Clear + Brilliant and Moxi
Thulium 1927 nm 'baby Fraxel' · prejuvenation lasers
'Prejuvenation' content aimed at people in their twenties and thirties has made the low-energy thulium lasers the entry-level laser of choice, marketed as glow with one to three days of sandpaper skin rather than a week of flaking.
Search interest: about 150 searches a month in Singapore for “clear and brilliant” (Ahrefs, October 2026).
Treating pigment early is sensible; calling it prevention is a story the evidence has not yet told.
Reviewed against the Aesthetics International standard. Category: Lasers.
Does Clear + Brilliant and Moxi work?
Promising. Treating pigment early is sensible; calling it prevention is a story the evidence has not yet told. Evidence is modest and mostly for pigment: a split-face RCT comparing fractionated 1927 nm thulium with a fractional picosecond laser found both improved photorejuvenation, retrospective series report lightening of melasma with low recurrence at low energy, and a randomised pilot showed thulium-assisted delivery of tranexamic acid helped melasma.
- Verdict
- Promising Plausible mechanism and early evidence. Reasonable to try with realistic expectations.
- Evidence base
- 4 PubMed-indexed studies cited below, including randomised trials.
- Suits
- Early sun damage, dullness, mild uneven tone and maintenance between stronger treatments; melasma-prone skin at low energy under a pigment plan.
- Not for
- Scars, wrinkles or laxity, which sit below its depth. Anyone expecting one session to show. Prevention claims in healthy young skin.
- In Singapore
- Clear + Brilliant is HSA-registered and doctor-operated in Singapore; confirm Moxi's registration with the provider.
- Category
- Lasers · about 150 searches a month in Singapore for “clear and brilliant”
- Reviewed
- 1 October 2026 by Aesthetics International. Revised as evidence and regulation change.
What it is
Clear + Brilliant (Solta) and Moxi (Sciton) are non-ablative fractional lasers that use a 1927 nm thulium wavelength at low energy and density to treat the epidermis and upper dermis. Clear + Brilliant also has a 1440 nm handpiece for texture. They are positioned as maintenance lasers for tone, early sun damage and 'glow' rather than as corrective treatments.
How it works
The 1927 nm wavelength is strongly absorbed by water, so the heated columns stay shallow where pigment sits. Low energy means minimal downtime, and it also means a smaller effect per session: plans are built as courses of three to six treatments, then maintenance. Settings are tunable, and a dense, higher-energy Moxi session is a different experience from a lunchtime Clear + Brilliant pass. Results come from repetition and from sun protection between sessions.
What the evidence says
Evidence is modest and mostly for pigment: a split-face RCT comparing fractionated 1927 nm thulium with a fractional picosecond laser found both improved photorejuvenation, retrospective series report lightening of melasma with low recurrence at low energy, and a randomised pilot showed thulium-assisted delivery of tranexamic acid helped melasma. A 2013 trial supports 1927 nm for facial actinic keratoses. There is no controlled evidence that treating healthy skin in one's twenties prevents later ageing, which is the claim 'prejuvenation' rests on.
What people are saying
Paraphrased from public discussion on TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and in the press. Not testimonials, and not about any one clinic. Reported in: thezoereport.com, realself.com, realself.com.
What the studies show
- RCT
Both the fractional picosecond and the 1927 nm thulium laser improved photoageing, with differences in downtime and the aspects of photodamage each addressed.
A Randomized, Split-Face, Double-Blind Comparison Trial Between Fractionated Frequency-Doubled 1064/532 nm Picosecond Nd:YAG Laser and Fractionated 1927 nm Thulium Fiber Laser for Facial Photorejuvenation. — Lasers Surg Med, 2021. PMID 32285983.
- cohort
In a retrospective series of 100 patients, low-energy 1927 nm treatment lightened melasma with a low rate of post-inflammatory darkening.
Efficacy and safety of 1927 nm fractional Thulium fiber laser for the treatment of melasma: a retrospective study of 100 patients. — J Cosmet Laser Ther, 2019. PMID 31690148.
- RCT
A split-face pilot RCT found thulium laser-assisted delivery of topical tranexamic acid improved melasma more than laser alone.
The efficacy in treatment of facial melasma with thulium 1927-nm fractional laser-assisted topical tranexamic acid delivery: a split-face, double-blind, randomized controlled pilot study. — Lasers Med Sci, 2020. PMID 32506227.
- cohort
A clinical trial reported clearance of a majority of facial actinic keratoses after 1927 nm fractional treatment.
1927-nm fractional resurfacing of facial actinic keratoses: a promising new therapeutic option. — J Am Acad Dermatol, 2013. PMID 23041112.
Studies are selected for relevance and quality, not for agreement with the verdict; PubMed records are linked so the reader can check them.
Who it suits
Suits
Early sun damage, dullness, mild uneven tone and maintenance between stronger treatments; melasma-prone skin at low energy under a pigment plan.
Not for
Scars, wrinkles or laxity, which sit below its depth. Anyone expecting one session to show. Prevention claims in healthy young skin.
Alternatives
The two reviewed treatments most often weighed against Clear + Brilliant and Moxi, on the same standard.
| Clear + Brilliant and Moxi | Pico laser | Fractional CO₂ resurfacing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Promising | Vetted | Established |
| What it is | Clear + Brilliant (Solta) and Moxi (Sciton) are non-ablative fractional lasers that use a 1927 nm thulium wavelength at low energy and density to treat the epidermis and upper dermis. | A picosecond laser delivers energy in pulses a thousand times shorter than the nanosecond lasers that came before it. | A 10,600 nm carbon dioxide laser vapourises columns of skin in a grid, leaving intact skin between them to speed healing. |
| Evidence base | 4 PubMed-indexed studies cited below, including randomised trials. | 4 PubMed-indexed studies cited below, including systematic reviews. | 4 PubMed-indexed studies cited below, including systematic reviews. |
| Suits | Early sun damage, dullness, mild uneven tone and maintenance between stronger treatments; melasma-prone skin at low energy under a pigment plan. | Sun spots, freckles, post-acne marks, tattoo ink, uneven tone in Asian skin when energy is set conservatively. | Atrophic acne scars, etched lines around the mouth and eyes, sun-damaged texture and surgical scars in people who can take a week of visible recovery. |
| In one line | Treating pigment early is sensible; calling it prevention is a story the evidence has not yet told. | The variable that matters is depth, not brightness, and pigment already deposited is only half the problem; the inflammation producing it is the other half. | The laser is a controlled injury; the skill is choosing how deep and how dense for this skin, not how much the machine can do. |
Risks
Redness and a sandpaper feel for one to three days, mild swelling, and post-inflammatory darkening if energy or density is pushed in darker skin.
In Singapore
Clear + Brilliant is HSA-registered and doctor-operated in Singapore; confirm Moxi's registration with the provider. Our FSX Laser uses a thulium wavelength together with erbium-glass for texture, which is a different, deeper combination.
“Treating pigment early is sensible; calling it prevention is a story the evidence has not yet told.”
Vetted protocols on the same problem
Questions
Does Clear + Brilliant prevent ageing?
Clear + Brilliant or Moxi?
Is it safe for melasma?
Cite this review
Aesthetics International (2026). Clear + Brilliant and Moxi: does it work? Evidence, risks and verdict. https://aesthetics-international.org/treatments/clear-brilliant-moxi/ (reviewed 1 October 2026).
Editorial, unpaid and independent of any manufacturer. Verdict: Promising. See what works and what doesn't across all 153 reviews. Spotted an error or a newer study? Suggest a correction — changes are logged on the corrections page. Terms are defined in the glossary.
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