatologist preferred. I went to the best and it shows on my face. You get what you pay for, so do your research thoroughly...no technicians, just use a board certified dr that has performed many Fraxels. Most of all, stay out of the sun afterwards. Now, I go to the beach in winter and take walks at night. I'm almost 50 years old and Fraxel has made me look all of 30. It's a fantastic option to repair the skin
May 23, 2008
Pros:
Smoother skin appearance, less depression in acne scars
Cons:
cant be seen for a day or 2, expensive
Had IPL and pixel laser 5 times now. The rolling scars are less indented because of the pixel but I dont think the IPL did much for the red spots. My skin is still scarred and down the road I would want to get another kind of treatment as technology advances but it does look somewhat better.
December 12, 2007
Pros:
I had 5 Fraxel treatments, and truthfully, as I sit here, I cannot think of one pro. It did not help my scars or pores at all.
Cons:
I have deep acne scars, pitted, ice pick, my acne tunnelled so my scars are long and deep. The physician told me I would see some improvement, but I have seen nothing and actually my skin seems loose, with more wrinkles. Very expensive.
I personally don't recommend Fraxel. I am extremely disappointed in the lack of resutls. What a waste of time and money. My physician told me I would see some type of improvement, but I have seen none and its been over 6 months. I knew going in that my scars were not going to disappear, but I thought they would at least appear softer/smoother. Not at all, still the same. Very frustrating. Now I am a bit concerned about the texture of my skin, I have more wrinkles and loose skin especially around my eyes and mouth. I am 32 years old, this should not be happening.
February 14, 2009
Pros:
Not sure yet
Cons:
A little redness and swelling
So....I just had my 4th Fraxel treatment and I am a little red and swollen but nothing like others have described. Makes me think that maybe it is not working?? I have had very slight improvement so far but my doctor is encouraging me to do at least 6 treatments. Should I be more red, swollen and flakey?? My doctor uses the Fraxel II machine and the level is 45. She said that is pretty intense. Any thoughts? Funny that I want to be more red, swollen and flakey...I think it is more reasurrance that it is working. I will keep you all posted on my progress! Thanks everybody for sharing!
August 7, 2008
Pros:
Worked very well... the face lift was a bonus. I got malasia at pre menopause. only had time for one session before moving out of state.. it worked great!!! It is now 3 years later and more malasia has come out. I will have Dr Ramero do it again!
Cons:
hurst like hell!!! BUT... one hou of pain has gotten me many, many compliments for 3 years!
Make sure your doctor has taken top notch classes. My Dr took classes from the inventors... went to a lot of trouble to learn from the best. It paid off!
July 17, 2008
Pros:
Helped fade acne scarring.
Cons:
Not as effective as I had hoped. Downtime was awful.
During procedure - Hurts pretty bad if you don't use numbing cream beforehand. Did the first four without and the last one with. If you do use it the pain isn't too bad.
Immediately after each treatment - I looked like I had an awful sunburn and it hurt pretty bad. Just take painkillers and be sure to use lots of the post procedure cream they give you. Not much you can do about looking bad except hide inside for a week (like I did) unless the redness fades and peeling finishes.
Overall treatment - Helped fade scars quite a lot but not completely. However, now if I wear makeup no scarring is visible (unlike before) which is nice. =) Need to do the full series though because there were no visible effects from first couple treatments.
I would only reccommend this treatment if you have money to spare (because it is quite pricey) and if you are able to take a week off of school and/or work for recovery.
March 13, 2008
Pros:
I have had one Fraxel treatment exactly two weeks ago. The skin on my cheeks shows nice improvement with smaller pores. However, it was the scars on my chin that were the real concern for me and I notice NO difference there.
Cons:
Very painful to me. Huge swollen face for 48 hours. "No downtime" is insane. Needed Vicodin afterward and my pain tolerance has always been pretty high. 5 days after treatment had a terrible acne breakout. Like a rash, but some of the acne remains.
The improvement in the upper half of my face gives me hope in spite of the pain and aftermath. Unfortunately those of us with acne scarring are willing to go through almost anything to finally have smooth skin. I will reluctantly but hopefully continue my fraxel treatments. But would love some suggestions on how to deal with the problems I had -- particularly the acne breakout since this is the problem that got me here to begin with. My dr. is treating my scarring very aggressively. I am willing to tolerate the pain (although next time I will go in having taken a Vicodin). But I'm afraid that the additional breakouts are just going to contribute further to my scarring. Time will tell. Next treatment is in two weeks.
November 29, 2007
Pros:
The pain is tolerable, the cost for spot treatments were alot less expensive than doing the whole face
Cons:
Your face is red & swollen so you think it is going to work. Then a week into it you notice the scars are coming back....
I am tired of being SOLD on products because the doctors know how badly you want results.I have had 6 Fraxel treatments done. The first series was one a week for 4 weeks. I saw a slight (10%) improvement in my scars after 6 months. After a year I went back to the same doctor & had 2 more. No additional results at all from those additional 2 treament. I would stay away from the Fraxel treatment for acne scars it just doesn't help.
Then I tried the Fractional Lux 1520 which is a more aggressive laser (they claim), it's more expensive but less painfull. Still recovery time is 3-4 days of redness. I has 2 treatments out of 4, every 3 weeks. I did have alittle improvement on 1 large scar I had but that was it so I quit going. The bottom line is we all wish we could find a doctor who actually understood what we are going through. It's about the money. I am going to start asking if they will guarentee the procedure. If they believe in the procudure & the results they will do it.
September 26, 2007
Pros:
minor improvement of some scarring
Cons:
expensive, very painful, left me with some discoloration followed by a major breakout of a small blister-like rash across cheeks and chin
I have a great dermatologist who was very excited about my trying the Fraxel. After three treatments and $3100 later, I was left with one side of my face darker than the other, skin that is breaking out unless I am on an antibiotic and using a topical cream every night. The first two treatments were tolerable, the the third one was the killer. I am 55 years old and haven't had any breakouts in years. As a result, my doctor gave me two photo - rejuvenation treatments at no cost. I'm very sorry I tried Fraxel. I am pretty much back to where I was before I had the treatments, but out a lot of money. The swelling you experience after each treatment is almost psychologically cruel - your face looks great, (red, but scarring is gone) only to have it all come back when the swelling goes down. Don't get your hopes up.
October 13, 2006
Pros:
Area unafeccted by acne texture improved somewhat.
Cons:
Saw minimal improvement of acne. Not worth the cost and time of the treatment.
If you are going for improvement of acne scars, save you money.
Pros:
I have had 4 treatments, each 30 days apart. I have waited 20 yrs for technology to advance to this stage of minimally invasive skin repair. It has taken away most of my forming wrinkles and greatly improved my skin quality and cleared up my acne.