Laser skin resurfacing has long had the promise of providing people with younger, fresher-complected skin, but, like deep chemical peels, it had a major disadvantage: the treatment worked by ablating (vaporizing) the skin so it could be painful, even temporarily disabling, and required many weeks to fully heal. Recently, the old CO2 lasers have been replaced with more skin-friendly lasers, such as the Erbium-YAG laser, which has reduced the healing time, although it remains considerable.

To avoid the long recovery time, many cosmetic surgeons are moving to systems such as the Intense Pulsed-Light (IPL) system or the BroadBand Light (BBL) system that are non-ablative. They work by a process known as selective photothermolysis, in which darker components of the skin surface--such as age spots, rosacea and hair--suffer damage preferentially, leaving lighter components more intact. Unfortunately, these systems are so non-invasive that they require many treatments to give even the moderate results they achieve, although they are more effective on some problems (such as rosacea) than lasers.

A more recent technology has been developed that promises many of the results of ablative laser treatments, without the necessary healing time, and also in fewer treatments than IPL, BBL, or other non-ablative treatments. Fraxel Laser Treatment promises great results with little pain or down-time, but does it work?

What is Fraxel?
Fraxel is the trade name for a version of laser treatment that compromises between ablative and non-ablative techniques. The name stands for "fractional laser" treatment, and in the technique, a laser is used to ablate micro-columns of skin as deep or deeper than traditional laser resurfacing. These micro-columns are distributed evenly across the surface of your skin by the computer-controlled laser so there is not significant damage to any one part of the skin. However, on a microscopic scale, each column of ablation stimulates the skin to heal itself, leading to a rejuvenation in the skin.

What does Fraxel Treat?
Fraxel has been approved by the FDA to treat:
• Periorbital wrinkles (wrinkles around the eyes)
• Pigmented lesions (age spots, sun spots, freckles, etc.)
• Melasma
• Acne and surgical scars

In addition, the company's manufacturer claims that it can treat:
• Poor skin tone
• Large skin pores
• Rejuvenate skin in the neck, chest, and hands

Although clinical studies on Fraxel seem to be limited to doctors with a stake in proving the effectiveness of the procedure, so far the data suggests that Fraxel can successfully address many of the claimed issues.

Relative Effectiveness of Fraxel vs. Other Treatments
Fraxel seems to be a much more effective treatment than other options for acne scars and periorbital wrinkles. It can also be effective in treating some cases of pigmented lesions, depending on the color of the lesion.

However, for the improvement of skin tone, it is probably not as effective as full skin resurfacing.

And BBL and IPL are more effective at treated red skin conditions, as well as for hair removal.