The PicoWay laser is an FDA-cleared picosecond laser that's commonly used for tattoo removal. In dermatology practices, it's also used for skin rejuvenation: treating acne scars, wrinkles, dark spots, and benign pigmented lesions, including café-au-lait spots, lentigines, birthmarks, age spots or sun spots, and melasma.
Manufactured by Candela, it’s an effective treatment for a wide variety of tattoo colors, including blue and green ink, which is notoriously difficult to treat.
Settings can be customized to safely treat any skin tone, making it one of the best choices for laser tattoo removal. PicoWay has four wavelengths (1,064 nm, 785 nm, 730 nm, and 532 nm) for safe, accurate tattoo removal of a wide range of ink colors, with minimal side effects.
“[Picoway] can treat tattoos with fewer follow-up visits compared with other lasers,” says Dr. Ariel Ostad, a dermatologist in New York City. “What separates PicoWay from other methods of tattoo removal is that this laser uses photoacoustic energy, as opposed to thermal energy. So this laser light shatters the tattoo ink into tiny particles. Depending on the tattoo, you’ll need a series of treatments—four to five sessions—to see optimal results, with one month between each session” for healing.
The PicoWay laser system comes with different handpieces to address various skin concerns. PicoWay Resolve can address signs of aging, such as fine lines, by stimulating new collagen and elastin production.
PicoWay Zoom is better for treating hyperpigmentation, dark spots, and other types of skin discoloration (including tattoos).
