Fraxel Laser

Fraxel Laser treatment is a safe, non-invasive procedure designed to improve skin texture tone and pore size, erase age spots, eliminate wrinkles around the eyes, smooth acne scars, or rejuvenate your neck, chest and hands with minimal downtime. This treatment eliminates old epidermal pigmented cells and penetrates deep into the dermis. But for every microscopic zone the laser targets and treats intensively, it leaves the surrounding tissue unaffected and intact. This "fractional" treatment allows the skin to heal much faster than if the entire area were treated at once, using the body's natural healing process to create new, healthy tighter tissue to replace skin imperfections.

Clinical studies suggest that on average, an effective treatment regimen is 3 to 5 sessions, spaced about 2 to 4 weeks apart. Depending upon your condition and schedule, you and your physician may choose to space treatment sessions even further apart. Results are immediate and progressive and optimal improvement is usually visible in about 2 to 3 months.

A topical anesthetic ointment is applied to the treatment area approximately 60 minutes prior to treatment, then the procedure itself takes between 20 to 25 minutes. You will experience a mild sunburn sensation for about an hour, and then minimal discomfort. The skin will have a pinkish tone for 5 to 7 days. This is a normal sign that the skin is deeply healing. Swelling is minimal and generally resolves in 2 to 3 days. Your doctor will provide instructions and products to use for follow-up care. Some patients are able to return to routine activities, including work and social obligations, the same day of treatment. Others require a little more time, depending upon their skin condition and treatment but, typically, you can resume shaving or using makeup almost immediately.

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FRAXEL® TREATMENT FAST FACTS

Over the years, the skin is damaged by both environmental (sun, pollution) and behavioral (stress, fatigue, smoking) factors, keeping people from looking their best and how they may feel inside. Today, Fraxel treatment offers the most advanced new microlaser restoration treatment - one that actually awakens the subsurface cells so they revitalize themselves naturally, returning skin to its original beauty.

The Fraxel laser has been approved by the FDA to treat multiple skin conditions, including age/sun spots, acne scarring, melasma (the mask of pregnancy) and eye wrinkles (crow's feet). It's safe, easy and delivers remarkable results.

Fraxel treatment repairs damaged skin by treating only a small fraction of skin at a time, leaving the area surrounded by unaffected, healthy tissue. This "fractional" treatment allows the skin to heal much faster than if the entire area were treated at once, using the body's natural healing process to create new, healthy, tighter tissue to replace skin imperfections.

Fraxel treatment is different. It is the only fractional laser system that safely penetrates the skin down to the dermis. The Fraxel laser has the ability to penetrate fractions of skin, spot by spot, without breaking the skin? protective outer barrier. The result is natural stimulation of new collagen without the fear of downtime and risks associated with traditional ablative treatments. The product provides a highly effective, predictable and safe non-ablative treatment for patients with acne scarring, melasma or hormonal skin discoloration, periorbital wrinkles and sun and age spots.

The Fraxel laser passes through the top layer of skin like light through glass, reaching into the dermis below to create thousands of tiny, microscopic areas of thermal damage that stimulate the body's own wound healing response, notably new collagen production and replacement of damaged skin surfaces with new epidermal skin.

Fraxel treatment is performed using topical anesthesia in the doctor's office. A typical facial treatment is completed in about 30 minutes. While results vary from patient to patient, results are typically achieved in an average of 3 to 5 treatment sessions spaced about 2 to 4 weeks apart, and many patients notice a marked improvement sooner.

• Age/Sun Spots

  While many people are taking precautions such as sunscreen and protective clothing, the damage caused by decades of harmful sun exposure remains. Today, Fraxel treatment offers the most advanced new microlaser restoration treatment - one that actually awakens the subsurface cells so they revitalize themselves naturally, reducing the appearance of sun and age spots and returning skin to its original beauty.

  Age spots are flat, uneven brown patches that appear on the parts of the body that are most regularly exposed to the sun - most commonly the face, chest, hands, shoulders and arms. They are also known as sun spots or liver spots.

  When you spend time in the sun, your skin reacts by producing pigment called melanin for protection. The purpose of the melanin is to shield your skin from the sun's ultra violet rays. Sometimes the increased pigmentation results in darkened spots - an indication of aged skin that can make a person look much older than they actually are.

• Acne Scarring

  Acne scarring can have a profound impact on people's self-esteem and life-outlook, particularly as adults enter work and social settings with these often painful memories of their teenage years. Today, Fraxel offers the most advanced new microlaser restoration treatment - one that actually awakens the subsurface cells so they revitalize themselves naturally, reducing the appearance of acne scars and returning skin to its original beauty.

  When acne advances to the point of injuring our tissue, it can result in a scar - a discolored fibrous tissue with abnormal collagen function that may appear as a red raised area or indented mark. To successfully treat this type of scar, the top layer of skin (epidermis) must be removed, and the production of new collagen must be stimulated to improve the skin's overall tone and texture.

  Traditionally, topical agents, abrasion therapies, surgery and conventional lasers have been used to treat acne scarring. Unfortunately, most of these treatments achieve only moderate results or are very aggressive, resulting in a long, painful recovery period.

  A monumental breakthrough came only recently when the FDA approved Fraxel treatment for acne scars after studies showed that the new laser could be far more effective than traditional therapies. The powerful, yet precise laser effectively encourages the skin to create new collagen to replace the scarred epidermis.

• Melasma

  While nothing compares to the joy of motherhood, pregnancy can take a toll on women's skin. Between stretch marks, melasma and hormonal changes, there are some lasting reminders that women would prefer to erase. Fraxel treatment can help to reverse the unsightly changes associated with Melasma and return skin to its original beauty.

  Melasma is a very common disorder that is estimated to affect about 6 million women in the United States. Melasma typically occurs as brown spots and darkened pigmentation on sun- exposed facial areas, notably the cheeks, forehead, upper lip and nose, and is most common in women of child-bearing age and among male and female adults of dark-skinned races.

  Fraxel treatment has been shown to be very effective in treating persistent melasma that has otherwise been unresponsive to traditional therapies, such as bleaching creams, microdermabrasion, selective photothermolysis laser and light therapies, and laser ablation.

  To understand the Fraxel laser's unique mechanism of action, think of your skin as a wall made up of tiny tiles. If a patient has melasma, every third tile on this wall would be brown in color, representing the brown splotches that are characteristic of this condition. With fractional resurfacing, many of these brown tiles are "zapped" and eliminated making the appearance more uniform.

• Wrinkles around the Eyes

  While wrinkles around the eyes may signify a life rich with laughter and emotional experiences, many people would prefer to keep the memories but lose the crow's feet! Fraxel laser works to rebuild and restore the skin naturally in the area around the eye, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and returning skin to its original beauty.

  The skin around your eyes is much more delicate than other areas of the body and tends to age more rapidly. The tiny wrinkles that develop, often called crow's feet, develop largely from years of contracting the muscles that display our emotions when we smile, squint, deeply consider, show surprise or laugh.

  There are countless cosmetic strategies for reducing crow's feet, including acid peels, injectable fillers, collagen, dermabrasion or traditional laser treatment. However, in many cases, the results are unsatisfactory, painful or too expensive, as the process must be repeated a number of times each year in order to be effective.

  The real breakthrough came recently when the FDA approved Fraxel treatment for wrinkles around the eyes after studies showed that the new laser was extremely effective in improving the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

  For more information go to http://www.fraxel.com.