Tattoo removal

How laser tattoo removal works

Tattoo removal relies on selective absorption: the ink particles absorb the laser light, while the surrounding tissue largely does not. With picosecond lasers, the pulse is so short that the particles break up mainly through a pressure wave (a photomechanical effect) and less through heat. The immune system then clears the smaller particles, and the tattoo gradually fades.

Efficacy depends on pulse duration, pulse energy, wavelength and ink colour. A conventional Q-switched laser delivers pulses of a few nanoseconds; a picosecond laser, pulses of a few hundred picoseconds (a picosecond is a thousandth of a nanosecond). The ink therefore breaks into smaller particles with less heating of the surrounding tissue, so fewer sessions may be needed than with Q-switched treatment.

Picosecond or Q-switched?

Picosecond lasers such as the PicoSure Pro and the PicoPlus are widely used for multicoloured tattoos and for tattoos that responded poorly to earlier treatment. They also treat blue and green, colours that are harder to remove with conventional Q-switched lasers.

The Hollywood Spectra, a Q-switched laser, works at 1064 and 532 nm and, with dye handpieces, also at 585 and 650 nm. It performs well on dark ink (black, dark blue). In darker skin types, the wavelength is the main factor in the risk of pigmentary complications, whether the system is picosecond or Q-switched: 1064 nm is absorbed less by epidermal melanin.

Which device to choose

For tattoo removal, most of our customers choose the PicoPlus, with more than 60 systems installed in the Benelux. Its four wavelengths (1064, 660, 595 and 532 nm) cover a broad colour palette in one system. Our service engineers rate it as a reliable device in daily use.

Alongside 1064 and 532 nm, the PicoSure Pro offers 755 nm alexandrite, a wavelength that has shown good results in research on blue and green ink.

If you already own an Etherea MX or a ZYE platform, you can add tattoo removal with the handPICO handpiece. It works at 1064 and 532 nm, which makes it best suited to dark and red ink.

We help you choose based on the tattoos and skin types you see in your practice, and provide clinical training and technical support. You can buy a device outright or lease it.