Fotona Erbium

The Fotona Dynamis SP laser is an erbium-based (Er:YAG) laser that can perform in fully ablative mode or a fractional laser resurfacing mode for skin rejuvenation or scar revision treatments. The erbium laser has a wavelength of 2940nm which is specifically attracted to the water in the skin. It ablates a very thin layer of skin with each pass and this helps to resurface the skin to reduce wrinkles, pigmentation, acne scarring, stretch marks and remove superficial skin lesions.

It is important to know that erbium-based laser resurfacing treatments have a more prolonged downtime than non-ablative laser treatments (e.g. Fraxel laser). On average, expect to have redness and swelling for several days. Then some crusting occurs. This can last 1-2 weeks dependent on the settings used for the laser treatment. It is not unusual to have ongoing redness for 1-month post treatment if higher settings are deemed appropriate for your laser treatment.

Whether choosing ablative (Erbium) versus non-ablative laser (Fraxel) or full ablative or fractional laser resurfacing depends on the patient’s expectations of results, downtime, skin type and colour, and the skin issue we are addressing.

When treating sun damage and/or superficial wrinkles on the skin, the Er: YAG laser can usually address these imperfections with 1-2 treatments. The skin tends to have a smoother texture and a glow post treatment. There is a recovery phase of approximately 5-10 days dependent on laser settings for the desired aesthetic improvements, which is accelerated with carefully chosen post erbium laser skincare. The results from this treatment can be for over 1 year with sun protection and other anti-ageing habits.

For treating problematic acne scarring, the Fotona’s Erbium laser wavelength (Er: YAG) is ideal for ablative scar revision. The Er: YAG laser can safely and effectively provide desired penetration depth required resurfacing of acne scarred skin, aiming for improving skin texture and tone. Unlike chemical peels and dermabrasion, the laser skin resurfacing allows the penetration depth to be precisely controlled. The Erbium laser gently vaporizes micron-thin layers of the acne scarred surface to reveal healthy, undamaged skin below.