Anyone try Fraxel? Am I getting ripped off?
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Tue Oct 01, 2013 12:29 pm

My derm said it would be 600 for a 1 time treatment of paranthesis mouth lines, under eyes, and hands. Does this seem a little high?

free skin care · Tue Oct 01, 2013 3:16 pm

Yup. Considering you can get a Tria for around $500. It will take longer with a home laser, but after - you still have a laser.

As a veteran of both home laser (wildly successful for some issues) and professional Fraxel treatments ( successful for some pigmentation issues - but NOT wrinkles of any sort) my choice would be home laser. Just to be clear I use ReAura and the lower intensity but higher freqency treatments have been in my case more effective than the sets of 4 professional treatments I used to buy.

For wrinkles and skin tightening I think derma pen works better, fractional laser works best on pigmentation. I wish I could report otherwise, but that is my experiential conclusion.

Like most of us here, I feel certain that you are willing to commit to a certain # of hours to achieve your goal, and that can be done by yourself, at home.

I had the old CO2 laser back in the day, and that really was worth the professional cost - skin like a baby's bottom after and that effect lasted quite a long time. but I do not think this offered anymore. I had a chat with my PS and he agreed with me: fractional laser had fewer immediate downtime days, but you need several treatments, and the total time would be about the same or less with an ablative laser.

It would be nice to think that going to a doctor's office for a procedure would be more effective, but in this case, I say save your money and invest your own time. Just my opinion and experience, of course. Yours may be different.

Tue Oct 01, 2013 6:08 pm

Thanks mis, I'll see if I can pull up studies on fraxels effectiveness and possibly tria or another at home laser devices effectiveness if I can find anything on it. I really hope at home laser is proven to work as effectively for ALL skin types(mine is extremely stretchy and loose due to a genetic condition) Ill try to post anything I find. Also is the CO2 laser the same as the red light laser( stupid question probably I know)?

free skin care · Tue Oct 01, 2013 7:03 pm

I have done professional Fraxel 4 times and later purchased the ReAura.

Having it professionally done cuts down on time and pain. But the home options (ReAura and Tria) are definitely far cheaper, and I sometimes wonder if the lower heat level may be better.

FYI that I saw zero impact on sagging, but do think fractional lasers help with fine lines and pigmentation.

free skin care · Tue Oct 01, 2013 10:23 pm

I so agree. Purchase an at home laser and save yourself money.

free skin care · Wed Oct 02, 2013 2:59 am

It seems the price is too expensive.I'm not sure if it's worth it.

free skin care · Wed Oct 02, 2013 9:11 am

Having had a full face Fraxel and not being happy with the results, I have to ask.
Does the Reaura actually help with fine lines/wrinkles? I would rather spend the money on that than EVER have another Fraxel (based on down time, negative results).
So it does actually give results, just in a slower time frame?

free skin care · Wed Oct 02, 2013 10:04 am

You should check out ReAura and Tria in the devices section. Lots of info there.

The home laser is best for (1) pigmentation issues that are not melasma and (2) texture - while reaura has not significantly changed any actual wrinkles, it does refine the texture of the skin noticeably.

Having had many professional Fraxel treatments and being now in my 5th 3 month cycle of treatments, I would say that FOR ME the lower intensity and more frequent treatments have been the most effective by a country mile. And definitely more affordable.

But don't expect significant wrinkle reduction or skin tightening. That is not what it does best.

There are three levels of Fraxel, perhaps if you had the highest (I had the mid level) which I believe is somewhat ablative and has significant downtime, it would be more effective. The older CO2 lasers were effective for skin tightening and elimination of wrinkles.

No device will work if the problems it addresses are not the ones you need addressed.

I am still hopeful that ReAura will correct wrinkles over time - years, I mean - but for now I have not experienced significant wrinkle reduction. But extremely effective for pigmentation and textural issues.

