What is Erbium Laser Resurfacing?

The world of laser-based skin care is buzzing right now. Whereas 20 years ago, having a laser procedure was a rare, “big deal” thing, nowadays you can find a laser treatment just about anywhere to treat just about anything! So, it’s not surprising at all that patients come to us very confused about what lasers do and which one they think they need.

On this page, we will briefly discuss erbium fractional laser resurfacing. At Celibre Medical, this is the technology that we’ve found to be superior in both safety and results when our patients need resurfacing. Not all lasers are capable of resurfacing the skin; in fact, there are only a couple of lasers that can do this: the erbium YAG and carbon dioxide (CO2) are the two most commonly used.

Laser resurfacing relies on lasers that are attracted to water. Both types of lasers work in this way. They seek out water in the skin and focus their energy on it. The result is vaporization, otherwise known as “ablation” of the skin. The erbium laser produces this ablation in the top layer of skin, also called the epidermis. It is much more predictable and reliable at doing this than the CO2 laser, and that is why we prefer using it for resurfacing.

As the laser’s energy is absorbed, heat is generated. This heat energy is transferred and absorbed by the deeper layer of skin, the dermis, which is where collagen and elastin are. Heat forces the skin to remodel (or tighten) in this way. When combined with the new layer of epidermis that is generated after treatment, erbium laser resurfacing can produce brighter, tighter, healthier and younger-looking skin!

Call us today if you’d like to learn more about erbium laser resurfacing or to see if you’re a good candidate for treatment.