Clear + Brilliant is a laser treatment for skin tone, texture, pore size and early lines. It treats the skin in thousands of microscopic spots and leaves the surface layer intact, so recovery is measured in days. Coastal Dermatology + Aesthetics performs it at its San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria offices. A typical series runs four to six treatments.
What Clear + Brilliant does for your skin
This is the treatment for skin that is not damaged, just not what it was. Tone that has gone flat, texture that catches the light wrong, pores that look larger than they used to, early lines that were not there two years ago and mild sun damage from a life spent outdoors here.
The laser treats your skin in thousands of microscopic columns and leaves all the skin in between completely untouched. That untouched skin is what heals the treated columns quickly, which is the entire reason this costs you a few days instead of a few weeks. Nothing is taken off the surface, so you are not raw and you are not hiding.
It is a series rather than a single visit. Four to six treatments is typical, each one adding another layer of improvement, and people generally come back for a round of it once or twice a year. It is the most straightforward entry point into laser treatment we offer, and it is the one people start with when they are not ready to lose two weeks.
What Clear + Brilliant is good at
- Brightening dull, flat tone so skin catches the light properly again
- Smoothing texture you can feel with your fingers more than you can see
- Making enlarged pores look smaller and more refined
- Softening the earliest lines before they set in
- Improving mild sun damage on skin that is not yet heavily weathered
- Fitting into a normal week, which is why people actually finish the series
A typical appointment, plus time for numbing cream beforehand. You are flushed for a few hours and dry for a couple of days. Nobody takes time off work for this.
How treatment works
Numbing first
Numbing cream goes on and sits for a while before anything starts. This is the longest part of the appointment and the reason the laser part is comfortable.
Thousands of tiny columns
The handpiece passes over your skin and treats it in microscopic columns, leaving the skin between them untouched. It feels warm and prickly rather than painful, and a full face takes about half an hour.
Your skin repairs the columns
Over the next few days the treated columns heal, using the untouched skin around them as the starting point. Your skin feels like fine sandpaper for a couple of days, then that clears and what is underneath is smoother and brighter.
Treatments in a typical series. Each one adds another layer rather than doing it all at once, which is what makes the result look like better skin instead of a treatment. Your provider sets the interval for your skin.
Where this sits between a facial and a real laser
People come in having read about four different treatments and no idea how they relate. They are rungs on a ladder, and the honest job of a consultation is telling you which rung you are on.
| Rung | What it does | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| A HydraFacial | Cleans, exfoliates and hydrates the surface. Upkeep, and you look better that afternoon | Nothing. An hour |
| Clear + Brilliant | Actually changes tone, texture and pore size, gently, over a series | A few dry days per session |
| Brown spots and red veins | Targets pigment and vessels specifically, which a gentle laser does not | A week or two of spots darkening and flaking |
| A CO2 laser | Resurfaces properly. Deep lines, real scarring, heavily weathered skin | A week or more of genuine recovery |
Clear + Brilliant is the rung most people are actually on and the one most often skipped, because it is easy to be sold either something that will not change anything or something that costs you two weeks you cannot spare. If what you have is scattered brown spots, this is not the treatment and we will tell you. If what you have is deep, set-in damage, this will not reach it and we will tell you that too.
Not weeks. The skin between the treated columns is left untouched, and it is what heals the rest, which is the whole reason recovery is measured in days. It is the trade that makes this the laser people actually finish the course of.
Areas we treat
Face
Brightens flat tone, smooths texture and refines pores across the cheeks, nose and forehead.
Neck
Improves the tone and fine texture on skin that ages earlier than the face above it.
Chest
Softens the fine crosshatched texture that sun leaves on an area that shows in a v-neck.
Hands
Improves tone and texture on skin that gives age away and rarely gets treated.
Crissa is a wonderful addition to the practice, can’t wait to return.
The Coastal difference
A gentle laser is still a laser
“Suitable for all skin types” is the sentence every page selling this treatment uses, and it is doing a lot of work. A laser is safe on a given skin at given settings, chosen by someone who has looked at that skin. More pigment in the skin means more of it absorbs the energy, and settings that suit one person can leave another with light or dark patches that take months to fade. That decision is a dermatologist’s, and here it is made before you book rather than while you are lying down.
