Nd:YAG laser, 1064 nm

Why 1064 nm in particular

The 1064 nm range lies in the near infrared and holds a special place in laser therapy for two reasons. First: it is the longest wavelength among those still meaningfully absorbed by melanin and haemoglobin, so it reaches deeper than all shorter ranges. Second: it is absorbed weakly, and that turns out to be an advantage.

Weak absorption means that the melanin in the epidermis does not intercept the energy on the way. The beam passes through the epidermis, giving up little heat to it, and only deeper down reaches the target. That is why this wavelength is the only one that can be used safely on darker skin phototypes, and why it reaches vessels lying 2 to 3 mm below the surface.

The same beam has a second outlet. After passing through a potassium titanyl phosphate crystal its wavelength halves exactly, to 532 nm, and it turns into a tool with the opposite properties: shallow, strongly absorbed, precise with superficial lesions. We describe it on the page about the KTP 532 nm laser.

The pulse duration settles the effect

The principle the whole of laser therapy rests on is called selective photothermolysis: a chosen structure absorbs the energy and turns it into heat. The condition for selectivity is matching the pulse duration to the size of the target.

Every structure in the skin has its own thermal relaxation time, that is the time in which it gives the absorbed heat back to its surroundings. A pigment particle gives it up in nanoseconds, a small vessel in milliseconds, a hair follicle in tens of milliseconds. A pulse shorter than that time locks the energy in the target and destroys it without heating the surroundings. A longer pulse spreads the heat wider.

Four pulse durations, four treatments

Below is the same 1064 nm in four uses. Note that the mechanism changes in kind, not only in degree: with the shortest pulses the pigment is broken up mechanically, with the longest the tissue is heated.

Mixed emission of 1064 and 755 nm

The platform we use for this wavelength has one more ability: it can deliver two different wavelengths, 1064 nm and 755 nm, into the same place, simultaneously or one after the other. That is not the same as two separate passes with two lasers.

This matters above all in hair removal, because both wavelengths target melanin, but with different strength and at different depths. The 755 nm wavelength is absorbed strongly by melanin, so it copes well with lighter and finer hair, but with darker skin it competes with the melanin of the epidermis. The 1064 nm wavelength is absorbed weakly, so it reaches deeper and passes the epidermis by, but it needs higher energy.

Revitalisation and lifting with the micropulse technique

This use differs from the other three and needs a separate description, because it does not target any single lesion. Instead of destroying a chosen structure, it gradually heats the dermis.

The technique involves delivering very short, low-energy pulses at a high frequency, with the handpiece moved back and forth over the treatment area, without contact with the skin. A single pulse does nothing noticeable. Hundreds of pulses per square centimetre raise the temperature of the papillary layer of the skin enough to start remodelling.

The energy reaches two targets at once: the microcirculation of the dermis and the tissue around it. Hence the double effect described in the literature, that is a reduction of redness together with prompting collagen production. This explains why this treatment appeals both to people with redness and to people working on firmness.

In the price list this treatment appears in two groups, revitalisation and laser lifting, differing in settings and price. The line between them is set at the consultation, after assessing the skin, because it depends on the aim and on the starting state.

About a name you may meet in price lists

The micropulse technique is sometimes called „Genesis” in Poland, including in our price list. It is worth knowing that this is the trade name of one device manufacturer's treatment, which came into circulation as a term for the whole method, as has happened with many brand names.

We use a device from a different manufacturer, with the same technique and the same wavelength. We write about it descriptively, through its parameters rather than through a trade name, for two reasons: the regulations limit advertising of medical devices addressed to the public, and using one company's trademark to describe another company's device would be misleading.

What the research says

All skin phototypes

This is the most important practical advantage of this wavelength. Because melanin absorbs it weakly, the epidermis does not intercept the energy on the way, so the 1064 nm range is safe with phototypes IV to VI as well, where lasers with a shorter wavelength carry a high risk of pigmentation and burns.

Contraindications

Below are the contraindications common to treatments with this wavelength. Some of them rule the treatment out, some put it off, and the details depend on the particular use and are discussed at the consultation.

With pigmented and vascular lesions of an atypical appearance the right first step is a dermatological assessment. We support the assessment with digital dermoscopy, but that supports a decision; it is not a diagnosis.

Where we describe the individual treatments

This page describes the technology: the wavelength, the pulse duration and what follows from them. The assessment, the course and the detailed contraindications for a particular treatment are on the treatment pages.

The questions we are asked most often

Sources

The content is for information. It does not replace a consultation, an examination or an individual assessment.