Picosecond or Traditional Laser Tattoo Removal: Which One for Your Tattoo?
Picosecond, Q-switched, excision or dermabrasion: what each method does to the ink and the skin, and what a picosecond laser changes for your tattoo.
What's the best tattoo removal clinic in Laval? The one that clearly answers five questions before your first session: the device, who operates it, the number of sessions, the price and what it refuses to do. Here are our answers to each, and you can ask the same questions anywhere else.
You've probably seen ten sites that all call themselves the best, without saying why. So we'll start with the only thing someone other than us has said: Clinique DC received the 2027 Consumer Choice Award in the "Best aesthetics clinic in Laval" category. The award is given by an organization outside the clinic, by city and by category.
Is an award enough to choose? No. You still need to check, and that's what the rest of this article is for.
The five points to check
Tattoo removal takes a series of appointments over several months. The decor and the name on the door matter little. These five points can be checked before the first session:
| What to look at | What it changes for you |
|---|---|
| The device, and its handpiece for colours | Whether every colour in your ink can go |
| Who does the treatment | How your skin and ink are read, so the outcome |
| The number of sessions you're told | Whether you hear the truth before you pay |
| The price, posted before you come | What it costs in total, with no surprise at the counter |
| What the clinic refuses to do | Whether you risk being sold a removal that won't work on you |
1. The device: a picosecond laser, with a handpiece for hard colours
The laser breaks ink into particles small enough for your body to clear, session after session. Older devices, called Q-switched, use longer pulses, which transmit more heat around the treated area. We use the PicoSure picosecond laser. Its much shorter pulses act through a shock wave rather than heat, which limits the risk of marking the skin around the tattoo.
Black and dark grey respond well to almost any good laser. Yellow, light green and blue send part of the light back instead of absorbing it. They need a different wavelength, so a dedicated handpiece, and not every device has one. With our device's colour handpiece, we treat black, grey, red, orange, yellow, green and blue.
A clinic with only an old laser, or no colour handpiece, won't be able to treat every ink, and it doesn't always say so before starting. Ask for the device's name and whether it has a colour handpiece. With us, the answer is on the technology page, with a photo.
2. Who operates the laser
The same device gives different results depending on who sets the energy and reads your skin. Before treating ink, we look at its size, depth and colours, to know how many sessions to aim for and what to expect. Sometimes that assessment shows removal isn't right for your skin or for that ink. In that case, we tell you instead of starting anyway.
With us, the laser is operated by a medical esthetician or by a nurse trained on the laser. The team was trained by our founder, Sarah-Donia Cherif, a nurse. While she was already running the clinic, she was a trainer for Cynosure Lutronic, the maker of most of our devices, which sent her to show other clinics how to set up their machines. You can see who is on the team, with real names and real photos, before you come.
3. The number of sessions you're told
This is the easiest point to check: were you told how long it would take before you paid? A page that promises a tattoo gone in three sessions is mostly trying to get you to book.
Most often, it takes 8 to 10 sessions, sometimes more, spaced 6 to 8 weeks apart. That gap gives the skin time to heal and the body time to clear the fragmented ink. A simple shading can go in 1 to 4 sessions. The same number is on the tattoo removal page, and this article breaks down the four factors that change your number of sessions. Each session lasts 15 to 30 min.
Before session 1The ink is dense and the outlines are sharp.
After 2 or 3 sessionsThe black turns grey and the solid fills go porous. The design still reads in full.
After 5 or 6 sessionsThe design no longer reads from a distance, but a bluish veil stays under the skin. This is where it slows down.
After 8 to 10 sessionsThe skin is clear, sometimes after more than ten sessions: that is the end of the road, not session three.
An illustration, not a patient photograph, and the pace shown is that of a professional black tattoo. Count on 8 to 10 sessions, sometimes more depending on the ink and how deep it sits. A trace can remain: nobody can guarantee you blank skin. We estimate it at the assessment and tell you plainly where you stand at every visit.
We also tell you ahead of time that the tattoo doesn't fade all at once. Progress slows in the middle of the course, while the body reaches the deeper layers, and that's normal.
