What it is
A 1064 nm laser whose light reaches deeper and is absorbed less by skin pigment than shorter wavelengths, which is why it is often the wavelength of choice on deeper skin. In nanosecond pulses it fragments dermal pigment and dark tattoo ink; in long pulses it treats larger and deeper blood vessels; at low energy repeated over a course it is one option inside a melasma plan. It is the pulse setting, more than the machine, that decides what the treatment actually does.
What this page covers
- Q-switched Nd:YAG 1064 nm for dermal pigment and dark tattoo ink
- Low-fluence 1064 nm laser toning as one component of a melasma plan
- Long-pulsed Nd:YAG 1064 nm for larger telangiectasia and deeper vessels
- Micro-pulsed 1064 nm (laser-genesis type) passes for redness, pore appearance and texture
- Long-pulsed 1064 nm hair reduction on darker skin types, including as an adjunct in acne keloidalis nuchae, pilonidal disease and hidradenitis suppurativa
Honestly
Being the more forgiving wavelength on deeper skin does not make it risk-free: repeated low-fluence toning for melasma is a documented cause of mottled hypopigmentation and of rebound, and too much energy over a vessel can leave a linear mark, so a stopping point is agreed as part of the plan rather than after the fact.