One month post-PicoSure Focus treatment on age/sun spots. Is it normal for spots to darken a month after your first treatment?

Question

So it’s been a month since my 1st PicoSure treatment. After two weeks the spots looked good almost totally gone. But now a few spots are starting to darken a little, not as dark as before treatment. Is it normal for spots to darken a little a month after your first treatment? Will a second treatment, or even a third remove the spots completely? Will the spots continue to darken even more? Or is this all the normal process of the treatment? I’ve also been using HQ 4% post treatment.

Harold J. Kaplan, MD · Answer

Hi 916.  The answer is that it depends.  First, the question is what's being treated?  Is it Melasma or sun damage?  If Melasma (a hormonal condition), the spots will always return and sometimes darker after laser, so we never use lasers to treat it.  If you are being prescribed hydroquinone, there's a possibility your brown spots are Melasma and that the Picosure is not a good option for you.If it's sun damage, then depending on your skin type, it is possible that the sun damage was removed during the treatment and you are experiencing post traumatic hyperpigmentation (PIH).  This means that when a medium or darker skin type experiences trauma (like the flaking and light scabbing associated with removing sun damage with a laser), the healing process may include a temporary darkening of the skin.  This is similar to when a Hispanic, Asian or African skin type gets a brown spot after acne.  This should go away on it's own but can be helped along with the Hydroquinone.  Before and after photos would help provide more specific information.

Monika Soni, MD · Answer

Thanks for you question.  We tell our patients not to be surprised if their brown spots appear darker after treatment.  It is the pigment moving closer to the surface.  Sometimes they get larger or new spots appear.  We recommend a series of 4 PicoSure FOCUS treatments with every patient.  Keep up with the HQ and use a quality, broad spectrum sun screen every day.  If you are concerned, please contact your treating physician.

Laura Riehm, MD · Answer

Thanks for you question.  We tell our patients not to be surprised if their brown spots appear darker after treatment.  It is the pigment moving closer to the surface.  Sometimes they get larger or new spots appear.  We recommend a series of 4 PicoSure FOCUS treatments with every patient.  Keep up with the HQ and use a quality, broad spectrum sun screen every day.  If you are concerned, please contact your treating physician.  I hope this helps.

One month post-PicoSure Focus treatment on age/sun spots. Is it normal for spots to darken a month after your first treatment?

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One month post-PicoSure Focus treatment on age/sun spots. Is it normal for spots to darken a month after your first treatment?

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Everything you need to know about PicoSure

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.