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755nm picosecond laser · CynosurePicoSure is a 755 nm picosecond laser. Its pulses are short enough to shatter pigment mechanically rather than by heating it, which is what makes it usable on melasma and on skin where heat would make pigmentation worse.
Older pigment lasers work by heating the pigment until it fragments, and that heat spreads into the surrounding tissue. In skin prone to pigmentation, heat is the problem rather than the cure — it can drive the melanocytes to produce more pigment, so the spot clears and then returns darker.
A picosecond pulse is a thousand times shorter than a nanosecond one. The energy arrives too quickly to conduct away as heat, so what the pigment experiences is a pressure wave that breaks it into particles small enough to clear. Far less thermal energy reaches the tissue around it.
This is the reason melasma, which responds badly to heat, is treatable with a picosecond device when it is poorly suited to older technology.
Melasma recurs. It is driven by hormones, heat and ultraviolet light, and no laser changes that. Treated well it fades substantially; treated aggressively it rebounds. The plan matters more than the device: conservative settings, daily sun protection, and topical treatment alongside.
A clinic that treats melasma purely as a laser problem tends to produce a good six weeks followed by a worse year.
Eye protection is worn, and the laser is passed over the area. The sensation is often likened to light flicks of an elastic band. Pigment treatment leaves redness and mild swelling for a few hours to a day, and treated spots commonly darken before flaking away over one to two weeks.
Tattoo treatment is more involved. Expect immediate whitening of the ink, then scabbing, with sessions spaced six to eight weeks apart over a course that depends entirely on the ink, its depth and its age.
Questions
It is one of the better laser options for melasma, because a picosecond pulse breaks pigment mechanically and leaves far less heat behind than older lasers. Melasma still recurs, so treatment is conservative and always paired with sun protection and topical care.
It depends on the target. Sun spots may clear in a few sessions; melasma is managed over time rather than cleared; tattoo removal depends on ink colour, depth and age and is spaced six to eight weeks apart.
The 755 nm wavelength is well matched to black, blue and green ink — green in particular is difficult for other wavelengths. Some colours, notably certain yellows and bright reds, respond poorly to any laser.
For pigmentation, redness for a few hours to a day, with treated spots darkening and flaking over one to two weeks. Tattoo treatment causes frosting and scabbing that takes longer.
It helps with the pigmentation left behind by acne, and the focus lens array improves texture through collagen stimulation. For indented scarring, RF microneedling with subcision is usually more effective.
Bring your concern rather than a treatment name. The assessment decides what is actually indicated, and what is not.
