This is education, not advice
The information here is written for the general reader and does not replace a personal medical consultation. It cannot tell you whether erbium resurfacing is appropriate for your skin, your health or your circumstances, or whether a heat-heavier plan suits you better.
No outcome is promised
No treatment can be promised. How much the skin improves, how long the improvement holds and how the skin settles afterwards vary between individuals, and no clinician can guarantee a particular result. Healing and pigment response vary, and the honest judgement of a resurfacing result is made in months rather than weeks.
The healing and the risks are real
Pinpoint bleeding on the treatment day is expected, the surface is usually open for several days, and redness persists for weeks afterwards. The treatment carries genuine risks including infection, scarring, a visible border where treated skin meets untreated skin, and pigment change in both directions. Darkening is more common and more stubborn in darker skin; pigment that is lost may not return.
A shallower ablation changes less
Erbium leaves less heat in the tissue than a heat-heavier ablation, which is why it is chosen, and also why it tightens less, softens deep folds less and changes depressed scarring less. It does not stop ageing and it is not a facelift. The improvement fades gradually, and how quickly depends far more on sun exposure afterwards than on which device was used.