Fraxel technology means refined skin for North County San Diego patients

What does Fraxel treat?

Fraxel is a non-invasive treatment for skin rejuvenation. Specifically, it helps to decrease fine lines and wrinkles, and refresh the tone and texture of the skin. It can be used anywhere on the skin but usually it is used on the face, neck, chest, and backs of the hands.

Who is a good candidate for Fraxel?

Anyone with sun damaged skin looking to refresh their look is an excellent candidate for Fraxel. Fraxel helps to increase collagen and elastin, therefore decreasing fine lines and wrinkles. It also helps to prevent new wrinkles from forming, because the collagen is more supportive of the skin.

How does Fraxel work?

Fraxel works by generating numerous micro thermal zones in the skin. These zones are little columns of heat, kind of like aerating your lawn that generates new collagen and elastin. This new collagen and elastin is what is produced to decrease your fine lines and wrinkles. These columns also allow your body to extrude the sun damaged bad collagen and elastin that you don’t want in your skin.

How do you prepare for your Fraxel treatment?

2 weeks prior to your Fraxel treatment you should be wearing broad spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen every day to ensure that you are as least tan as possible on your day of treatment. On the day of your procedure, you should take an oral antihistamine like Zyrtec or Allegra to decrease the risk of having any post-operative swelling. When you arrive at the Skin & Vein Institute, you will be brought into our numbing room where you will relax and numb for about 45 minutes. Then you will move to our procedure room where you will experience the treatment which is very painless. And during the procedure you have cool air blowing on you to help increase the comfort.

What happens on the day of your Fraxel treatment?

The treatment lasts about 20 minutes and typically patients are satisfied after one treatment but sometimes they want a second one for that further collagen boost. Additionally I recommend that my patients have this treatment annually to continue to build the collagen since we live here in sunny San Diego where the sun is always out and continually damaging our collagen.

Is there downtime or side effects? What the post care instructions?

After your Fraxel procedure, there is minimal downtime. To minimize the amount even further, we send you home with our post care kit which includes a thermal spring water and a healing cream which helps to speed recovery. You will also notice a few little specks on your skin like coffee grounds, which are the sun, damaged bad collagen being extruded from your skin to make way for your new healthy collagen. Some patients very rarely experience swelling after the procedure sometimes between days one and four and this is best mitigated by taking your antihistamine prior to the procedure so that it doesn’t happen.

Is it safe and effective?

Fraxel is a safe and effective non-invasive procedure to help decrease fine lines and wrinkles. It stimulates your own natural collagen to be produced which helps to give yourself a refreshed, natural healthy glow. It can be used anywhere on the skin and the results are long-lasting because it is your own natural collagen.