4. A price you can read before you come
Tattoo removal is priced by the size of the tattoo, starting at $100 a session for a mini tattoo, plus tax, up to the largest formats. The full grid, with a photo per tier so you can place yourself, is on the treatment page. If you'd rather pay once than at every session, there's a fixed-price package, described on the unlimited package page.
The tattoo removal assessment has a price. It's shown before you confirm your appointment, and it's credited to your first session if you go ahead.
5. What a serious clinic refuses to sell you
The laser targets melanin as much as ink. On a deep skin tone, it can no longer tell the two apart, and the risk of the skin losing its colour in that spot (depigmentation) becomes real. That's why we don't treat those skin tones with the PicoSure. A clinic that says it treats everyone, no exceptions, isn't doing you a favour.
White and pastel inks respond poorly everywhere, and they can even darken before they fade. We tell you before the first session. And nobody can guarantee complete removal in a number of sessions set in advance: very dense or very old ink can leave a faint shadow even after ten or so visits.
| What a serious clinic tells you | What should make you walk away |
|---|---|
| "On that skin tone it is possible, but safety is not certain: we prefer not to" | "We treat absolutely everyone" |
| "White and pastel inks respond poorly, they can even darken" | A promise of complete removal on every ink |
| "Plan on 8 to 10 sessions, sometimes more" | A low number given before even seeing your tattoo |
| "No complete removal is ever guaranteed" | "Guaranteed gone in three sessions" |
Be wary too if they can't name the device or say whether it has a colour handpiece, if they give you a price or a session count without seeing your tattoo, or if they tell you your skin tone is no issue without even looking at it.
What others say about us
Everything above comes from us. The 2027 Consumer Choice Award, at the top of this article, comes from an outside organization, and it's the only place where someone else calls us the "best."
Two other numbers can be checked in one click: a 5.0 rating across more than 700 Google reviews, and more than 5,000 people treated since 2021. Among the public reviews, some are about tattoo removal:
Je suis allée me faire détatouer. L’endroit est très professionnel et propre. Le personnel est très sympathique, je recommande vivement.
The review is public, signed with the real name of the person who wrote it.
How to choose before booking
Go back to the table at the top and ask every clinic you're considering the same questions: which device, which colour handpiece, who operates the laser, how many sessions and what posted price. If a clinic answers all five clearly, you can go there. With us, we start by looking at your ink, then tell you how many sessions to aim for, or whether removal isn't right for your skin.
Not sure you want to remove it completely? The unwanted tattoo page also covers other options.
Questions we get asked
Should I pick the clinic closest to me?
Being nearby helps, since appointments repeat over months. We'd still suggest a clinic a little further away that has the right device and tells you the truth about session count, rather than one down the street that doesn't have the handpiece for your colours.
Is the assessment paid?
Yes. It takes time to look properly at a skin and an ink before giving a number of sessions. The price is shown before you confirm, and it's credited to your first session if you go ahead.
Why do some clinics not accept every skin tone?
Because the laser targets melanin, not only ink. On deeper skin, it becomes hard to aim at one without touching the other, which raises the risk of depigmentation. A clinic that declines for that reason is protecting your skin.
Are all ink colours treatable here?
Yes, with the dedicated handpiece: black, grey, red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Yellow and green take longer than black, but we can treat them, which isn't the case everywhere.
How many sessions does it usually take?
8 to 10, sometimes more, spaced 6 to 8 weeks apart. A simple shading can go in 1 to 4 sessions. The number for your tattoo is confirmed at the assessment.
What is the Consumer Choice Award?
It's a distinction given by an organization outside the clinic, by city and by category. Clinique DC received the 2027 edition in the "Best aesthetics clinic in Laval" category. The seal shown is the file provided by the organization, as is.
Sources
- American Academy of Dermatology, "Tattoo removal: Lasers outshine other methods". Read the page
- Kassirer S., Zachary C. B., Marini L., Adatto M., Landau M., "Laser tattoo removal strategies: Part II: A review of the methods, techniques, and complications involved in tattoo removal", Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2025, vol. 93, no 1, p. 19-32. Read the abstract00970-8/abstract)
- Ho S. G. Y., Goh C. L., "Laser Tattoo Removal: A Clinical Update", Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, 2015, vol. 8, no 1, p. 9-15. Read the article
- Cynosure Lutronic, PicoSure product page (manufacturer). Read the page
