Key facts
- T2 Frax Radiance
- DEKA TORO: 785 nm picosecond, 532 nm and 1064 nm nanosecond, plus a thermal mode for collagen
- R2 Glow
- Long-pulsed 755 nm alexandrite and 1064 nm Nd:YAG at parameters directed at inflammation, surface intact
- Choose T2 when
- The brown is fixed: sun spots, freckles, older post-inflammatory marks, with or without texture
- Choose R2 when
- The tone fluctuates, there is background redness, the skin is reactive, or marks are fresh and pink
- Melasma
- Usually R2 Glow or no laser first; picosecond toning only as a conservative adjunct in stable melasma
- Fee
- Set in writing after assessment; see how fees are quoted
What is the difference between T2 Frax Radiance and R2 Glow?
T2 Frax Radiance acts on pigment that is present; R2 Glow acts on the inflammation that produces it. T2 Frax Radiance is the pico laser protocol at this practice, delivered on the DEKA TORO with a 785 nm picosecond emission, 532 nm and 1064 nm nanosecond emissions and a longer thermal pulse, so it can fragment deposited melanin and, in the same visit, warm the dermis for texture. R2 Glow runs on a different platform, long-pulsed 755 nm alexandrite and 1064 nm Nd:YAG, at parameters chosen to calm low-grade inflammatory activity rather than to shatter pigment, leaving the surface intact.
They are not two strengths of the same treatment. The T2 Frax Radiance page describes the tone and tighten halves of that protocol; the R2 Glow laser page describes brightening by calming. This page is about the decision between them, which rests on a single question: is the unevenness a deposit, a process, or both?
How is the cause of dull, uneven skin confirmed before a protocol is chosen?
The cause is confirmed by looking at how the colour behaves, not by asking which protocol the person has read about. Dr Sin Yong examines the face in daylight-balanced and angled light and, where needed, with a dermatoscope, asking whether the brown is fixed or fluctuates with sun, heat and the menstrual cycle, whether there is background redness or flushing, whether the skin stings with products, and whether marks are pink and fresh or brown and settled.
A fixed, well-defined brown is a deposit. A tone that shifts from week to week, a face that flushes, or a cheek that darkens after a hot kitchen or a run points to a process that is still active, and clearing the deposit without calming the process invites it straight back. The facial pigmentation guide sets out how melasma, sun spots, post-inflammatory marks and freckles are told apart; that sorting is what the choice below depends on.
“The two produce brightness by entirely different routes.”
Dr Sin YongOn inflammation versus pigment
When is T2 Frax Radiance the protocol considered?
T2 Frax Radiance is considered when the problem is pigment that has already been laid down and the skin around it is calm. Sun spots, freckles, older brown acne marks and general unevenness in settled skin are its usual indications, with 532 nm for superficial discrete spots, 785 nm picosecond for diffuse tone and darker skin, and 1064 nm where pigment sits deeper. Where rough texture or early slackness accompanies the tone, the thermal mode addresses that in the same visit.
It is held back where heat is the enemy. In melasma, picosecond toning is at most a conservative adjunct inside a plan of photoprotection and topical therapy, and in a reactive, inflamed or recently tanned face it is deferred. Settings are chosen for Fitzpatrick III to V skin, a test area may be treated first, and the response at review decides the next step rather than a fixed sequence.
T2 Frax Radiance and R2 Glow compared by what each is directed at| Presentation | Protocol usually considered | Why |
|---|
| Discrete sun spots or freckles | T2 Frax Radiance | A fixed deposit that picosecond pulses fragment |
| Dull skin with background redness | R2 Glow | Inflammation drives both the redness and the pigment |
| Fresh pink acne marks | R2 Glow, or time | Marks are vascular and still being made |
| Older brown acne marks | T2 Frax Radiance toning | Pigment is deposited; inflammation has settled |
| Melasma | R2 Glow or topicals first | Heat and inflammation worsen it; pico only as a cautious adjunct |
| Uneven tone with rough texture | T2 Frax Radiance | Pigment half plus the thermal mode for texture |
When is R2 Glow the protocol considered?
R2 Glow is considered when inflammation is doing the damage: a dull, blotchy tone with background redness, skin that flushes or stings, fresh pink marks after acne, or a pigmentation problem that keeps being produced. Long-pulsed energy at inflammation-directed parameters calms that activity without disrupting the surface, and because it does not rely on fragmenting melanin, it is a reasonable route in skin that darkens readily after other lasers.
It is not a pigment-clearing treatment. A sun spot or a settled brown mark is a deposit that R2 Glow leaves largely where it is, which is why a face with both a process and a deposit may be sequenced: calm the inflammation with R2 Glow first, then clear what remains with picosecond toning once the skin is quiet. Where redness, pores and dermal laxity dominate, the 少女光 laser works deeper again and is a separate decision.
What are the risks of choosing wrongly, and what determines the fee?
The risk of choosing wrongly runs in both directions. Picosecond pigment work on an inflamed or melasma-prone face adds heat to a process that responds to heat by making more pigment, and the result is darkening or rebound. Inflammation-directed treatment on a face whose problem is a fixed deposit leaves the deposit in place and the person wondering why nothing changed. Neither protocol treats laxity, vessels large enough to see individually, or active acne, and both are deferred over a recent tan.
The fee follows the plan rather than a list. It depends on which protocol or sequence the assessment points to, the area treated, the wavelengths and modes used, whether a test area comes first and how the plan is staged around review. Singapore's rules prevent clinics from advertising prices, so no figures are given here; a written, itemised quote follows the consultation, as the how fees are quoted page explains.