Here is a link to some before/afters of my ReAura treatment showing no treatment, one treatment 2 treatments, except for arms one treatment only. The neck/chest area shows most clearly the textural improvement.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/plainpotter/sets/72157632626054878/

I've now been using home laser for 3 times as long, and show additional improvement. IOM home laser is a very good investment, one sees benefits and it is quite inexpensive compared to professional treatments.

Wed Oct 02, 2013 12:14 pm

Thanks again mis, such incredible results! Does it make the skin tone tanner too or is that just a coincidence?
P.s. I think I may have gotten the wrong email address for you LOL

free skin care · Thu Oct 03, 2013 8:53 am

I can see the difference on the chest as well. Your results look great and you look amazing!
Thanks for sharing the info and photo link!
And when you say home laser, you mean the Reaura?
Sorry, I need to read the threads!

free skin care · Thu Oct 03, 2013 5:19 pm

Lasers are analogous to chemical peels. Like peels, it depends on the depth of destruction.

Light to medium peels, like their laser equivalents, are primarily used for pigmentation issues, appearance of pores, and the very finest of lines.

If those were my concerns, I would do a chem peel or maybe a home laser unit.

For wrinkles, I would turn to the appropriate topicals and needling....of course, depending on the person, the only thing to help could be surgery.

Lots to research here in this forum and you will get vastly different opinions...so better to do your own research and decide.

BFG

free skin care · Thu Oct 03, 2013 5:21 pm

Lasers are analogous to chemical peels. Like peels, it depends on the depth of destruction.

Light to medium peels, like their laser equivalents, are primarily used for pigmentation issues, appearance of pores, and the very finest of lines.

If those were my concerns, I would do a chem peel or maybe a home laser unit.

For wrinkles, I would turn to the appropriate topicals and needling....of course, depending on the person, the only thing to help could be surgery.

Lots to research here in this forum and you will get vastly different opinions...so better to do your own research and decide.

BFG

Thu Oct 03, 2013 8:46 pm

I never asked if fraxel was worth it or a waste of money. All I asked was is that price fair. Many people here are anti-pro treatment and are passionate about their home devices so it turned into a kind of debate.

free skin care · Fri Oct 04, 2013 5:41 am

Maybe you should start here then:

http://www.realself.com/fraxel-laser/cost

BFG

free skin care · Fri Oct 04, 2013 6:28 am

Varies greatly by location! I wouldnt necessarily pick the cheapest place tho. Experience counts and having an MD supervise the treatment would be my concern.

free skin care · Fri Oct 04, 2013 8:41 am

In direct answer to your question, no, I don't think $600 is out of line for Fraxel - IF a doctor is performing the treatment. And now I need to add that my experience with lasers is that "light" treatments that don't result in much downtime need to be repeated in order to get acceptable results. So to maximize your $600 investment, you probably want to have a deep enough treatment that gives you a couple weeks of downtime so that you don't need repeat treatments that result in a total bill of more like $1,800.

free skin care · Fri Oct 04, 2013 9:20 am

I paid 500.00, which was a special as it was normally 800.00. Unfortunately, the esthetician did it and not the plastic surgeon she was licensed under. I was only her 2nd victim.
So 600.00 seems to be a pretty average price where I am at, again depending on who is performing it.

Fri Oct 04, 2013 11:52 am

Thanks. Very true panda. I'm getting the 1550 laser which goes pretty deep but I'm going to ask them to turn it up high to get the most out of my money haha.
I hope the MD will be doing it because I forgot to ask.

The Reaura and tria are more comparable to the lightest fraxel and I think I would rather have the heavy duty fraxel treatments (I have some heavy duty wrinkles) occasionally instead of light ones that don't penetrate deeply.

free skin care · Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:09 am

Just wanted to add that I found Dermarolling very effective after the laser in terms of reducing redness and that shiny laser look. I waited about a month after the laser to start. I did use the pen instead of the roller, but I'm not sure that really matters. Good luck.

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