Fraxel is a brand name for fractional laser skin resurfacing. Another brand name for the same procedure is Pixel, but there are many other brand name fractional lasers. This is a type of laser skin resurfacing that can achieve better results with fewer negative side effect than traditional laser skin resurfacing. Fractional laser can also treat a few different conditions that traditional laser skin resurfacing can’t.
If you’re not familiar with laser skin resurfacing, it is a procedure that uses lasers to achieve similar results to the results that you get with dermabrasion or chemical peels. A trained practitioner causes carefully calculated amounts of damage to your skin. When you skin heals this damage, it also heals some of the previous damage caused by age or environmental exposure. This results in wrinkle and fine line repair, and improvement in pigmentation issues and blemishes. Many fine lines can disappear completely, and mild to moderate wrinkles appear much improved. The result is a face that looks years younger. Laser skin resurfacing can also fade scars, even causing them to disappear completely in some cases. Lasers cannot be used on stretch marks, areas with active acne, or very dark-skinned individuals.
Traditional lasers cause damage to the entire area of skin being treated. This results in swelling and redness that can last weeks after the procedure, as well as sometimes unsightly bruising. With fractional lasers, the light beam is broken up into fractions, and each of these microbeams penetrates deeper into the skin in a small dot shaped area. In between these “dots” is healthy, undamaged skin. Because there is less surface damage, healing times are faster, and there are generally fewer complications with fractional lasers. Additionally, the collagen created in the “dots” pulls together, creating a tightening effect, which is often called a “non-surgical facelift” because of the wonderful lifting effects experienced by patients.
Fractional lasers, like traditional lasers, can be ablative or non-ablative. Ablative simply means that tissue is actually burned away by the laser. Ablative treatments do tend to require slightly longer healing times than non-ablative treatments, but they usually have better, more dramatic results. Remember than the layer(s) of skin being burned away are microscopic in depth, and this does not mean that it will look like your face is burned off! It is more like a sunburn in that there will be peeling, and perhaps some scabbing.
As with many cosmetic procedures, with greater risk comes a greater potential reward. If you are a healthy person that follows your doctor’s pre- and post-care orders exactly, you will have a greater immune and healing response to a procedure that causes more damage (fractional laser resurfacing causes less surface damage but penetrates deeper through the skin’s layers) and have a greater potential for results. The opposite is also true, however: if you have a compromised immune system or certain medical problems you will be at a greater risk for serious side effects. It is important to disclose all of your medical history to the doctor prior to agreeing to do any cosmetic procedure.
If you find yourself ruled out as a candidate for fractional laser resurfacing due to medical conditions, your general health, or perhaps you are just not prepared to spend that kind of money, don’t worry. There are many things you can do in order to look and feel younger without going the route of laser cosmetic procedures. A healthy diet and exercise, including plenty of water and abstaining from smoking and alcohol consumption can do wonders for how you look and feel. Proper supplementation, including making sure you get all of your vitamins and minerals, as well as proper HGH supplementation (there are many adults who are completely unaware that they have HGH deficiency which causes most of their ageing symptoms) will allow you to look and feel your best, including even reversing wrinkles!
At the end of the day, how you feel should be considered just as important, if not more important, than how you look. Even though we live in a culture that worships youth and physical attractiveness, there are more important things in life!
been there, done that. bt these kind sof treatments don’t make me look natural. i like natural means of anti-aging.