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What causes wrinkles/aging
skin?

	Frown Lines
	Lip and Mouth wrinkles
	Eye wrinkles & Crow's Feet
	Neck

What are free radicals?

What is collagen?

What is elastin?

Does smoking cause wrinkles?

Does tanning cause wrinkles?

Laser Skin Rejuvenation

Laser Skin Resurfacing

	C02 Laser
	Erbium Laser

Plasma Skin Regeneration

Portrait® Plasma

Fractional Laser Resurfacing

	Fraxel®
	Affirm™

Radiofrequency Rejuvenation

	Thermage®
	Aluma™

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)

Injectables & Dermal Fillers

	Artefill®
	Botox®
	Collagen
	CosmoDerm® & CosmoPlast®
	Fat Fillers
	Radiesse®
	Restylane®
	Sculptra®
	Juvederm®
	Perlane™

Medical & Topical Treatments

Microdermabrasion

Chemical Peel

How much does it cost?

Treatment comparison chart

Which wrinkle treatment is for
ME?

Pre-treatment Questions

Preventing Wrinkles

American Academy of Dermatology

American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery

American Society for
Dermatologic Surgery

AAFPRS

What is Fraxel^®?


	Fraxel is a new fractional laser device
	Fractional resurfacing the latest in laser technology
	Can be performed with varying levels of aggressiveness
	Reported to be very effective

What is Fraxel?

Fraxel is among the more popular brands of fractional laser resurfacing. Fraxel is manufactured and marketed by Reliant Technologies of Mountain View, CA. According to Reliant, Fraxel is effective at treating the following:

Improve texture tone and pore size

Erase unwanted brown spots

Smooth wrinkles around the eyes and acne scars

Rejuvenate your neck, chest and hands

Minimal downtime

For more information about Fraxel cost, please visit our page here.

How Fraxel Works

The idea of the Fraxel laser is to create a number of vertical injuries to the patient's skin with non-treated, uninjured skin in between the treated areas. Think of a lawn that's been aerated. A similar process, on a microscopic scale, is done to the skin with fractional laser treatment. The laser makes small injuries the diameter of a hair shaft in the skin leaving normal, untreated skin in between. The untreated skin helps heal the wound quite quickly, replacing the area with new, healthy skin. During each treatment only a fraction of the skin is treated. Both the Fraxel Repair and Fraxel Restore treatments may then be repeated three to five times at 3 to 5 week intervals, until the whole skin has been resurfaced.

Fraxel Treatment

Before receiving Fraxel treatment your doctor will instruct you as to how to prepare for the treatment session. Typically before and after photos of Fraxel will be taken and an anesthetic cream will applied to the skin. This will be left on the area to be treated for up to one hour. Eye protection is applied as a precaution. Fraxel treatment takes about 15 - 25 minutes. Cold air is used on the skin to cool it during the treatment session. On a scale of 1 - 10, 10 being the worst, most patients rate the pain at a 4. Following treatment most patients feel a slight heat sensation, similar to a sunburn, for up to 90 minutes.

Generally physicians will give written instructions on how to care for your skin following treatment. These may include the use of cool compresses intermittently, sleeping with your head slightly elevated for the next day helps reduce the swelling. You may apply make up and sunscreen after 1 - 4 days. Most people are ready to go back to work in 2 - 7 days.

Fraxel Results

Results from Fraxel generally appear after the second or third treatment session. The improvement of the skin continues for 3 - 6 months after the treatment series has been completed. The most notable effects are the following:

Milder Fraxel Treatment

20 - 40 % improvement in fine lines and wrinkles

Improvement in overall texture and firmness

Decrease in age spotting and discoloration

20 - 40 % improvement in acne scars

More Aggressive Fraxel Treatment:

30 - 70 % improvement in fine lines and wrinkles

Improvement in overall texture and firmness

Decrease in age spotting and discoloration

30 - 70 % improvement in acne scars

Fraxel Side Effects

The reported risks of long-term side effects or scarring are less than 1%. The scarring that may occur would be a discoloration of the skin or texture change, a bump or depression. In rare instances a cold sore flair-up with prolonged healing or the development of an infection are possible. If you are prone to cold sores antiviral medication should be taken prior to treatment with Fraxel. Rarely, a small blister or open area can develop which can be treated with the application of an antibiotic ointment.

Am I a candidate?

If you have sun damage, discoloration, fine to severe lines and wrinkles and or acne scarring this may be a good treatment for you.

You may also be interested in: Laser Skin Resurfacing, Plasma Skin Resurfacing, IPL, Radiofrequency Rejuvenation, Skin Rejuvenation or Injectables/ Dermal Fillers.

Or, Which Treatment is Right for Me?

Locate a Wrinkle Treatment Specialist
near you to answer questions about your specific case:

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Last Modified: April 18, 2008

Frequently Asked Questions
	What is Adipose?	What is the Dermis?
	What is the Collagen and Elastin Matrix?	What is the Epidermis?
	What is Solar Elastosis?	What is Plasma Skin Regeneration?
	What are the five signs of sun-aged skin?	What is Hyaluronic Acid?
	What is Collagen?	What is the nasolabial fold?
	What is a GAG (Glycosaminoglycans)?	What is poly-L-lactic acid?
	What are Anti-Oxidents?	What is lidocaine?
	What is Skin Laxity?	What are granulomas?
	What are Retinoids?	What is neocollagenesis?
	What is the Stratum Corneum?	What is hypopigmentation?
	What is Ultraviolet Light?	What is hyperpigmentation?
	What is photo-damage?

The information contained in the above article is purely for educational purposes and is not intended to provide any medical advice. Always consult with your physician before having any medical procedure performed.

What is Fraxel®?