Fraxel lasers are a premier type of laser therapy that emits monochromatic light waves to affect and stimulate tissue restructuring. The term “Fraxel” comes from the fact that they operate using fractional light technology as opposed to light technology on a uniform plane, like the older CO2 lasers. This means that they treat sections of the skin in vertical columns leaving the skin in between the columns untreated (hence untraumatized). The untraumatized skin forms the basis from which rapid healing occurs. Because the fractionation is at a microscopic level, it appears as if the whole skin surface has been treated.

The two major categories of the Fraxel laser are ablative and non-ablative. The ablative Fraxel (Fraxel Repair) damages the entire column of skin including the stratum corneum. Certain non-ablative versions (Fraxel Restore, 1550nm) would spare the stratum corneum and treat deeper dermis instead while other non-ablative versions (Fraxel Dual,1927nm) would treat only the stratum corneum of the column and spare the deeper dermis. Non-ablative Fraxel lasers are able to treat patients of all skin tones.

After one treatment w/Fraxel laser at DermHair Clinic

After one acne treatment w/Fraxel laser at DermHair Clinic*

What Do Fraxel Lasers Treat?

This family of lasers is able to assess many types of skin problems. They can target the deeper collagen structures that result in textured skin condition, like acne scarring; and they can also target clustered melanocyte cells on the surface for hyperpigmentation conditions like age spots. The list of therapies with Fraxel lasers include:

  • -Acne treatment
  • -Acne scar removal
  • -Wrinkle/fine line treatment
  • -Birthmark removal
  • -Age spot treatment
  • -Mole removal
  • -Skin rejuvenation

Types of Fraxel Lasers

There are different types of Fraxel lasers, each for a specific purpose and selected for use based on the individual patient needs. The different types of Fraxel lasers include:

  • -Fraxel Dual: This laser can be set to an erbium wavelength to address deeper collagen issues, or a thulium wavelength to address surface issues like pigmentation and wrinkles. The thulium wavelength is the new version of a previously separate Fraxel laser therapy called Fraxel Refine.
  • -Fraxel Refine: Used to address surface skin ailments like fine lines and pigmented birthmarks. This is now the same thing as the Fraxel Dual laser on the thulium wavelength.
  • -Fraxel Repair: This laser uses a much more powerful wavelength to accomplish ablative treatment, and yet still has a fractional property to penetrate deeper than its outdated counterpart, the CO2 laser. It addresses the skin surface and deeper collagen layers for problems like deep lines and pigmented lesions. This laser is only safe to use on fair skin tones.
  • -Fraxel SR1500: This laser achieves similar results to an ablative laser, without that level of trauma. It treats wrinkles, age spots, and acne scars over multiple sessions, with minimal discomfort and little downtime.