Aesthetic Treatments with Pico Laser in Singapore

Aesthetic Treatments with Pico Laser in Singapore : The aesthetic field is teeming with different kinds of lasers that offer to treat and improve the appearance of the skin. With all the available laser treatments in-store, how do you know which to go for when searching for a procedure to undertake?

There are not a lot of articles that specifically tackle topics on lasers, so we decided to write about one. Aesthetic procedures using pico lasers are getting popular nowadays. With the ageing population in Singapore, more and more patients send their inquiry to Cambridge Medical about which treatment is effective for pigmentation issues. Pico laser is one of the answers to that.

Pico Laser Overview

It is a common connotation that people mistake laser types as brands. To clear out this matter, pico laser is actually a type of laser technology. Pico lasers were derived from Q-switched lasers, which came out in the market earlier and have been used in aesthetic treatments for quite some time.

Pico lasers, to say plainly, are the improved version of Q-switched lasers. They are able to release laser beams 10 times faster than their predecessor. By 10 times faster we mean one trillionth of a second. Q-switched lasers are only able to fire laser beams at a speed of a nanosecond or one billionth of a second.

Q-switched lasers were improved to become Pico lasers in order to address pigmentation conditions that cannot be removed by the former. Especially when it comes to the removal of tattoos, there were heavier tints on the skin that Q-switched lasers fail to erase and Pico lasers are able to successfully banish.

Comparison between Pico and Nano lasers

As mentioned, the main difference between pico and nanolasers is the amount of time that they are able to release energy-charged laser beams. Both lasers, however, work similarly and are used effectively together when removing pigmentation or tattoos.

When removing tattoos, Q-switched lasers release laser beams to the target area by a nanosecond. The energy that the laser beams deliver to the pigments eventually reaches a certain heating point that breaks it down into tiny particles. What happens next should be the absorption of these tiny particles by the body in order to be eliminated as waste. In some cases, there are ink colours from tattoos that Q-switched lasers are not able to destroy into smaller increments that the body can fully absorb. This is where Pico lasers walk into the picture. Pico lasers then breakdown these pigments further into tiny particles that the body can effectively process and let go.

Of course, Pico lasers can be used on their own. There are certain tattoo colours that pico lasers can remove without the help of nanolasers.

Considering safety, pico lasers are deemed safer than Q-switched nanosecond lasers when it comes to pigmentation and tattoo removal procedures.

Pico lasers and tattoo removal

Pico lasers are highly recommended for removing tattoos. The current gold standard for a pico laser in Singapore is the Picosecond Nd:YAG laser. Patients can expect to see an improvement of up to 90% after at least 4 to 5 sessions of having their tattoo removed using a Pico Nd:YAG laser.

A tattoo removal treatment using Pico Nd:YAG laser does not come cheap. A session may range from $700 to $1,500. A complete treatment consisting of several tattoo removal sessions for simple tattoos may charge around $1,800 to $2,000. A more complex tattoo can go as high as $4,000.

Why does it cost much to have a tattoo removed with the use of Pico Nd:YAG laser? Simple. One Pico laser machine costs around $200,000 to $400,000. So, be sure you are getting your money’s worth when going for this kind of treatment. Anything less is too good to be true.

Other uses for Pico lasers

Aside from effectively removing tattoos, Pico lasers have also been discovered to be efficient in resurfacing the skin. That said Pico lasers can likewise be used for improving the appearance of acne scars. Pico lasers are also able to successfully reduce wrinkles from the skin. The advisable number of repeated sessions to take is around 3 to 6 times.

A session of Pico laser for acne scars or wrinkle treatment may start from $300 to $1,000. The amount is influenced by factors, such as doctor’s fees, the condition of your skin, and the complexity of the needed treatment.

Choosing the right doctor

As a warning, lasers can be damaging in the hands of an unqualified person, so make sure you do your research and go to a reputable doctor like Dr Lee Mun Heng, who is also the regional trainer in Singapore for Picocare 450 and is recognized as such by the manufacturer of the laser itself – Wontech Korea.

Downtime for Pico lasers

Patients are advised to take some time off for recovery for 1 to 2 days after undergoing a Pico laser treatment for acne scars.

For tattoo removal, a downtime of 3 to 7 days is recommended.

Risks and side effects caused by Pico lasers

Skin redness and scabbing are common after a session of Pico laser for tattoo removal. There is also a likely chance of hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation developing in the skin, although the risk is low in comparison to Q-switched nanosecond lasers. People with darker skin, tattoos that are colourful and cover a wide area of the skin are usually at risk of getting this side effect.