Fraxel Laser Treatment Side Effects

This post is on Fraxel laser side effects as the post about Fraxel laser reviews mentioned people saying that their side effects were not what they expected.  I had already discussed my concern of what the marketing hype says and what real Fraxel patients say.

My dermatologist told me to expect some pimple breakouts after getting Fraxel treatments and this matches what I have read on the subject as well.  I know she’s being honest with me and she has had previous experience with this common side effect at least.  In fact, she’s a cosmetic dermatologist who has fifteen years of experience in lasers so hopefully she can do a good job using Fraxel to get rid of my acne scars.    However, there are other areas of concern for me with this doctor.

I have an olive skin complexion so I had read that non white people might have skin discoloration issues?  Hypopigmentation and hyper pigmentation after Fraxel done.  I had heard to stay out of the sun but what if you follow all the procedures of wearing sunblock/sunscreen and wide brim hats and still get discolored?  I really don’t know why one would get discolored with Fraxel but I don’t doubt what people say.  If they reported it after the laser treatment I want to know if it is a possibility.  I asked my dermatologist and she says as well that people don’t get discolored because the Fraxel laser does not target melanin (which I read on the web as well).   But like I said before, after reading the message boards of some acne sites, a doctor commented that some people do get discolored.  Now is it because they were in the sun, or because the laser did that to them?

I really hate this conflicting information.  I’d rather have the truth being told to me so then I can evaluate the risks.  If my dermatologist says this is not the case, then I have to question this.  If this is something she doesn’t know about, then am I comfortable with her doing my acne scar treatment or will she introduce even more problems?  Or, is this whole thing blown out of proportion with people not following up correctly on their Fraxel after care program?    Still, like I said, my doctor  has fifteen years in the cosmetic laser industry.

Other conflicting reports that I have read about Fraxel side effects are the down time regarding having this procedure done.  People say that Fraxel takes like a week or two weeks to heal while the brochures conveniently say you can go back to work within the afternoon and it’s practically something you can do at lunch time.  What I think is going on here is that it depends on the intensity that the Fraxel laser is set on.

There are three types of Fraxel laser treatments:

Fraxel re:fine, Fraxel re: store, and Fraxel re: pair.  The intensity of the laser is different on each and the FDA has approved different types of skin treatments for each laser.  For instance, Fraxel re: fine is for pigmented lesions, periorbital fine lines, melasma, skin resurfacing, soft tissue coagulation.  Fraxel re: store is for photodamage, mild to moderate periorbital wrinkles, acne scars, surgical scars, melasma, actinic Keratosis.  Fraxel re: pair is for rhytides, pigmented lesions, moderate to severe wrinkles and furrows in lax skin, fine lines, textural irregularities, vascular dyschromia.

Now, I have no idea what all these medical terminology means because I just copied the stuff but clearly for acne laser scar treatment Fraxel re: store is what you are probably going to undergo.  At least, that is the type of  laser treatment you should have.  If you have the Fraxel re: fine, that is not FDA approved for acne scar treatment because it’s too light an intensity (I think) and Fraxel re: pair might be too strong.  However, the last I read, clinical trials are underway for acne scar removal with Fraxel re: pair.  Some patients have reported good results for deep acne pitting.

So my concern with the Fraxel laser marketing brochures reporting short down times might be because they were giving the best case scenario for Fraxel re: fine and not Fraxel re: store.  And for those who are out of commission for several days to reheal after Fraxel might have gotten Fraxel re:pair.

The thing is, you must ask your dermatologist what type of Fraxel laser you are getting and truthfully what type of side effects you are going to undergo and how long it will take you to heal.  There might be discrepancies in what you read and what they tell you for better or for worse.  It is too late to find out later what to expect after you have the Fraxel laser done without knowing the consequences.

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