Picosure for Hyperpigmentation & Freckles

You will love it. I unfortunately had a major breakout and am sort of starting from scratch again with my face. It’s so stressful. Seems like picosure will be something I have to keep up with throughout my life!

I have tough skin...i am pink for 1 hour post treatment and depending on my pigment i LIGHTY peel on those spots only 3 days after for about 3 days. Very unnoticeable for my case, but everyone is different!

I haven't had that severe of an experience. Id see a derm just to make sure everything is healing properly! Good luck!

I’m not sure if Pico removes birthmarks. I don’t know exactly how many treatments I’ve had, but yes it’s safe for darker skin. You’ll need at least 3 treatments. ($900 at Vada Spa) most places charge more. I see great results on my face and slower results on other body parts. I would patch test your birthmark to see if it works!

If the birthmark is pigmentation and not a vascular birthmark the picosure should work. Vascular birthmarks are treated with vascular lasers, but vascular lasers are not really safe on dark skin.

But as far as I know dark skinned people don't really have problems with vascular birth marks that much

I think overall this will help you! You’ll see a difference in 2 treatments only. I have mixed discoloration, scarring, and sun spots. In all of those I have seen GREAT improvement. Now I am working on another part of my body and i see good improvement, just slower. Good luck!!!

AegeanC91 How is your more stubborn (gray) dermal pigmentation coming along? I've done microneedling for about 2 months now and I've seen about a 70-80% reduction already. It has slowed down quite a bit the past 3 or so weeks, but I'm going to go over the areas again with 0.5mm in about a week or two. I do 0.5mm once monthly with 0.25mm every now and then inbetween with growth factor serums. It has so far been a miracle for my gray PIH that lasted more than 2 years for me. I think microneedling might be more effective on less prominent pigmentation as the laser might not work in a way that favours pigmentation that doesn't show very well. I'm still worried about the remaining 20%, but it's so much better I am really thrilled with the results, and I did it all at home. Just thought I'd share with you and ask you how yours is coming along. I'm still considering laser but I'm continuing with microneedling as of now.

Hey urlm! I have to say i love microneedling for the few depressions and icepick scars I have...i saw results for pigmentation, but I prefer pico. Pico covers all of my issues quicker with no down time which for my case is super important. I did collagen PIN last year and loved the skin texture results, but I hated the downtime! Regular microneedling was just not enough for what I needed. My grey areas and overall pigment has DRAMATICALLY changed. I thought it would be hard for the pico to pick up the lighter pigment too esp since no clear outline, but it actually got it. I’m super pleased I have to say.

Wow, I'd really like to hear more about that stubborn gray PIH left over from the Fraxel that you had, because it sounds really similar to my issue. Sounds like dermal pigmentation, which seems really hard to get rid of.

My only problem is that mine is left over from filler treatments I had under my eyes, so it looks like a dark circle under my right eye. The crescents under my eyes I tried to correct with the filler is still bothering me, but the gray discolouration on top of it makes it unbearable, so I'm really hell-bent on getting it completely gone.

I don't know how severe your dermal PIH was before you started the pico, but how much would you say is left of it now? Do you think you could get completely rid of it with the pico? I mean to the point where you can't see it at all in any lighting - I'm talking back to the original skintone you had before.

I've so far only done 0.5mm, but under the eyes I get the pin point bleeding which is the end point for the microneedling treatment (dermal penetration) and my downtime has only been a day at most. I feel clinics go very aggressively with microneedling to achieve more drastic results, but I feel that's too risky for my style. I can't take any worsening or side effects at this point, so I'm going slow and steady with 0.5mm as of now.

I believe I'd try a pico if I knew a clinic I trusted near me.. But the only clinics with the laser where I live primarily do tattoo removal, and they're nurses.

It really makes me happy to hear that your gray dermal PIH har dramatically improved from the pico treatment after all this years, it makes me feel like there is hope for me if the microneedling doesn't deliver (so far it has, more than expected).

I'd love to hear more about that dermal Fraxel PIH of yours! If your clinic can make it go completely away I'm seriously traveling abroad to go to your clinic, lol.

Sorry I haven't been on in a while! My greyish chin scarring cleared up with my first few picos. As in totally gone. The only thing I notice is that my skin in that area is permanently damaged. If I get a pimple there it will turn it super dark very quickly. My skin texture there Appears to be just a tad more aged looking. This is me being super hyper critical, but as far as the coloring of the outlined area, it was not Detectable after a handful of treatments.

There are a lot of bogus videos on microneedling on YouTube from people who don't really do it properly or have any idea how to do it. I'm not an expert, but I've done quite a bit of research, and this is what I know from my understanding:

Microneedling works a little differently than lasers, and will therefore not necessarily work for the same type of pigmented issues as a laser. If the pigmentation is from pigment deposits the microneedling can break up the pigments and aid their removal - but if your pigmentation is from melanocyte hyperactivity or clustering (which is the case with birthmarks and age spots) I don't think the microneedling will be effective.

This is because microneedling as opposed to lasers can't destroy melanocytes. This is why lasers sometimes give people a side effect called "hypopigmentation" which is when the laser has destroyed too many melanocytes in the area, making the skin lose its pigment. This is because heat is required to destroy melanocytes, and microneedling doesn't use heat, and can therefore not destroy melanocytes, only break up pigment particles.

This is also why microneedling is much safer than lasers, especially for darker skin tones - no heat means much less chance of PIH.

So if you mainly want to get rid of a birthmark together with other pigmentation I believe laser might be a better choice as it can address all your pigmentation issues.

Microneedling is effective for pigmentation left over from e.g. acne and so on, but I don't think it can treat birthmarks or age spots etc. because it can't destroy melanocytes, only break up pigmentation.

Regardling length: It really depends on how deep your issue is. The end point for collagen induction is pin point bleeding, and to achieve pin point bleeding the needle length really varies on what skin your treating and how much pressure you apply.

For instance, I bleed from 0.5mm under my eyes, because the skin is very thin, but I hardly bleed from 0.75 around my cheeks, because the skin is much thicker.

But if you're treating superficial pigmentation you don't necessarily have to bleed. I'd start low and increase as I go. No need to go beyond the point of pin point bleeding.

Hope this helps.

vada spa NYC!

oh nice! i didn't see great reviews on yelp for them. but i'm dying to get this laser treatment and they seem to be the most affordable!

it’s definitely not a glamorous great experience, but for this treatment it’s the most affordable. the place is decently clean as far as the laser room is concerned. they are extremely pushy so you just have to hold your ground, but if you’re a tough cookie, you’ll be fine! ask for Alla. She seems to know the laser well IMO.