Laser used – Fraxel Dual (1550nm and/or 1927nm wavelengths).

What it Does – The 1550nm wavelength gently tightens and smooths the skin. The 1927nm wavelength reduces brown spots (melanin). Either or both of these wavelengths can be used in a treatment session depending on a patient's treatment goal.

How it Works – The 1550nm wavelength penetrates the skin deeply enough to stimulate the production of new collagen while it renews the skin surface. These changes cause the skin surface to be more uniform. The 1927nm wavelength targets superficial pigment (melanin) and breaks it up which allows the body to eliminate it.

Why it's Better – Fraxel achieves the amazing results seen with ablative techniques without removing the whole skin surface which can cause scarring and require many weeks of recovery. This is possible because Fraxel leaves bridges of skin intact which speed the healing process. Because the treatment is gentler than ablative treatments, several sessions are necessary to achieve the desired result.

Who Can Be Treated – Any skin type from light skin to dark skin (Fitzpatrick I through VI).

How to Prepare – Arrive 60 minutes before treatment with the intended treatment area clean and ready to have a topical anesthetic applied. Please also observe the guidelines found in Before Your Laser Appointment.

How it Will Feel – Patients can experience heat or a prickling sensation. Pain is limited by a powerful topical anesthetic and the Fraxel's special cooling system which blows cold air across the skin during treatment. The Fraxel laser can be set at different treatment levels; the settings I use are ones low enough to ensure patient comfort.

Procedure Time – Up to 30 minutes depending on extent of area treated.

Recovery Time – Usually 2 days of redness and, rarely, swelling, during which you may not want the treated area to be seen by the public. After this, there are 2 days when the skin appears bronzed and has a sandpaper-like texture when touched (this texture is not visible). These are estimates based on the average patient, there is no guarantee that your skin will behave like this. Treatments are done on Saturdays and most of my patients are back at work on Mondays and their skin returns to normal by Wednesday.

Treatments Necessary – 1 to 2 sessions for brown pigment and a minimum of 3 for fine lines.

Procedure Results – Improvement in pigment is seen after 1 week. Fine lines improve more slowly as collagen production is gradual. Around a month after the first treatment, the skin becomes smoother and this increases with each subsequent treatment. This improvement will continue up to 6 months after the last treatment as the deeper layers of the skin continue to heal and produce collagen.

Enhancing Results – The Obagi NuDerm System continues the collagen building and excess pigment protection that the Fraxel Dual initiates. For patients who are olive complected or darker, it is advisable to start this system at least month before laser treatment to prevent the laser from darkening the skin.