Nd:
YAG laser in Singapore: what 1064 nm does, and where it is used

What does the Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm do?

Every laser works by selective photothermolysis: a wavelength is chosen that the target absorbs more strongly than the tissue around it, so the target heats and is injured while the surroundings are spared. The 1064 nm Nd:YAG is unusual among aesthetic lasers in that its wavelength is absorbed weakly by the three main chromophores, melanin, haemoglobin and water. That sounds like a disadvantage. In darker skin it is the whole point.

Because epidermal melanin takes up relatively little 1064 nm energy, more of it passes through the surface and reaches the dermis, where the hair follicle, the vessel or the dermal pigment sits. Shorter wavelengths such as 532 nm, 694 nm and 755 nm are absorbed strongly by melanin, which makes them effective on lighter skin and risky on darker skin, where the surface competes for the energy and can blister or darken. The glossary entry on the Nd:YAG laser gives the short definition; this page covers how it is used.

Three pulse forms, three different jobs

Nd:YAG laser uses in Singapore: hair removal, red veins and laser toning

Three uses of the 1064 nm Nd:YAG recur on this site, and each has its own page where the detail lives. This page sets out where the wavelength fits in each, and hands over.

Laser hair removal in darker skin

Hair removal targets melanin in the hair shaft, and the melanin in the skin competes for the same energy. On lighter skin the 755 nm alexandrite is strongly absorbed and effective. As skin pigment increases, that same absorption becomes a liability, and the 1064 nm Nd:YAG, less taken up on the way through, becomes the appropriate wavelength for Fitzpatrick IV to VI. A systematic review and meta-analysis of lasers for unwanted hair in skin of colour supports the long-pulsed Nd:YAG as the usual choice there. Dr Sin Yong uses a dual-wavelength long-pulsed platform so that the wavelength is matched to the skin area by area; the full guide is laser hair removal in Singapore.

Facial red veins and deeper vessels

Fine superficial red vessels absorb 532 nm or pulsed-dye wavelengths well. Deeper or blue-purple vessels, and vessels in darker skin, are where long-pulsed 1064 nm earns its place: it reaches the vessel while sparing epidermal melanin. Work in Asian patients specifically supports this approach. The vessel colour, depth and skin type decide the wavelength, as set out on facial telangiectasia.

Laser toning

Laser toning is a protocol, not a machine: low-fluence 1064 nm energy delivered in gentle, repeated passes to nudge diffuse uneven tone rather than shatter a deposit. It is used for diffuse uneven tone and brown marks after acne. Melasma is managed conservatively rather than removed, because repeated aggressive toning has been linked to pale, mottled spots, and the cause of the uneven tone is diagnosed first. The full page is laser toning in Singapore.

Inflammation rather than pigment: R2 Glow

At long-pulsed settings quite different from hair removal, the same 1064 nm and 755 nm platform is used in Dr Sin Yong's R2 Glow protocol, directed at the low-grade inflammation that keeps melanocytes producing pigment, rather than at the pigment itself. The platform is the same; the parameters and the target are not.

“The 1064 nm wavelength is not special because it is powerful. It is useful because the surface of darker skin mostly ignores it. That is a safety margin, not a licence to turn the energy up.”

Dr Sin YongOn Nd:YAG laser treatment

Nd:YAG vs pico laser vs alexandrite: how do they differ?

People searching for a 'yag laser' are often choosing between three things that are not alternatives for the same job. The wavelength decides what is absorbed; the pulse length decides how the energy acts; and skin type decides what is safe.

Two points of confusion are worth clearing. First, a pico laser is not a rival wavelength to the Nd:YAG; many pico platforms are 1064 nm Nd:YAG lasers with a much shorter pulse, and the DEKA TORO used here carries 532 nm and 1064 nm nanosecond emissions alongside its 785 nm picosecond emission. Second, 'yag laser' in a hair removal advertisement and 'yag laser' in a pigment clinic describe different pulse forms of the same crystal, with different settings, risks and aftercare.

Who suits an Nd:YAG laser, and who does not?

Tends to suit

• Darker or tanned skin, Fitzpatrick IV to VI, needing hair removal, where the alexandrite would be absorbed too strongly by the surface.
• Deeper or blue-purple facial vessels, and vessels in darker skin, after the cause of the redness has been assessed.
• Diffuse uneven tone and brown marks after acne, where conservative low-fluence toning is weighed against the cause.
• Black and dark-blue tattoo ink, where 1064 nm is absorbed well and spares surface melanin.

Better to wait

• A recent tan or planned sun exposure; active infection, a cold sore or eczema in the area; recent isotretinoin use; pregnancy, where treatment is usually deferred.

Does not suit, or is directed elsewhere

• White, grey or very fine hair, which carries too little melanin to respond to any wavelength.
• Melasma that someone hopes to 'remove': it is managed, not removed, and open-ended toning is declined.
• Skin whose dullness is driven by inflammation rather than deposited pigment, which is assessed for R2 Glow instead.
• Laxity, acne scars and pores, which are not Nd:YAG problems; see RF microneedling and the acne scar treatment page.

How it is decided here

Dr Sin Yong examines the skin in appropriate light, with a dermatoscope where needed, records the skin type, and uses a test patch where appropriate. Parameters are chosen by him for the area and the target rather than taken from a fixed protocol, and the plan is staged and reviewed. What decides it is the target, the skin type, the area and any previous treatment elsewhere; fees are set out in writing after assessment, as explained on how fees are quoted.

Nd:YAG laser risks and aftercare

The 1064 nm wavelength widens the safety margin in darker skin; it does not remove risk. Expected effects are redness, warmth and mild swelling around treated follicles or vessels, which settle. Less common effects are blistering, crusting, a temporary darkening (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) or lightening of the treated skin, and, with repeated aggressive toning, pale mottled spots. Paradoxical hair growth has been reported after hair removal at the edges of treated areas. Risk is reduced by matching the wavelength and settings to the skin type, surface cooling, a test patch where the skin type is uncertain, and treatment by a doctor who can recognise and manage a reaction.

Aftercare in broad terms

• Cool the area if it feels warm; avoid heat, saunas, hot showers over the area and strenuous exercise for a short period.
• Protect the skin from the sun with a broad-spectrum sunscreen and shade; sun exposure after any laser raises the chance of pigment change, and in Singapore this applies year-round.
• Do not pick at crusts or shed hairs; let them clear on their own.
• Avoid retinoids, acids and scrubs on the area until the skin has settled, and resume them as advised.
• Report blistering, spreading redness, or darkening or lightening of the skin promptly; these are reviewed by Dr Sin Yong.

Specific aftercare differs between hair removal, vessel treatment and toning, and is given on the day. The aftercare hub holds the written instructions for each.