What Is Fractionated Erbium?
Laser Treatment: Fractionated Erbium
Best For: skin texture, sun damage, fine lines
Downtime: redness, swelling, and flaking for three to five days
Like fractionated CO2, a fractionated Erbium laser is an ablative laser, but is a little less intense. This laser breaks up the beam into a grid of tiny beams that create microscopic injuries to the top layer of skin. Because only a "fraction" of the skin is treated at one time, healing pretty fast and there is much less downtime when compared to a CO2 laser. According to Dr. Herrmann, the micro injuries stimulate new collagen and elastin production for skin remodeling, ultimately smoothing and evening out skin texture and tone.
"The fractionated erbium laser is good for removing dyspigmentation, evening skin tone, and minimizing finer lines," says Dr. Herrmann, along with improving acne scars, reversing sun damage, and increasing skin thickness. She explains that settings can be adjusted by your doctor, so it can treat light and medium skin tones safely. However, because the laser uses heat, those with melasma should avoid it, and people with more melanated skin tones should speak to their doctors before trying out an Erbium laser.
When it comes to the procedure itself, your doctor will use numbing cream before getting started, but you'll likely still feel some heat. Dr. Herrmann explains that there is some recovery where the skin appears sunburned and may be swollen, then within a few days it will flake before more even and younger skin appears. Usually people are fully recovered and back to normal activities within 3 to 5 days depending on the area treated and the energy used.
