CO2 Fractional Laser (10600 nm): The Gold Standard of Ablative Resurfacing

The CO2 laser uses carbon dioxide gas molecules as its gain medium, emitting at 10600 nm (10.6 μm) in the far infrared. Water absorbs this wavelength extremely strongly (on the order of 800 cm⁻¹), and since skin is roughly 70% water, CO2 energy is absorbed in the outermost layers, enabling precise tissue vaporization — the reason it remains the gold standard of ablative resurfacing.

Early CO2 resurfacing ablated the entire treatment area: effective but with long recovery and eryphema lasting months. Fractional photothermolysis, introduced in the 1990s, changed this. The beam is split into microbeams creating microscopic treatment zones (MTZs) a few hundred microns wide, surrounded by intact skin that speeds healing. Downtime shortened to about a week and risks such as prolonged erythema fell sharply.

• Reconstruction of acne scars and traumatic scars
• Enlarged pores and skin texture
• Photoaging: fine lines, actinic keratoses
• Adjunctive treatment of pigmented lesions such as seborrheic keratosis
• Surgical cutting and vaporization (also widely used in gynecology and ENT)

• Density: MTZ coverage per unit area, determining ablation fraction and downtime.
• Point energy determines vaporization depth per microbeam.
• Superpulsed mode: pulse shorter than tissue thermal relaxation time limits thermal spill.

Healing passes through crusting (3-7 days), erythema (weeks) and a pigmentation-risk window; darker skin requires caution and strict sun protection. Infection, persistent erythema and scarring are the main risks and call for a disciplined aftercare protocol.

LEIJEX’s fractional CO2 laser offers ablative fractional modes with multiple scan patterns for clinical resurfacing and scar treatment.

CO2 fractional vs non-ablative 1470 nm — how to choose?

For acne scars and significant texture issues, ablative CO2 is first-line; patients who cannot accept downtime may choose non-ablative wavelengths, usually with more sessions.

Does fractional CO2 hurt?

Treatment is performed under topical anesthesia, mostly a heating sensation; pronounced heat for hours afterward is managed with cooling and repair dressings.

• Fractional Photothermolysis
• 2940 nm Er:YAG Laser
• 1470 nm Laser