Thanks for your question. We get this same question in our office all the time. You have 2 routes for laser tattoo removal.Nanosecond lasers came out about 20 years ago. Picosecond laser came out about 3 years ago. The majority of former Q-Switch patients we see have significant hypopigmentation (ghosting) around and under their tattoo. The Q-Switch lasers have trouble differentiating between the melanin in your skin and ink. The technology uses heat to burn the pigment out of your skin. In addition, we have seen patients with raised scars as if they have been branded. Both of these condition are irreversible. Picosecond lasers (like the Enlighten, PicoWay & PicoSure) fire 1000 times faster, using a pressure wave rather than heat to shear the ink molecules apart. After using the PicoSure for almost 2 years, we have only seen pinpoint hypopigmentation in a very small number of patients usually of darker skin tones. We cannot say it is impossible to get burned with a Picosecond laser, but it is highly unlikely. We tell every PicoSure tattoo patient to expect at least 6 treatments, but don’t be surprised if it takes 10 to 12. Patience is the key for our patients. We typically see our tattoo removal patients every 8 to 12 weeks initially. If they have more time than money, we encourage them to come every 6 months as the tattoos seem to continue to fade while they wait.Treatment prices vary by market. Your tattoo is extremely large and so will be the cost of removal. The cost for picosecond treatments will be higher, but you should need less than half the treatments compared to a nanosecond laser.
I use the PicoSure laser by Cynosure and it is fantastic at removing all tattoos, especially black and grey. You should have a great result if you use this laser. Good luck! DSR
