Clear and Brilliant : My Favorite Laser Resurfacing Treatment

My Experience With Clear And Brilliant

As an aesthetic nurse, I do have the privilege of trying both old and new devices that have several claims of transforming the face or tightening pores and tightening the skin. Here I’ll give my raw opinion about them all. Starting with my OG, Clear and Brilliant.

Clear and Brilliant was the first laser treatment I had ever done to my skin. I was a guinea pig for a training and the process went as so:

1. You numb for about 30 for 45 mins with a numbing agent (I like Benzocaine lidocaine and tetracaine mixes) and within 30 mins of numbing I rub the product into my skin even more, heightening the numbing effects.
2. Wash numbing COMPLETELY off. Also best to not wear makeup when you’re doing these treatments. I never understood why people would come in with a face full of makeup, you are risking an infection if not completely removed!
3. Once skin is washed, alcohol can be applied to the skin to wipe off any remaining residue and you’re officially ready for the laser

Clear and Brilliant Modalities

The clear and brilliant has two different handpieces with a wavelength of 1927 (permea) and 1440 (original). The wavelengths help target different concerns but ultimately both help with evening skin tone and texture. Permea is marketed more for patients with melasma (though melasma is tricky and the patient must be aware that the treatment can help the melasma or make it worse). Aftercare is also imperative to the outcome. Permea doesn’t directly target melanin in the skin, instead the laser is attracted to the water in your skin and the resurfacing of damaged skin can help bring renewed skin to the surface. Permea makes your skin more permeable to skin care that is safe and beneficial to absorb during the healing process. The original handpiece is the popular handpiece as it penetrates deeper into the skin to stimulate collagen production, great for reducing fine lines and wrinkles, minimize pores and improve the skin quality.

Pros and Cons For This Treatment

Now I’ll be honest and say I have never had horrible skin. I have a hereditary line around my eyes/cheek junction that’s always made me look tired and I’ve had enlarged pores, slightly dull skin and fine lines on my forehead as I have a scar that creates more tension whenever I’m animated. I have done maybe 10 treatments in total throughout the 5 years I’ve been in aesthetics and it’s truly up there as one of my favorite treatments.

Let’s go through my pros and cons for this treatment.

PROS

• Downtime is super minimal. I have darker skin so that day I have slight visible redness, and there’s some swelling. Lighter skin patient’s (depending on the skin’s sensitivity) may get beet red or slightly pink post treatment and this usually subsides by the next day or possibly the third day if you’re very sensitive. Within 2-3 days this sandpaper-y texture starts to appear on the face and if you look close, you can see small dots throughout the face that the semi ablative laser targeted. The beauty of this laser is that it leaves other areas of your skin intact so the healthy skin can help repair the damaged skin quicker. For 3-5 days the sandpaper feeling is present, it should not be exfoliated off, it comes off on it’s own. I like to use alastin skin nectar as it is formulated to safely be used on ablative skin and it’s the holy grail for healing skin quickly and heightening the results of the treatment (use alastin 2 weeks prior and 2 weeks post treatment for best results). Alastin has Tri hex technology that helps remove old collagen taking up space and make room for new collagen and elastin growth. Within 5-6 days most if not all of the “ablated” skin is removed and you’ll notice a glow heighten around 1-4 weeks post healing from treatment.
• ALWAYS softens the appearance of my static forehead lines
• Allows me to apply product on my skin that I’d like to be absorbed more readily. (I like to put my Vitamin CE ferulic with skin ceuticals right on my upper lip and dark areas after treatment as it brightens my skin so quickly and it’s an antioxidant that will help protect my skin against free radicals. I have oily, non-sensitive dark skin, if you have more sensitive skin or you find vitamin c tends to sting when putting it on, I’d recommended waiting 3 days before using and doing a test spot before applying to entire face. I personally also use my TNS ADVANCED SERUM Growth Factor. Again, my skin is not sensitive and growth factors are something I 100% want fully absorbed in my skin to help with collagen production. The Alastin Skin nectar and Alastin Restorative complex will also help with elastin production which is key for the framework around the collagen.
• I get THE MOST amount of compliments about my skin after the treatment, never fails.

Cons

• Price for treatment can range from $300-$550 per session and if you have lots of acne scarring or textural skin issues, it may take over 6 treatments to see the results you’re looking for. In my opinion you’ll atleast see some difference each time you treat but price may be a factor in getting your ultimate results.
• Longevity. Patients always ask me how long the treatment lasts. I always say the collagen produced is yours for as long as your body maintains your collagen. Studies say we can start losing as much as 1-1.5% of collagen production every year starting as early as in your 20s. It’s important to counter the slowing of the collagen production with forcing microscopic injuries to create more collagen. So maintenance will always be a discussion if you want results to last long.
• Make sure you haven’t had botox or filler within two weeks of treatment as it can cause the product to metabolize quicker. Other things to avoid: tell you practitioner if you’re currently on or just ended antibiotics within the past two weeks. Some antibiotics (especially those for UTIs) tend to make you photosensitive and the effects can still remain in your system within 2 weeks of your last dose. You also want to make sure you’re healthy for the treatment so if you’re still recovering from some infection, best to wait for it to fully clear. You want to make sure you also don’t have a recent tan within two weeks (or spray tan). Even though the laser doesn’t target pigmentation directly, a tan can heighten the inflammation. No retinol or tretinoins to the area two weeks prior, makes the area very sensitive to the laser. Skin should be intact. Can’t go over tattooed areas or full beards. Avoid if you’re currently on accutane or have stopped less than 6-9 months ago (depending on the place you go to they may have different regulations). Try to avoid acne topicals such as salicylic acid, glycolic acid, aha/bha which all make the skin sensitive for the laser.
• You will have to avoid the sun for 2 weeks before and two weeks after (no going to the beach with sunscreen, the rays will still penetrate eventually and your ablated skin is way too open to take in those rays)

My rating for clear and brilliant in terms of it’s effectiveness, it’s ability to treat different skin tones, pain level and downtime is as follow:

• Effectiveness/Results: 8/10
• Universal treatment: 10/10
• Pain level with BLT numbing: 4-6.5/10 (spicy hot laser-y feeling. Heat builds up but if you’re fully numb, it shouldn’t hurt more than a 5 or 6.)
• Downtime: 8/10. Super minimal. Don’t have to hide during recovery