Bay Dermatology Centre

FAQ about Fraxel Laser Treatment

Questions and Answers

  • What are Fraxel Laser Treatments?

    Fraxel® Laser Treatment (FLT) is a new approach to treating aging and sun damaged skin. It offers patients the positive results of ablative skin resurfacing without the side effects of the old resurfacing lasers. It gives a more dramatic result than nonablative techniques. It only treats fractions of the skin at a time and rebuilds damaged skin like digital modification – pixel by pixel, spot by spot.
    (Fraction + pixel = Fraxel)

    Fraxel laser treatment produces tiny, microscopic sites of thermal impact separated by areas of unaffected, healthy tissue. Each treated spot, called a MicroThermal Zone, stimulates the body’s own natural production of new collagen in the dermis and eliminates old epidermal pigmented cells on the skin’s surface. The spared healthy tissue contains viable cells that promote rapid healing of the outer skin layers. Since only 20% of the skin is treated by the Fraxel laser on each visit, there is speedy healing and minimal downtime.

    Fraxel laser smoothes fine lines and wrinkles on the face, including around the eyes. It reduces sun damage, improves texture and tone of the skin, and fades brown spots, sun spots and pigmentation on the face, neck, chest, back, forearms and hands. Fraxel laser treatment results in fresh, healthy skin and a renewed sense of confidence. All skin types benefit from treatment.

    A topical anesthetic cream is applied, and a cooling device is used for comfort. Several passes are done over the treatment area. Depending on the number of areas treated, the procedure takes 1 to 2 hours and is well-tolerated. If there is a history of cold sores (herpes simplex), an oral antiviral medication is started one day prior to treatment and continued for another 3 days. Typically, 3 to 6 treatments are necessary, about 4 to 6 weeks apart. Improvement is noticed within 1 to 3 months. A maintenance treatment done once or twice a year can maintain the results. The skin tends to be puffy for a day or so, red for one day, pink for a few days and then appears tanned or bronzed for 3 to 14 days, followed by flaking. Make-up can be applied immediately after the treatment and men can continue to shave. Most patients return to their routine activities by the next day.

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  • What are the Benefits of Fraxel Laser Treatment?

    The benefits of Fraxel® Laser Treatment include:

    • 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

    There is simply nothing else like it for improving the appearance of your skin and giving you a renewed sense of confidence.

    Compared to the traditional resurfacing lasers, Fraxel laser treatments have minimal downtime. Fraxel side effects include redness and mild puffiness for a few days. After three days, the skin appears bronzed and mild peeling occurs. Patients can apply make-up immediately and men can shave since the surface layer of skin is not removed. Three to five treatments are usually necessary, about one month apart. Fraxel treatments can be done safely in
    types I-IV skin.

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  • What conditions can be treated with Fraxel?

    Until now, two varieties of laser treatment have been available for cosmetic enhancement-ablative and non-ablative. Traditional ablative, which literally means vaporization at a very high temperature, are very effective at destroying unwanted tissue but may have significant side-effects and require a lengthy healing period. Non-fractional non-ablative, on the other hand, have very few side-effects and require almost no healing time, but may involve numerous treatments over many months to achieve only modest results.

    At long last, a laser with the potency of ablative treatments and the gentle safety of non-ablative lasers received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration as well as Health Canada to treat a variety of important cosmetic conditions.

    Fraxel® Laser Treatment is designed to target aging and damaged skin by creating microscopic “wounds” within the targeted areas that penetrate well beneath the skin’s outermost layer. In this way, Fraxel Laser treatments trigger the body’s own natural production of new collagen and skin cells. And because Fraxel Laser Treatment combines the impact of ablative lasers with the gentleness of non-ablative lasers, healing occurs so quickly that there is very little downtime for patients.

    After several years of studies and mounting evidence of the Fraxel Laser’s safety and effectiveness, the FDA as well as Health Canada have cleared this unique new laser to treat the following conditions:

    • acne scars
    • age spots/brown spots
    • melasma (mask of pregnancy)
    • wrinkles around the eyes
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  • How many treatments are required?

    Fraxel: before and after

    Fraxel Treatment

    Typically, 3 to 6 treatments are necessary, about 4 to 6 weeks apart. Improvement is noticed within 1 to 3 months. A maintenance treatment done once or twice a year can maintain the results.

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  • How will I look after the treatment?

    The skin tends to be puffy for a day or so, red for one day, pink for a few days and then appears tanned or bronzed for 3 to 14 days, followed by flaking. Make-up can be applied immediately after the treatment and men can continue to shave. Most patients return to their routine activities by the next day.

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  • Can Fraxel laser treatment be used together with other procedures?

    Definitely! If spider veins are present, they can be treated with intense pulsed light. Botox® Cosmetic treats dynamic wrinkles and fillers plump up deeper creases. Microdermabrasion and light chemical peels can be performed for maintenance treatment and anti-aging products should be used at home. As always, sun protection is a must.

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