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.
How many sessions does it take to remove a tattoo with a laser? Most often 8 to 10 sessions, sometimes more, spaced 6 to 8 weeks apart. Light shading can clear in 1 to 4 sessions.
You've probably seen other numbers elsewhere, and it's confusing. Here's why the answers change so much from one site to the next, then what in your tattoo pushes it toward the low or the high end of that range.
Why it takes several sessions, whatever the tattoo
The laser doesn't erase anything in one pulse. It breaks the ink into particles small enough for your immune system to clear, the way it would clear any other debris under the skin. That work happens a little more with each session, and that's true for every tattoo.
The picosecond laser we use works, according to its manufacturer, by shock wave rather than heat. That lowers the risk of marking the skin around the tattoo, but it still takes several passes to break up all the ink.
Why the numbers vary so much from one site to the next
Ask three sites the same question and you'll get three answers: one clinic says three sessions, another eight, a third fifteen. None of them says where its number comes from.
Part of the gap comes from the source. Picosecond laser manufacturers publish ranges drawn from their own clinical trials. The tattoos in them are selected for the study, often medium-sized, with professional ink applied evenly, and treated with optimal settings. In clinic, we're more likely to see amateur tattoos, older ink, areas where the skin responds differently and sometimes several colours in the same design. The manufacturer's number is therefore usually lower than what we observe, and we don't use it as our own.
| What a manufacturer states | What we see in clinic | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the number comes from | Its own clinical trials, on cases selected for the study | Hundreds of different tattoos, every size and skin combined |
| The typical tattoo | Medium-sized, professional ink, evenly applied | Anything: small or large, amateur or professional, sometimes several colours |
| The result stated | Often a low range | Most often, 8 to 10 sessions |
The other part of the gap is marketing, because a small number makes booking easier. We'd rather give you the range we see in clinic, and what moves it, than a number that will disappoint you by the second session.
The four factors that change your number of sessions
The number we give you at the assessment accounts for your tattoo on four points. We didn't come up with these criteria: in 2009, American dermatologists proposed the Kirby-Desai scale, which scores a tattoo on colour, amount of ink, location, scarring and skin colour to estimate the number of sessions. We don't give you a score, but we look at the same things.
Size
To protect the skin, each laser pass can only send a limited amount of energy to an area. A small tattoo a few centimetres wide clears in fewer visits than a piece covering a forearm or the whole back, even if the ink isn't any harder to treat.
The ink, done by an amateur or a professional
A professional tattoo artist deposits ink at an even depth, often in greater quantity, for a crisp, lasting line. What makes the tattoo look good at first therefore takes more sessions to remove, because there's more ink to break up and it's denser. A tattoo done by an amateur, often more superficial and uneven, can respond faster, but that isn't a rule. At the assessment, a professional's dense ink is easy to tell apart, by touch and by eye, from a lighter line done at home.
Colour
Black and dark grey absorb the laser's light well and fade the most easily, whatever the device. Yellow, light green and blue send part of that light back instead of absorbing it. They need a different wavelength, so a dedicated handpiece, and even with the right device, they take longer than black.
With the colour handpiece on our PicoSure picosecond laser, we treat black, grey, red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Many clinics don't have this device and can't take on some of those shades. And your white or pastel ink? It responds poorly everywhere, and it can even darken. We tell you before the first session.
| The ink | How it responds to the laser | What it changes for you |
|---|---|---|
| Black, dark grey | Absorbs the light well | Fades the most easily |
| Red, orange | Needs the colour handpiece | Not every clinic can treat it |
| Yellow, light green, blue | Sends part of the light back | The colour handpiece, and more time than black |
| White, pastel | Responds poorly, can darken | We tell you before the first session |
Depth and age
Ink placed deep in the skin, or sitting there for a long time, doesn't always respond like recent, superficial ink. An old tattoo has sometimes already started to fade on its own, which helps. It may also have migrated deeper, which complicates the work. So we look at this tattoo by tattoo. If your tattoo is very recent, the skin also needs to finish healing before removal starts.
