PicoSure Pro Tattoo Removal

One of the largest PicoSure galleries in the country

We have photographed our patients since we started with PicoSure in 2014. Today our tattoo and pigment galleries hold more than 100 real cases, every one treated by Dr. O'Connell, with the number of sessions listed. In our own review of published before-and-after galleries, we have not found a larger physician-performed PicoSure collection. We would rather show you than tell you.

Why no two tattoos come off the same way

Tattoo ink is not one substance. There is no standard recipe, and the chemistry varies from brand to brand and even batch to batch. Five bottles of "black" can be five different formulas, so two tattoos that look identical can respond completely differently. No one can tell by looking.

That is why the treatment matters as much as the laser. The way your skin reacts in the first seconds and the first days, the immediate whitening, then the swelling or blistering, tells Dr. O'Connell how your particular ink is behaving. He uses that response to set the energy, spot size and pulse for the next pass and the next session. It is part science and part judgment built over twelve years of PicoSure treatments.

Pressure, not heat

PicoSure Pro fires pulses measured in trillionths of a second. At that speed, the ink is shattered mainly by a pressure wave rather than cooked by heat. The fragments are small enough for your immune system to carry away over the following weeks, which is why a tattoo keeps fading long after each visit.

• The area is cleansed and cooled for comfort.
• Settings are chosen for your ink, skin and location, then adjusted as the skin responds.
• Most treatments take under 30 minutes. Prescription numbing can be discussed for large or sensitive areas.

How your ink color affects removal

Body art is usually built from single, pure colors. Cosmetic tattoos such as microblading are blends designed to look like skin and hair, which behave differently. See Microblading & Eyebrow Tattoo Removal.

How many treatments will I need?

Honestly, it depends, and anyone who quotes an exact number before treating you is guessing. Light or amateur ink can clear in a few sessions. Dense professional work and colors take more. The biggest factors:

• Ink chemistry, density and depth
• Colors in the design
• Age of the tattoo
• Location: areas closer to the heart clear faster than hands and feet
• Your skin type and immune response

Your response to the first session is the best predictor. Dr. O'Connell uses it to give you a realistic estimate and adjusts the plan as you go. Sessions are typically spaced 6 to 8 weeks apart.

Aftercare and preventing dark spots

The most common setback in tattoo removal is not the ink. It is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), your own skin reacting to treatment. In our experience, many patients who skip aftercare develop it, and it is even more common in medium and darker skin. In darker skin it shows up as dark spots that can look like ink that will not budge. In fair skin it often shows up as lingering redness instead. Either way, it slows your progress.

PIH is largely preventable. If you have any natural pigment in your skin at all, which is most people, Dr. O'Connell recommends a melanocyte-calming regimen starting right after your first treatment and continuing between sessions, along with careful settings and sun protection. We treat all skin types, with a plan to protect darker skin.

What to expect after each session

• Right after treatment the tattoo turns white for several minutes. This whitening is expected and fades on its own.
• Expect redness, swelling and sometimes blistering for a few days; that is part of how the skin responds.
• Keep the area clean and covered as directed, and do not pick at blisters or crusts.
• Avoid sun on the treated area during your treatment series.

Why patients choose Dr. O'Connell

• Every consultation and every Pico treatment performed by Dr. O'Connell himself, not a technician
• Treating with PicoSure since 2014; Cynosure Luminary Provider and ASLMS Fellow
• One of the largest physician-performed PicoSure galleries in the country, with sessions listed for every case
• Settings read and adjusted from your skin's response, every session
• A plan to protect your skin from dark spots, not just remove ink
• Full removal, or fading before a cover-up or correction

Tattoo removal questions