Fraxel Treatment Programs

• To determine whether Fraxel is right for you and which treatment program will give you the results you are looking for, decide how much downtime you are willing to accept and the level of correction you expect. Fraxel procedures are available in three levels of aggressiveness: re:fine, re:store and re:pair.
  
  

Fraxel Re:fine

• Fraxel re:fine is for those who are looking to reduce fine lines and uneven skin tone with a minimum amount of downtime. You can get a course of treatments over a period of months to maximize your overall results without too much trauma to the skin at one time.
  
  

Fraxel Re:store

• Fraxel re:store is a more intense treatment that resurfaces the skin and is best suited for removing acne scars, deeper eye wrinkles, scars, melasma and age spots. You will experience a day or two of downtime, but can get gradual results while keeping downtime to a minimum with a course of three to six treatments over several months.
  
  

Fraxel Re:pair

• Fraxel re:pair is a one-time deep treatment used to treat severe skin damage such as wrinkling, major unevenness in skin tone and texture, and sun damage. It also tightens the skin. It can take up to a week to recover and return to normal daily activities. Even though it takes a week, this compares well with the two weeks minimum downtime associated with a phenol chemical peel.
  
  

Side Effects of Fraxel

• Typical side effects with Fraxel procedures include pain during the procedure, which is reduced by the use of a numbing gel before lasering and a cooling treatment afterwards. There is some swelling and redness, followed by peeling. The duration of these varies according to the strength of the laser used and the type of treatment you receive. While uncommon, scarring and skin discoloration have been known to occur. Skin discoloration happens more often on those with olive or darker skin. Talk to your doctor about your particular risk of skin discoloration.
  
  

Precautions

• Over 500,000 Fraxel procedures have been performed and it has a good safety record, but there are questions you should ask before making a final decision. Be sure that the procedure will be performed by a trained doctor, that he has experience with the Fraxel laser and what complications he has encountered. Especially find out how many patients he has treated with your particular skin type and level of damage.