Fraxel Laser: Cost, Downtime, Results and Who It Suits

Fraxel is a brand of skin resurfacing laser sold by Solta Medical.

The brand names Thermage, Fraxel, Clear + Brilliant and VASERlipo are trademarks of Bausch Health Companies Inc. or its affiliates, so Solta sits under the Bausch Health umbrella.

Fraxel's current model is Fraxel FTX.

FDA cleared it through the 510(k) device process on 21 Aug 2024, under clearance number K242142, and an earlier model, the Fraxel DUAL 1550/1927, was cleared on 14 Jun 2013 (K130193).

Cleared is the operative word: Fraxel went through FDA's 510(k) process for devices, so the accurate word is FDA-cleared, not FDA-approved.

FTX carries two wavelengths, 1550 nm and 1927 nm, and Solta states a separate indication for each.

The two lists are not the same, so which wavelength a practice plans for you decides what the treatment is cleared to do.

Resurfacing lasers fall into two broad families.

ASDS, the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, defines ablative resurfacing as treatment that removes layers of skin, and non-ablative rejuvenation as laser heat that works without injuring the skin surface.

Cleveland Clinic describes the fractional pattern using fractional CO2 resurfacing as its example: the laser drills many narrow columns into the skin and leaves the surrounding skin untreated and intact.

Solta's stated wording for both Fraxel wavelengths is "skin resurfacing"; the pages our research captured do not state where FTX sits between those two families, so ask any practice you consult how they use each wavelength and at what settings.

For the wider category — the CO2 and erbium lasers, deeper resurfacing and its longer recoveries — see laser resurfacing.

Solta states these indications for Fraxel.

The 1550 nm wavelength is listed for skin resurfacing including dyschromia (uneven skin coloring), age spots and sun spots, actinic keratosis, melasma, wrinkles around the eyes, acne scars and surgical scars.

The 1927 nm wavelength is listed for resurfacing including actinic keratosis — Solta's wording calls these pre-cancerous skin lesions — and pigmented lesions such as age spots, sun spots and freckles.

Anything a menu adds beyond those lists is not on the device's cleared indications.

Fraxel is prescription-only, per its own safety information.

That is one reason candidacy is settled in a consultation rather than by a menu pick.

The same safety information lists contraindications: a keloid tendency, systemic steroids and isotretinoin are on the list.

Bring your full history to the consult — acne medications, steroid treatment, how your skin scars — and let a licensed provider judge the fit.

Melasma deserves its own paragraph.

Solta lists it for the 1550 nm wavelength, but the independent evidence for lasers in melasma is mixed.

A 2020 evidence review (113 studies, 6,897 participants) concluded that hydroquinone and triple-combination cream are the most effective, best-studied melasma treatments, and that chemical peels and laser and light therapies are "equal or inferior to topicals", with a higher risk of adverse effects.

A 2022 meta-analysis of 22 laser studies (694 patients) found picosecond and non-ablative 1550-nm fractional lasers did not reach a significant reduction in melasma scores, and noted that darker skin carries a risk of post-inflammatory hyper- and hypopigmentation.

A separate systematic review reports that recurrence rates remain high with all melasma treatments.

The deep dive, including the topical options a dermatologist can prescribe, is our guide to melasma.

We found no confirmed national price for Fraxel — no current national average for the treatment turned up in the sources our research checks — so a single dollar figure presented as "the" Fraxel price is not something we can verify.

The nearest sourced number is a category average, not a Fraxel price: ASPS, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, lists an average cost of $1,829 for laser skin resurfacing on its cost page, per its latest statistics.

The fine print matters: that is a physician fee for resurfacing procedures generally, it excludes related expenses, and ASPS does not state the year on the page.

What drives the total is easier to source.

The number of sessions is a main price driver, and Solta says results may show after one treatment while up to five may be appropriate, so two practices' prices only compare once you know how many sessions each is planning.

The quoted time has a scope as well: the 20-to-25-minute figure in Solta's materials is for a full face, so ask what a practice's session covers for the area you want treated.

When you collect quotes, ask what the price includes — the session itself, numbing, aftercare products — and get the per-session price and the total for the planned number of sessions in writing.

Solta's own framing: results may show after one treatment, but depending on individual needs and treatment goals, up to five treatments may be appropriate, and fewer may be suitable for some patients.

