Fraxel Treatment: My Experience, Recovery Diary & What I’d Tell A Friend

If you’ve ever Googled Fraxel Dual laser, you’ve probably seen some of the glossy before and after photos... the ones where dull, sun-damaged skin now looks luminous, smooth, and free from hyperpigmentation. But what’s it like to actually go through the Fraxel treatment? That’s the part that we don’t often see.

Full disclosure: I’ve had the ‘baby Fraxel’, Clear and Brilliant laser, more times than I can remember in my late twenties and early thirties. Back then, I was focused on keeping my skin looking good; collagen support, smaller-looking pores, and glowing skin. Then life changed. Pregnancy, followed by several years of being unwell. As a clinic professional, I knew that my skin wasn’t in a place for lasers: rosacea flares, surrounding tissue sensitivity, and the general awareness that my skin wasn’t behaving as it used to due to poor health.

Fast forward to now: health restored, my healthy skin revived with regenerative and hydrating treatment plan, such as Profhilo and polynucleotides combined with the body's natural healing process. But here’s the thing, regenerative injectable treatments like these are wonderful for regenerating the skin and deeply hydrating the tissues, but they’re not designed to resurface the skin. And resurfacing is what I needed.

Hyperpigmentation patches (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation after breakouts, if we’re being technical), pore texture on my cheeks, and sun damage (freckles) were creeping in. It was time for something that would clear the slate a little.

Why I Chose Fraxel Dual

One of the clever things about the Fraxel Dual is in it’s name: two (dual) wavelengths, two depths that it reaches.

• 1550nm: used for issues at a deeper level of the skin like acne scarring, wrinkles, and even stretch marks.

• 1927nm: the surface perfector, tackling hyperpigmentation, sun damage, uneven tone, and some textural issues.

Because I’ve already worked on collagen and elastin through other treatments, I didn’t need the 1550nm this time. What I did need was to even out the canvas of my skin and improve some sun damage. Enter the 1927nm.

Before I jumped into my Fraxel laser treatment plan, I did what I’d tell anyone to do: had my skin assessed. Our nurse Jane, who trained doctors internationally on Fraxel Dual, confirmed that it was the right call. Always reassuring when the expert gives you the nod.

At our St. Albans, Hertfordshire skin clinic our patients always have a consultation before having any treatment so that they can choose from the best, and safest, options for them as an individual and their unique goals.

The Fraxel Treatment: What I Expected vs What Happened After A Single Treatment

Having seen countless patients go through Fraxel skin resurfacing over the years, I knew roughly what to expect. And having had Clear and Brilliant, I knew I tended to go red (some people don’t go as flushed as me), so I braced myself for looking a bit like a tomato.

How it felt during

After about an hour with numbing cream on, I was ready. Nikki removed the cream and dried my skin before starting the laser treatment. The sensation? Imagine warm little scratches. Not sharp, not painful, just there. Very similar to the Clear and Brilliant treatment, just dialled up a bit.

The main thing that I noticed was the warmth building in my skin as the passes continue. It’s not heat on the skin, rather a warmth that builds within it. The best comparison? Mild sunburn.

Happily, the Fraxel handpiece has an attached cool-air system that blows beautifully cooling air as it works, so the whole thing is very tolerable. I chatted throughout the treatment, which tells you it’s not the sort of discomfort that stops you mid-sentence.

How it felt afterwards 

Here’s where it’s interesting. My skin felt hot immediately after the treatment; not painful, but like I've had far too much sun. My practitioner, Nikki, applied a serum to my skin containing exosomes and polynucleotides to supercharge my skin regeneration. This stung for a moment and made flush warmer but passed quickly.

My whole face and neck session took around 40 minutes. I left wearing my trusty baseball cap and sunglasses to scurry to my car in, and honestly, nobody gave me a second glance.

Over the next few hours my skin felt warm, gradually reducing as time went on. I was pink all the way up until bedtime, although this too was very gradually subsiding; here, it’s worth noting that I had my treatment at 10:30am.

My Fraxel Repair Recovery Diary: The First Few Days

Day of treatment (Thursday): Skin was red, felt quite warm. Not a day for socialising. Mild swelling temporarily exaggerated my pores; having experienced this with our patients, I know that the same can be true of scars.

