POSTED UNDER Tattoo Removal REVIEWS
Black Tattoo? FORGET Picosure!! San Francisco, CA
ORIGINAL POST
Wow. After 10 picosure treatments, I was...
jlneSeptember 6, 2015
WORTH IT$195
Wow. After 10 picosure treatments, I was frustrated. I have a dark, black coverup tattoo that my (now) ex hated. I bought this groupon for 3 sessions (4 Sq inch tattoo) using a Quanta Q plus C laser for $195. This laser can be used in 3 wavelengths, unlike picosure. (532, 1064, 694.) Black tattoos respond best to 1064, which picosure does not hit, although picoway does, but at a cost of approximately 10 times that of this groupon price. Oh my god.
Anyway, I went through this breakup and realized that I was removing this tattoo for her vs for me, but had already scheduled my appt. So, I went. Dr. Javaheri was the kindest person I have met in awhile. The procedure is painful for me, especially around my wrist bones, and he was very gentle and patient. He said he purchased a picosure machine and returned it the next day. He instead purchased the machine he has now, mentioned above. (said the price was basically the same, but the laser is more versatile.)
I loved that this machine had just a switch to turn on, vs the sometimes 15-20 min I had to wait at my last few clinics for the picosure to warm up. Dr. Javaheri was very experienced and adjusted the settings and laser hand pieces a few times until he was getting the result he wanted. He also said no laser can hit every color, and anyone who says so is lying. I'm thankful I decided to abandon Picosure, which was expensive and was ultimately probably a waste of money for my black tattoo. It's around 5x more expensive than the deal I got and it did NOT work for my tattoo. I don't know if it was the depth, the amount of ink, the wrong wavelength, the lack of adjustment in the machine, or all of the above, but Picosure was relatively ineffective for me. Picoway was way too expensive for me, plus at this point I don't believe the "pico" hype anymore. Period.
This new laser kicked butt, from what I can tell several days out. The redness and yellow outline is from the relative trauma of the treatment. Maybe the nano-second vs pico-second is a little easier on the tissue, but then again it barely budged my tattoo. I'll take the trauma! I never had pinpoint bleeding with picosure, but I did with this laser. But, I never saw the kind of lightening with picosure as I did with this laser. Finally!
I'm now considering, once I heal and reassess, keeping the majority of my tattoo as is, just making sure the original tattoo I was covering (a name-don't ever get a name, unless it's your kid!) is gone. Then, I want to have my son's name tattooed over what is left. That my possible plan, anyway. Time will tell.
The staff at this office were great. Easy to book, good follow up, very friendly and organized. And if I could give the Dr. 10 stars, I would. His bedside manner and empathetic nature were unsurpassed. He said he hated hurting people (he stopped to ice me several times with a neat tool he had like a roller) and said, "you know, the hippocratic oath...do no harm!" And, when I said the pain was my penance for getting the dumb original tattoo in the first place, he said, "No-you are too hard on yourself. Don't beat yourself up. You don't deserve that." I wish he was my friend! He gives good advice! :)
Anyway, I went through this breakup and realized that I was removing this tattoo for her vs for me, but had already scheduled my appt. So, I went. Dr. Javaheri was the kindest person I have met in awhile. The procedure is painful for me, especially around my wrist bones, and he was very gentle and patient. He said he purchased a picosure machine and returned it the next day. He instead purchased the machine he has now, mentioned above. (said the price was basically the same, but the laser is more versatile.)
I loved that this machine had just a switch to turn on, vs the sometimes 15-20 min I had to wait at my last few clinics for the picosure to warm up. Dr. Javaheri was very experienced and adjusted the settings and laser hand pieces a few times until he was getting the result he wanted. He also said no laser can hit every color, and anyone who says so is lying. I'm thankful I decided to abandon Picosure, which was expensive and was ultimately probably a waste of money for my black tattoo. It's around 5x more expensive than the deal I got and it did NOT work for my tattoo. I don't know if it was the depth, the amount of ink, the wrong wavelength, the lack of adjustment in the machine, or all of the above, but Picosure was relatively ineffective for me. Picoway was way too expensive for me, plus at this point I don't believe the "pico" hype anymore. Period.
This new laser kicked butt, from what I can tell several days out. The redness and yellow outline is from the relative trauma of the treatment. Maybe the nano-second vs pico-second is a little easier on the tissue, but then again it barely budged my tattoo. I'll take the trauma! I never had pinpoint bleeding with picosure, but I did with this laser. But, I never saw the kind of lightening with picosure as I did with this laser. Finally!
I'm now considering, once I heal and reassess, keeping the majority of my tattoo as is, just making sure the original tattoo I was covering (a name-don't ever get a name, unless it's your kid!) is gone. Then, I want to have my son's name tattooed over what is left. That my possible plan, anyway. Time will tell.
The staff at this office were great. Easy to book, good follow up, very friendly and organized. And if I could give the Dr. 10 stars, I would. His bedside manner and empathetic nature were unsurpassed. He said he hated hurting people (he stopped to ice me several times with a neat tool he had like a roller) and said, "you know, the hippocratic oath...do no harm!" And, when I said the pain was my penance for getting the dumb original tattoo in the first place, he said, "No-you are too hard on yourself. Don't beat yourself up. You don't deserve that." I wish he was my friend! He gives good advice! :)
jlne's provider
Replies (11)
September 8, 2015
I'm currently using the Quanta Q + C as well on black ink and have been seeing some great results! I did a ton of research before choosing a laser and even with all the "hype" surrounding the Pico lasers, I just couldn't find solid evidence. However, there is some evidence showing that the Pico may not be as good on black ink as some Q-Switch lasers, because like you stated, apparently the 1064 nm wavelength is the best for black inks, which the Picosure does not have (I think the Picoway does, but that's spendy).
Also, I do believe it's true that the Picosure causes less trauma, but so far I do not have any crazy scarring or anything from the Quanta Q + C, so I'm satisfied. I think if the Picosure would have had that 1064 nm wavelength and did not cost so much, I would have went with that route for black ink.
I'm happy for you that you found a laser that works. Glad you're using the same as me, I really like it so far.
Wish you all the best.
Also, I do believe it's true that the Picosure causes less trauma, but so far I do not have any crazy scarring or anything from the Quanta Q + C, so I'm satisfied. I think if the Picosure would have had that 1064 nm wavelength and did not cost so much, I would have went with that route for black ink.
I'm happy for you that you found a laser that works. Glad you're using the same as me, I really like it so far.
Wish you all the best.
September 14, 2015
True that Picosure is most effective on blues and greens. I also saw decent results on black ink, but nothing spectacular. There is now an even better alternative for black ink - the Cutera Enlighten laser. This machine operates in the 1064 wavelength that targets black (and can be switched to 532) but at a picosecond speed like Picosure. My results were good compared to the Picosure and q-switched nd-yag treatments I've had previously. Good luck to you!
You are not the 1st saying that pico is not that good on Blacks. I know it all depends on how much ink was inserted in your body, but I also saw N:Yag bringing very good results and from what I have seen for blacs picosure its not worth the price. Still it seems to be working much better with some colours.
Happy fading :-)
I think Picosure would be amazing if they could just update it with all the wavelengths needed and reduce the cost a bit. But it will probably be a few years before that happens.