Erbium laser:
what the term means

Where erbium lasers matter on this site

Both erbium lasers target water, but at 2,940 nm erbium:YAG is absorbed so strongly that it vaporises a thin layer with little heat beyond it, while 1540 or 1550 nm erbium glass is absorbed weakly enough to pass through the epidermis and heat columns in the dermis. The second is the one Dr Sin Yong uses, and these are the pages where it matters.

When someone says erbium, I ask which one: the laser that vaporises and the laser that heats under an intact surface share a name and nothing else.— Dr Sin Yong

• FSX Laser: 1540 nm erbium glass paired with 1927 nm thulium, for fine lines, pores, superficial acne scars, redness, early laxity and lax eyelid skin.
• FSX Laser: the term: the glossary entry for the protocol itself.
• FSX Laser vs VF Lift for droopy eyelids: where the non-ablative erbium glass wavelength fits against radiofrequency on the eyelid.
• H2LT hair stimulation: the 1540 nm fractional scalp protocol Dr Sin Yong published in PRIME Journal.
• Fraxel vs CO₂ vs Tetra: the comparison that places erbium glass against ablative CO₂.

The ablative member of the family, erbium:YAG, is not a protocol on this site; where ablation is needed, the S3 Resurfacing Lift uses fractional CO₂ instead.

Not to be confused with

The word erbium covers two lasers with opposite behaviour, and both are confused with their neighbours.

• Erbium:YAG vs erbium glass. The first ablates at 2,940 nm; the second heats beneath an intact surface at 1540 or 1550 nm. "Erbium laser" on a price list could mean either, so ask which.
• Fractional CO₂. Ablative at 10,600 nm, also absorbed by water, but with a wider zone of heat around each column and more tightening response than erbium:YAG.
• Fraxel. A brand built on 1550 nm erbium glass and 1927 nm thulium. The FSX Laser uses the same class of wavelengths on a different platform; it is not Fraxel.
• Thulium 1927 nm. A separate, more superficial non-ablative wavelength paired with erbium glass in FSX for pigment and texture. It is not an erbium laser.
• Nd:YAG 1064 nm. A melanin and haemoglobin laser, not a water laser. Different chromophore, different jobs.

The Clear + Brilliant vs Fraxel vs Tetra Pro page lines up three platforms by wavelength and depth so the names stop mattering.

What decides whether an erbium laser matters for you

Erbium glass suits a particular set of problems and skin types, and knowing where it stops is as useful as knowing what it does.

• Depth of the problem. Fine texture, pores, superficial scars and early laxity sit within reach of 1540 nm columns; deep boxcar and ice-pick scars do not, and go to ablative CO₂.
• Skin type. FSX is used in Fitzpatrick V and VI with settings chosen for the skin at every session; the pigment risk is lower than with ablation but not zero.
• Recovery. Non-ablative treatment leaves the surface intact, which is why FSX is the option with the shorter recovery of the two protocols.
• Known side effects. Acne-like eruptions and cold sores are the commonest after 1550 nm-class lasers, so a history of cold sores is asked about and covered.
• Eyelids. Lax eyelid skin is one of the few places a non-ablative pass is chosen over heavier tools; the non-surgical eyelid lift page explains when.

Dr Sin Yong lets scar depth, not the name of the laser, decide between FSX and S3.