The same goes for a tan. This is a coastal town and half the people who ask about lasers here have been in the sun in the last two weeks. Treating tanned skin raises the risk of exactly the marks you came in to avoid, so if you arrive with color we will move you rather than treat you.
And we will tell you when this is not the treatment. It is a gentle laser and gentle has a ceiling. Deep lines and set-in scarring want a CO2 laser and a real recovery, and scattered brown spots want a different tool altogether. Being sent to the right rung first time is cheaper than working up the ladder by trial and error.
Is it right for you?
Clear + Brilliant is probably a good fit if:
- Your skin looks dull or flat rather than damaged
- Texture and pore size bother you more than lines do
- You have early lines and would rather stay ahead of them than chase them later
- You cannot lose a week and have been putting off laser treatment because of that
- You are willing to do a series rather than expecting one visit to do it
We will steer you somewhere else if:
- You are tanned or sunburned right now, from the sun, a bed or a bottle
- What you have is deep lines or set-in scarring, which needs a stronger laser
- Your main concern is brown spots or broken veins, which want a different tool
- You are pregnant, or taking a strong acne pill, or recently finished one
- There is an active infection or broken skin in the area
Not sure which of those you are? That is what the consultation is for, and it is the reason we do not sell laser treatment over the phone.
What to expect afterward
For the first few hours you look flushed, like you have been out in the wind. Over the next day or two your skin feels dry and faintly rough, a bit like fine sandpaper, and may look slightly bronzed. That clears on its own by day three or four and what is underneath is smoother.
In the first week, do
- Wear broad spectrum SPF 30 or higher every day without exception [1]
- Keep moisturizer on and let the roughness clear on its own
- Use a gentle cleanser and nothing else for the first few days
- Drink water and expect your skin to feel thirsty
In the first week, don’t
- Scrub, exfoliate or pick at rough skin
- Go back to retinoids or acids until we clear you
- Sit in the sun, use a sunbed or apply self-tanner
- Book a sauna, a hot workout or a hot tub on the first day
Call us about blistering, real pain or any sign of infection. We would far rather hear from you.
Concerns treated
Clear + Brilliant works on tone, texture and early change rather than on damage that has already set in. Pick a concern to see how we approach it.
What treatment costs
Clear + Brilliant is priced per session, and most people are booking a series of four to six rather than a single visit. We quote you the whole series at your consultation, including what upkeep looks like over a year, rather than one number that grows once you have started.
We do not discount our way into a treatment. If a gentler option would serve you, or a stronger one would serve you better, that is the one you will be offered.
Treatment time
About 30 minutes, plus numbing time beforehand
Downtime
Flushed for a few hours, then dry and slightly rough for 2 to 4 days
Results appear
After each session, building across the series
Results last
Months, and the series is usually repeated as upkeep
Clear + Brilliant frequently asked questions
The single thing that decides how long your result lasts. Broad spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, water resistant, every day. Nothing on this page outperforms that habit. [1]
Offered at
Ready to start? Request your consultation
Fill out the form below, book online in Santa Maria (opens online scheduler), or give us a call. Cosmetic and aesthetic appointments need no referral. For medical dermatology, we are accepting new patients by referral from your primary care physician; send the referral across and then use the same form.
Cosmetic consultations are $125, paid at booking and credited toward the cost of treatment.
Sources and medical review
1. American Academy of Dermatology Association. “How to select a sunscreen.” Broad spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, water resistant. https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/sun-protection/shade-clothing-sunscreen/how-to-select-sunscreen · Medical Organization
Content on this page is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Clear + Brilliant® is a registered trademark of its owner. Redness for several hours, mild swelling on the first day, and dry, rough, flaking skin for a few days afterward are expected. Blistering, infection and lasting light or dark patches are uncommon but possible, and the risk rises on skin that is tanned or sunburned at the time of treatment and on skin that carries more pigment. This treatment is not suitable during pregnancy, while taking a strong acne pill, or where there is an active infection in the area. Individual results may vary. Cosmetic consultations are $125, paid at booking and credited toward the cost of treatment.