The count is not a fixed protocol — it comes out of the consultation and the concern being treated.

How long results last is a harder question, and we will not invent an answer: our research found no verified figure — no trial and no manufacturer statement we could confirm — for how long Fraxel results last.

Treat the month counts you see elsewhere as unconfirmed, and ask your provider what they see in practice for your skin and concern.

The one lever the sourced material does name is sun.

Solta advises SPF 30+ and avoiding direct sun for at least 3 months after the last treatment, and the American Academy of Dermatology notes that age spots can return without sun protection.

Solta's published flow for a full face: about 60 minutes of topical numbing first, then a treatment that takes 20 to 25 minutes.

The numbing is the longer half of the appointment.

What the treatment itself feels like, we could not confirm from a source we can verify, so ask the practice what they use for comfort during the session.

The recovery timeline is Solta's own: a sunburn-like feeling for 1 to 3 hours; itching, flaking and visible laser dots or skin darkening on days 1 and 2; peeling, usually on days 3 and 4 after a face treatment; and redness resolved by about day 15 in the example patient Solta walks through — one example, not a stated average.

That timeline describes several days of visible effects — dots, darkening, peeling across the first week — so it is a treatment you plan a calendar around, whatever a menu's "lunchtime laser" language suggests.

Solta's sun advice runs long after the visible part: SPF 30+ and no direct sun for at least 3 months after the last treatment.

Fraxel's safety information lists these adverse events: blistering and burns; temporary or permanent skin color change; eye injury; infection; keloids; prolonged redness; scarring; and bruising.

The same page lists the contraindications covered above — a keloid tendency, systemic steroids, isotretinoin — and notes the device is prescription-only.

A med spa menu may include a Fraxel, a Clear + Brilliant, a Moxi or a Halo.

The honest comparison uses each device's cleared wording and each manufacturer's own published numbers, named per device, because they are not measured the same way.

• Clear + Brilliant (Solta). Cleared for dermatological procedures requiring the coagulation of soft tissue and general skin resurfacing procedures; the current Touch system carries 1440 nm and 1927 nm handpieces. Solta says sessions take about 30 to 45 minutes including prep and that consumers in studies reported visible improvement after 4 to 6 treatments.
• Moxi (Sciton). A fractionated non-ablative 1927 nm laser. Sciton says a treatment takes 8 to 10 minutes, describes the downtime as little to none, and recommends 2 to 4 treatments.
• Halo (Sciton). A hybrid fractional laser combining a non-ablative 1470 nm wavelength and an ablative 2940 nm wavelength in the same microscopic treatment zone. Sciton's patient page lists 15 to 30-minute treatments with topical anesthetic, 3 to 5 days of downtime and 1 to 2 treatments typically needed.

Three differences stand out in the makers' own materials.

The indications differ in form: Fraxel's are named per wavelength, while Clear + Brilliant's cleared wording covers general resurfacing.

The session math differs: Solta's Fraxel range runs to five, Sciton's Halo to one or two.

And the downtime differs by device, in each maker's telling — Fraxel's peeling on days 3 and 4, Moxi's "little to none", Halo's 3 to 5 days.

Which combination fits your skin, your concern and your calendar is what the consultation is for, not a brand table.

A search for "Fraxel near me" is the easy part; the vetting matters more than the distance.

Fraxel is a prescription-only device, so start with the medical side: who will operate the laser, what license they hold, and how the supervising doctor is involved.

Who may operate a laser like this at a med spa is set by state law, and the rules vary by state.

AmSpa, the med spa trade association, makes the general point with injectables: it says injecting a prescription drug like botulinum toxin is the practice of medicine, to be done by a physician, an independent-practice NP or another licensed professional acting within their scope, under rules that vary by state.

Ask each practice how those rules apply to their laser treatments in your state, and who will actually operate the device.

Then the device questions.

Ask which model the practice runs — the current device is Fraxel FTX, cleared in 2024, while the earlier Fraxel DUAL 1550/1927 dates to 2013 — and which wavelength or wavelengths they plan for your concern, since the two indication lists are not the same.

Ask how many sessions they expect, what the per-session price is, and what they advise for recovery and sun.

For the full vetting checklist — the medical director, who treats you, provider training, reviews, genuine products, the consultation and price — see our guide to how to choose a med spa.