Fast facts

Fraxel Repair

What it is: an ablative fractionated laser treatment designed for intensive resurfacing of aged or damaged skin.

What it addresses:

Fraxel Repair is often used to treat:

- Wrinkles
- Irregular skin texture
- Sun spots and age spots
- Redness (vascular dyschromia)

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83% Invisalign
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80% Silicone breast implants
79% Photofacial
78% Lasik
78% Facelift
78% VASER Liposelection
75% Laser resurfacing
74% Rhinoplasty
74% Botox
72% Permanent makeup
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69% Pixel laser
67% Microdermabrasion
67% Active FX
66% Chemical peel
63% Juvederm
61% Restylane
58% Sculptra
53% IPL
52% Radiesse
51% Fraxel Laser
50% Mesotherapy
48% Accent XL
44% Zoom teeth whitening
41% Lifestyle lift
37% Lipodissolve
37% Thermage

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Question

Fraxel Repair settings for acne scars

I have several rolling acne scars on my temple & forehead and I have olive skin (between 3 & 4 in the Fitzpatrick scale). My local doctor recommended me Treatment Level 8 with 15mjs and 4 passes.

I have 3 questions:

1. Will these settings be enough to see improvements?

2. Is the risk of hyperpigmentation lower with these settings?

3. Are the skin areas on temple and forehead meant to be treated at lower settings because they are thinner?

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Asked by: scarface
UK

Answers (1)

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1
October 16, 2008

I'm not a big fan of lasers for acne scars and certainly not on olive skin

Joel Schlessinger, MD
Joel Schlessinger, MD
Board Certified
Dermatologist

Olive colored skin is not all that good for laser treatment as it can frequently be plagued with dark coloration after the procedure.  Additionally, scarring in general isn't all that much improved by lasers, whatever the setting!  I'd look into having a restylane or filler injection for this to see how it goes first.  If it works (and you have to go to an expert for this), that may be your very best option. 

Good luck!

1 of 1 people found this helpful
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Comments (3)
scarface
scarface
10/15/08

anyone ?

scarface
scarface
10/19/08

thanks dr.joel. your advice is really appreciated.

anyone else have any other opinions?

asgcag
asgcag
11/6/08

I have worked with an performed laser treatments for 10 years, while I agree with the opinion that olive skin does not go well with a CO2 laser, I cannot agree with the statement that fillers are better for acne scars than laser. A 2940 erbium yag combined with a 1540 erbium glass will yield excellent results and are perfectly safe for type 3-4 skin.

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