Reveal Smoother, Brighter, Even-Toned Skin

These photos are of our patients treated with Clear + Brilliant over time in our Inner Circle membership; other services may have been done. Clear + Brilliant was used for skin rejuvenation.

More than 20 years of experience with fractional laser technology. At Allure Medical, fractional laser technology isn’t new to us. We began using Fraxel technology in 2004, during the early years of fractional skin resurfacing, and the technology has evolved dramatically since then.

Today, one of our most frequently used treatments is Clear + Brilliant, a gentler nonablative fractional laser from the same Solta/Fraxel technology family. After more than two decades with fractional lasers, we’ve learned something important: not every patient needs aggressive resurfacing. Sometimes the best treatment is a lighter, repeatable procedure that improves skin quality while fitting comfortably into a long-term skincare program. That is where Clear + Brilliant excels.

Clear + Brilliant is a nonablative fractional laser treatment designed to create thousands of microscopic treatment zones within the skin while leaving much of the surrounding skin untreated. That fractional approach allows the skin to recover relatively quickly while initiating a natural renewal response.

Depending on the handpiece and treatment settings, Clear + Brilliant can help improve:

• Uneven skin tone and mild pigmentation

• Early sun damage and early signs of photoaging

• Rough or uneven texture and dull-looking skin

• Fine lines

• Enlarged-appearing pores

We often describe Clear + Brilliant as a lighter member of the Fraxel family. It isn’t designed to replace deeper Fraxel resurfacing when significant wrinkles, scarring, or photodamage are present. Instead, it fills an important role between skincare alone and more intensive laser resurfacing.

Both are fractional laser technologies, but they are not the same treatment. Traditional Fraxel resurfacing can deliver substantially more energy and penetrate more deeply, making it appropriate for patients with more significant sun damage, wrinkles, acne scars, texture changes, pigmentation, or advanced photoaging.

Clear + Brilliant is generally a gentler treatment with less downtime, which makes it attractive for patients who want to maintain and gradually improve skin quality without undergoing aggressive resurfacing every time they treat their skin. We think of the two as complementary rather than competitive: Fraxel is for correction. Clear + Brilliant is excellent for refinement and maintenance.

Instead of treating the entire surface of the skin uniformly, Clear + Brilliant creates a pattern of microscopic treatment zones, and the tissue between those zones remains relatively intact. That untreated surrounding skin supports a faster healing response than treatments that resurface the entire skin surface.

Within the treated areas, controlled thermal energy initiates a repair process that can contribute to epidermal renewal, improved texture, more even pigmentation, collagen remodeling, and a brighter overall complexion. Fractional nonablative laser studies have demonstrated improvements in photoaging, texture and wrinkles, so we consider Clear + Brilliant a collagen-remodeling treatment. The goal is to stimulate the skin to renew itself.

Clear + Brilliant works best as part of a complete skin-health program. A laser can stimulate change within the skin, but what you do between treatments matters enormously. Depending on your skin, a customized regimen may include vitamin C, retinoids, antioxidants, pigment-control products, moisturizers, barrier-support products, and broad-spectrum sunscreen.

Laser treatments and skincare should work together. Clear + Brilliant helps improve the skin’s appearance and stimulate renewal, while a properly designed home regimen protects that investment between treatments. Without good skincare, particularly daily sun protection, the results of any rejuvenation treatment will be harder to maintain.

Laser treatment requires particular care in patients with darker skin, because excess heat or inflammation can sometimes trigger post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). One advantage of gentler fractional treatment is that it can often be used conservatively in a wider range of skin tones than more aggressive resurfacing. Clinical research using low-energy 1440-nm fractional laser treatment in patients with Fitzpatrick skin types III through V has demonstrated improvement in pigmentation, texture and wrinkling with generally temporary side effects.

For PIH and melasma we don’t use a one-size-fits-all approach. Depending on your skin, treatment may combine medical-grade topical therapy, pigment-control medications, strict sun protection, gentle fractional laser treatment, and IPL or other light-based treatments when appropriate. Melasma in particular is a chronic pigment disorder: successful treatment is usually a long-term management strategy rather than a single procedure. Experience matters greatly when treating pigment-prone skin.

Clear + Brilliant is generally performed as a series of treatments. For many patients we recommend approximately three to four sessions, often about once a month, with the interval adjusted to your skin, schedule and goals. After the initial series, some patients choose periodic maintenance treatments.

Treatment typically takes about 30 minutes. Afterward, patients may experience redness, mild swelling, warmth, dryness, slight roughness, or increased sensitivity, and these effects generally improve as the skin goes through its normal renewal process. Most patients choose Clear + Brilliant specifically because they want meaningful rejuvenation with relatively little interruption to their normal schedule.

Clear + Brilliant and IPL are both excellent treatments, but they work differently. IPL photofacial is particularly effective for red and brown discoloration, including sun spots, facial redness, visible vessels and blotchy pigmentation. Clear + Brilliant is a fractional laser treatment focused more heavily on texture, skin renewal, fine pigmentation, fine lines, pore appearance and overall complexion.

Sometimes IPL is the better treatment. Sometimes Clear + Brilliant is. And sometimes the best result comes from using both technologies as part of a comprehensive skin-rejuvenation program.

Across Allure Medical, Clear + Brilliant has consistently remained one of our most frequently performed skin-rejuvenation treatments. The reason is simple: it fits into real life. Patients want healthier-looking skin without significant downtime, improvement as well as maintenance, and technology paired with a long-term skincare strategy.

Healthy skin isn’t created by one procedure. More than 20 years of fractional laser experience has taught us that the most successful patients are often the ones with the best long-term strategy: Clear + Brilliant, medical-grade skincare, sun protection, and periodic maintenance. Together they create a practical approach to keeping your skin looking its best for years to come.