This is me, still on the treatment couch.

Day 1 (Friday): Skin was pink in places, slight swelling still (only  noticeable to me). My neck lagged behind my face in recovery. I was happy to do Zoom calls and school pick-up with SPF and a hat on.

 My tip would be to apply SPF a little in advance of going out as the microchannels from the treatment are still open and I found that my skin became slightly pinker temporarily when product was applied.

Day 2 (Saturday): Most pinkness had gone. Neck still a little behind in recovery. Skin felt dry today and sandpapery to touch. Tiny, bronzed dots visible where the micro-channels were created by the laser (only noticeable to others if up close). This was my peak ‘dryness’ day. A bland moisturiser and a tinted moisturiser were my best friends.

Day 3: Skin took on a bronzed glow-bye sun damage! Honestly, it looked more like I’d dusted bronzer than anything alarming.

Day 4 +: From here on the bronze appearance faded, little flakes and bronzed ‘dots’ shed. Neck was still a touch slower than my face, but nothing dramatic. I’ve given you a close-up of the bronzed dots on my neck from this day; I think they look more dramatic in the images than they seemed in real life-always the way with a ‘close up’, I guess! By now I was completely comfortable going about my daily life as usual.

Please be aware that these photos were taking immediately upon waking up (brave, I know), as I wanted to capture things like swelling at their ‘worst’. On the final day shown, you can see a little red mark under my eye; I'd accidently scratched myself immediately before the photo. This isn’t part of my recovery.

My Fraxel Results

This the first of my Fraxel treatments and the settings were tailored with my goals in mind. As with many aesthetic treatments, results from Fraxel are cumulative and it takes time for you skin to remove hyperpigmentation and start producing new collagen, but even after I recovered from one I noticed:

• A fresher, healthier glow (the smug kind you secretly hope for)

• Pores were visibly smaller

• Skin tone more even

What I’d Tell a Friend About This Skin Resurfacing Treatment

• It’s not painful. Numbing cream does its job.

• Downtime is short lived.  Don’t make dinner plans on the treatment day but you won’t be in hiding for long.

• It’s more discreet that you’d imagine. Yes, I walked a bit quicker to my car after treatment whilst wearing a hat but really that walk was the worst of it. After that initial treatment day, I didn’t feel ‘strange-looking’.

• Results are worth it. Firstly, who doesn’t need to reverse sun damage for your skin’s health? I haven’t touched on my full results yet, but I have seen hundreds of our patients who have had courses of Fraxel over the years and the results can be life changing.

• Recovery can vary: I had just the 1927nm wavelength, usually you can expect the ‘bronzing’ to be more dramatic than if you’d had the 1550nm alone. However, the swelling with the 1550nm tends to be a little more than the with the 1927nm.

• It’s a process. Yes, you can see changes after the first session but most skin concerns will require a course to achieve your goals. Patience is a virtue!
• All skin types can have Fraxel. It’s not just safe for white skin.

What to Pack in Your Post Fraxel Bag

Here are a few clever extras that make the trip home and the first 24 hours more comfortable:

A wide brim hat or baseball cap: discreet cover and sun protection on the way out.

Sunglasses: not only for style points but to help cover any redness, as well as extra sun protection.

Option: a scarf. Depends on the time of year you have treatment, but this will give you a little bit of extra cover when hot footing to your car.

A good SPF: your practitioner will apply this post treatment but it’s good to have one ready for the following days. Preferably a mineral-based SPF thats designed for the face. I wore Revision Skincare’s Intellishade; it’s a splurge product but has rejuvenating ingredients and offers a natural looking tint that adapts to your skin tone in it also.

A bland moisturiser: you’ll probably want to apply moisturiser throughout the day on your ‘peak’ dryness day. You don’t want to be using active ingredients here, you’re simply keeping moisture in the skin and providing some relief from feeling dry. This does not need to be expensive. I used Avene Thermal Spring Water Spray followed by Eucerin UltraSensative Soothing Care, both of which I had at home, but you can easily get from places like Boots.