Fraxel Laser Treatment - What Type is Right For You?

The popularity of Fraxel treatment continues to grow as more and more people discover how this laser technology enables skin rejuvenation and effectively treats wrinkles, frown lines, skin pigmentation, acne and surgical scars.

In this first of a series of articles, we look at two types of Fraxel treatment currently available, Fraxel Restore and Fraxel Repair and how they differ. We'll then go on to give a short overview the types of skin conditions they deal with. In future articles we will go into greater detail about how particular skin problems can be treated by Fraxel.

First of all, let me give you a potted history of Fraxel. Developed by Reliant Technologies Inc., Fraxel uses fractionated technology to treat microscopic areas of skin with a laser that uses an Intelligent Optical Tracking® system to leave the surrounding skin untouched. These untouched areas stimulate a natural healing process, helping the treated areas to heal more quickly after treatment than if a large area of skin had been treated with the laser.

Laser skin treatment is either ablative or non-ablative. Ablative uses high temperatures to vaporize unwanted tissue and take away the top layers of the skin. Although effective, it has significant side effects and patients need several weeks to recover from the treatment. Non-ablative treatment is gentler, does not take away the surface of the skin and patients therefore have few side effects and need a shorter recovery time. However numerous treatments are required even for modest improvements to the skin.

Fraxel Restore is a non-ablative laser treatment that can penetrate up to 1.5mm into the skin, stimulating collagen synthesis and the removal of lines, wrinkles, age spots, sunspots and acne scars. It also evens skin pigmentation and improves tone and texture. You will require several treatments to achieve optimal results.

Fraxel Restore takes less than 30-minutes for a facial treatment. The skin may be slightly red and swollen for a couple of days but you can usually return to routine activities the next day. Fraxel Restore can be used on any part of the body.

Fraxel Repair is a fractional ablative laser that removes small fractions of the skin and has been clinically proven to be very effective in the treatment of acne and surgical scars, lines, wrinkles and irregular pigmentation.

Fraxel Repair can be an alternative to a surgical facelift and undertaken correctly will show excellent results. Usually a single 30-minute treatment will produce significant results. You will be able to return to routine activities in seven days and although some patients may be pink for a few weeks afterwards this can be covered with make up.

This summary of the differences in Fraxel laser treatment should only be used as a guide and you should consult a doctor before undertaking any treatment.

Dr Anne Farrell, a Consultant Dermatologist, runs dermatologyconsulting.co.uk Dermatology Consulting in the UK and has undertaken a graduate fellowship in cosmetic dermatology at the University of Miami. Anne was the second dermatologist in the UK to have the dermatologyconsulting.co.uk/Fraxel-Repair.php Fraxel Repair laser installed and has trained with some of the earliest expert users of this laser in the USA.