Fraxel Laser was NOT worth it: Don't have high hopes for acne scars

I had acne that flared up during late college. It was initally treated with Accutane, but it left deep scars on my cheeks. I went to my dermatologist for Botox and when I was there, he recommended Fraxel for the acne scars. I did a lot of research and decided to go through with it. I saw before and after pictures of the nurse consulting me on it, as she had had similar acne scars. Her skin looked perfect after the treatment. She said she couldn't show me any other before and after pics because of HIPPA laws.

One thing I wish I had been prepared for more was the pain. Granted, I don't have a high tolerance for pain, but this was easily the most painful thing I have ever been through. They put a numbing cream on my face and let it sink in for about 45 minutes. They also had a fan blowing on my face to alleviate some of the heat. The only way I can describe it is that it feels like a red hot fireplace poker being dragged over your face. I seriously was worried I would have scars from the heat. The worst places were around the hairline, jawline, and above the lip. For my future treatments, I asked them to continue the numbing cream into my hairline--I didn't care, I would just wash my hair later.

After the first trial, my face swelled up to where I was almost unrecognizable. My face got very red and peeled a lot. I'm a teacher, and I'm very glad I did this on a 3 day weekend because there is no way I could have gone to class the next day. I also had to bring moisturizer with me and reapply it several times during the day.

But I figured, "No pain, no gain," and continued with 4 more treatments. We did scale back the laser intensity on the second trial because the pain was so bad from the first.

At the fifth and last trial, the technician advised me that they might have to do a few more trials to have it be completely effective. This confused me a bit because I had initially been told that 5 "for sure" would be enough. I figured I would wait and see the results from the first set of trials.

It has been about 6 months now and I see minimal, if any, improvement. I purposely didn't tell anyone but my husband, and nobody, including family and close friends, have told me they see anything different. I understand it has worked for some people with acne scars, but it seems to be hit-or-miss. For me, it didn't work.