PicoSure is a type of aesthetic laser that fires ultra-short pulses measured in picoseconds (trillionths of a second) to break apart tattoo ink, unwanted pigmentation, and stimulate collagen production for skin rejuvenation. It was the first picosecond laser cleared by the FDA, receiving approval in 2012 for the treatment of unwanted tattoos and pigmented lesions. Made by Cynosure, it operates primarily at a 755 nm wavelength with an optional 532 nm wavelength, and it represents a shift from older laser technology that relied more heavily on heat to do its work.
How PicoSure Works
Traditional tattoo removal and pigment lasers, called Q-switched lasers, fire pulses measured in nanoseconds (billionths of a second). PicoSure fires pulses lasting 550 to 750 picoseconds, which is roughly a thousand times shorter. That difference in speed changes how energy interacts with your skin.
When a laser pulse is that fast, it shatters its target through pressure rather than heat. The energy gets absorbed so quickly that it creates a shockwave effect, breaking pigment particles into much smaller fragments. Because the pulse finishes before heat can spread to surrounding tissue, the damage stays confined to the pigment itself. In technical terms, the pulse duration is shorter than the time it takes for heat to escape the pigment particle, a concept called thermal relaxation time. This is why picosecond lasers can be more efficient at clearing ink while posing less risk of burning the skin around it.
After each treatment, your immune system’s cleanup cells (macrophages) sweep up the shattered pigment fragments, gradually carrying them away through your lymphatic system. Smaller fragments are easier for these cells to process, which is one reason the faster pulses tend to clear ink more efficiently than older lasers.
Tattoo Removal With PicoSure
Tattoo removal is the most well-known use for PicoSure. The 755 nm wavelength is particularly effective on blue, green, and black inks, colors that older lasers historically struggled with. The optional 532 nm wavelength targets red, orange, and yellow pigments. Research has also shown the 755 nm wavelength can remove cosmetic tattoos containing flesh-toned pigments, which can be tricky because certain skin-colored inks darken unpredictably under other lasers.
Compared to traditional Q-switched lasers, PicoSure generally requires about 25% fewer sessions to achieve the same level of clearance. The total number of sessions still varies widely depending on the tattoo’s size, color complexity, ink depth, and your skin tone. Most people need somewhere between 4 and 10 sessions, though heavily saturated or multicolored tattoos can require more. Sessions are typically spaced 4 to 8 weeks apart to give your body time to clear the fragmented ink between treatments.
Skin Rejuvenation and Acne Scars
Beyond tattoo removal, PicoSure is used for skin texture improvement through a specialized attachment called a Focus Lens Array (also called a diffractive lens array). This attachment splits the laser beam into a grid of tiny, concentrated microbeams. Each microbeam creates a microscopic zone of disruption beneath the skin’s surface, while the tissue between those zones stays untouched. This triggers a wound-healing response that produces new collagen and elastin without breaking the skin’s outer layer.
For acne scars, results vary by severity. One clinical study using six sessions spaced 4 to 8 weeks apart reported an average scar improvement of about 24%. Some individual cases showed more dramatic results, with improvements of 50 to 75% or greater in skin texture. For wrinkles, a study found that roughly 79% of patients showed mild to moderate improvement at one month. At six months, about a third of patients were rated “very much improved,” another third “much improved,” and another third simply “improved,” with average wrinkle scores dropping significantly from baseline.
These results are modest compared to more aggressive treatments like fractional CO2 lasers, but the tradeoff is substantially less downtime and discomfort.
Who Can Safely Get PicoSure
One of the advantages of picosecond technology is its safety profile across a range of skin tones. Because the laser relies more on pressure than heat, it carries a lower risk of causing the burns or lasting discoloration that darker skin is especially vulnerable to with older laser systems.
A retrospective review of 56 patients with darker skin tones (Fitzpatrick types IV through VI) found that the 755 nm picosecond laser with the diffractive lens array was a safe option for treating scars, pigmented lesions, and stretch marks. Side effects were temporary, most commonly redness and some darkening of the skin (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation), and all resolved on their own. That said, people with darker skin may need longer intervals between sessions, potentially up to 8 weeks, to minimize those temporary pigment changes.
What Recovery Looks Like
Most people return to normal activities within 24 hours. Immediately after treatment, you can expect mild redness and warmth in the treated area, similar to a light sunburn. This typically fades within a few hours, though it can linger for one to two days depending on your skin and the intensity of the treatment. Swelling is possible, especially around thinner skin like the under-eye area or lips, but it usually resolves within 48 hours.
For skin rejuvenation treatments with the Focus Lens Array, the recovery is generally even lighter than for tattoo removal sessions, since the energy is spread across many tiny points rather than concentrated on dense ink deposits. Tattoo removal sessions can produce more noticeable redness, mild blistering, or pinpoint bleeding at the treatment site, particularly in early sessions when the most ink is present.
Treatment Frequency and What to Expect
The spacing between PicoSure sessions depends on what you’re treating. For skin rejuvenation and pigmentation concerns, sessions are generally spaced 2 to 6 weeks apart, with most providers recommending 2 to 4 total sessions. For tattoo removal, longer gaps of 4 to 8 weeks (and sometimes longer) between sessions allow the body’s immune system to do its clearing work, and rushing the interval doesn’t speed up results.
Each session for skin rejuvenation typically takes 15 to 20 minutes for a full face. Tattoo sessions vary with the size of the tattoo. Discomfort is commonly described as a snapping sensation against the skin, and most providers apply a topical numbing cream beforehand. Results from skin rejuvenation treatments build gradually over weeks as new collagen forms, so the full effect of a treatment series often isn’t visible until a month or two after the final session.