What Are Examples of Ablative Lasers?

Ablative lasers are the heavy hitters of skin resurfacing. By removing the outer layers of skin in a controlled way, they deliver the strongest results for texture, scarring and deeper lines — in exchange for more downtime. Here are the ablative lasers you're most likely to encounter, and what each is used for.

New to this? Start with the two primary categories of skin lasers.

Common ablative lasers

CO2 laser (10,600 nm)

The carbon-dioxide laser is the best-known ablative laser and one of the most powerful resurfacing tools available. It's used for significant sun damage, deeper wrinkles, scarring and textural change. Read about CO2 laser resurfacing.

Erbium:YAG (Er:YAG, 2940 nm)

Erbium's wavelength is absorbed very efficiently by water, so it removes tissue precisely and, in many cases, with a little less heat spread than CO2 — often chosen for finer resurfacing.

Fractional ablative lasers

Fractional versions of CO2 and erbium lasers treat microscopic columns of skin rather than the whole surface, keeping the strength of ablative resurfacing while shortening recovery. Fractional ablative CO2 and CO2 resurfacing are common examples.

YSGG (2790 nm) and plasma resurfacing

Other ablative and ablative-adjacent options exist — such as the YSGG laser and plasma-based resurfacing — each with its own balance of strength and recovery.

What ablative lasers are good for

• Deeper lines and wrinkles
• Acne and other scarring
• Significant sun damage and textural change
• Overall skin resurfacing where stronger results are the goal

The trade-off: downtime and suitability

Because they remove the skin's surface, ablative lasers involve real recovery — often several days to a couple of weeks of redness, peeling and sensitivity, depending on intensity. They also require careful patient selection: deeper skin tones can carry a higher risk of pigment change with ablative resurfacing, so suitability must be assessed individually.

If you want improvement with less downtime, non-ablative lasers or fractional approaches may suit you better. A consultation is the best way to match the right laser to your skin and goals.