Before and after pico laser treatment

A useful before-and-after comparison identifies the condition treated, laser settings, treatment stage and skin tone. One image cannot predict your response, and an immediate photograph mainly records the skin's short-term reaction.

Picosecond devices deliver very short pulses that target selected pigment or ink. The treatment plan changes with the target colour, depth, body site and skin pigmentation, and more energy is not automatically more appropriate.

Pigmented areas can look darker before they lighten or flake. Melasma and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation require careful diagnosis because heat, irritation and sun exposure can aggravate unwanted pigment. Texture changes and pigment clearance also follow different timelines.

Tell the clinician about tanning, recent procedures, cold sores, keloid-type scarring, medicines that affect light sensitivity and any products that irritate your skin. The diagnosis should be confirmed before treating a new or changing pigmented spot.

After treatment, cool and cleanse the area only as instructed, apply the recommended moisturiser, avoid picking flakes or crusts and protect the skin from sun with clothing and suitable sunscreen. Pause irritating active skincare for the period advised by the clinician. Keep baseline photographs under consistent lighting.

Contact the clinic promptly for increasing pain, extensive blistering, spreading redness, pus, fever, an open sore or skin that becomes unusually pale, grey or dark. Eye pain or a vision change after treatment near the eyes needs urgent assessment.

Arrange a review if pigmentation keeps worsening after the initial reaction settles, or if a treated lesion changes shape, bleeds or fails to heal. Those features need diagnosis rather than repeated cosmetic laser sessions.

Ask what diagnosis is being treated, which device and wavelength are proposed, how your skin tone affects settings and whether a test spot is sensible. Clarify the expected sequence of colour change, sun precautions, recovery products and the plan if pigment becomes lighter or darker than intended.