On top of these four factors is how your body responds. Your immune system is what clears the fragmented ink, and its speed varies from person to person, a bit like how long a bruise takes to disappear.
| What we look at | What helps | What takes more sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Size | A small tattoo a few centimetres wide | A piece covering a forearm or a back |
| The ink | An amateur line, lighter and more superficial | Professional ink, dense and even |
| Colour | Black and dark grey | Yellow, light green, blue |
| Depth and age | An old tattoo that has already faded a little | Ink placed deep, or that has migrated |
| Your body | Fast clearing of the ink | Slower clearing, which varies from person to person |
Why we wait 6 to 8 weeks between sessions
Each session takes 15 to 30 min. Most of the work happens between appointments: the laser breaks up the ink, then your body clears it, which takes six to eight weeks.
Can you come back sooner to finish faster? No. The ink wouldn't leave any faster, and the skin would have less time to heal, with more risk of irritation for a result that wouldn't be better. If you have more than one tattoo, though, we can treat several at the same appointment.
What you'll see, session by session
The design doesn't fade all at once. In the early sessions, the outlines stay sharp and the black starts turning grey, so the tattoo still reads clearly. Around the middle of the course, the solid areas turn porous and a bluish veil settles under the skin. That's often where things slow down a little, while the body reaches the deeper layers.
It's also when we're most often asked whether it has stopped working. The answer is no. Your body keeps clearing the ink, more slowly in the deep layers, and that's the normal way a tattoo fades.
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.
The skin clears mostly in the final sessions, sometimes after more than ten visits.
What no method guarantees
No laser and no clinic can promise complete removal in a number of sessions set in advance. Very dense, very old or coloured ink can leave a faint shadow even after a dozen visits, and we talk about it with you at the assessment. Light shading, on the other hand, often clears in one to four sessions.
At the assessment, we look closely at your tattoo, then give you a number of sessions to aim for in your case. You leave knowing:
- its size and the inks it contains, colour by colour;
- whether the ink is dense and deep, or lighter;
- the number of sessions to aim for, and what could move it;
- what might remain, such as a faint shadow at the end of the course.
Pricing also depends on size, and it's listed on the tattoo removal treatment page.
We also won't show you a photo taken early in someone else's course as if it were the usual result. Session three never looks like session ten, and you have a right to know that before you start.
Not sure you want to remove it completely? The unwanted tattoo page also covers options other than full removal.
Questions we get asked
Does laser tattoo removal hurt?
The sensation feels like small elastic bands snapping against the skin. Cooling or a numbing cream can be applied for your comfort, and the treatment is done under medical supervision, after your tattoo has been assessed. Most people find the session tolerable rather than painful, especially on small areas.
Can sessions be closer together?
No. Your body needs six to eight weeks to clear the ink broken up at the previous session. Coming back sooner doesn't give a better result and exposes the skin to more risk.
Does a professional tattoo take more sessions than an amateur one?
Often, yes. A professional tattoo artist deposits more ink, at an even depth, which takes more work to remove. An amateur tattoo can respond faster, but we confirm it at the assessment by looking at the density and depth of your ink.
Does light shading fade faster?
Yes. Because it holds less ink than a tattoo with solid areas, light shading can clear in one to four sessions rather than eight to ten. It's the exception to the general range.
Sources
- Kirby W., Desai A., Desai T., Kartono F., Patel G., "The Kirby-Desai Scale: A Proposed Scale to Assess Tattoo-removal Treatments," The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, 2009, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 32-37. Read the article
- Ho S. G. Y., Goh C. L., "Laser Tattoo Removal: A Clinical Update," Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, 2015, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 9-15. Read the article
- 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, pp. 19-32. Read the abstract00970-8/abstract)
- American Academy of Dermatology, "Tattoo removal: Lasers outshine other methods." Read the page
- Cynosure Lutronic, PicoSure product page (manufacturer). Read the page
