What is a pico laser?
A laser whose pulses last picoseconds, trillionths of a second. The pulse ends before meaningful heat spreads, so pigment is fragmented by a pressure wave rather than burned, which suits Asian skin, where heat risks post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Read the full page →What is the difference between a pico laser and a Q-switched laser?
Pulse duration. Q-switched lasers work in nanoseconds; picosecond lasers are roughly a thousand times faster, so more of the effect is mechanical and less is thermal. Less collateral heat matters most in darker skin.
Read the full page →How do I know which type of pigmentation I have?
By examination: colour, border, pattern and distribution, how it changes with seasons and hormones, and what preceded it. Magnification or particular lighting helps estimate depth. Many people have more than one type at once.
Read the full page →How can I tell if I have melasma or sun spots?
Melasma tends to be symmetrical with soft, indistinct edges, often hormonally linked and darkening with sun and heat. Solar lentigines are discrete, sharply bordered spots wherever sun exposure accumulated. In-person examination confirms it.
Read the full page →Why did laser make my melasma worse?
Melasma is heat-sensitive; thermal stimulus itself triggers pigment. Settings that suit a sun spot deposit too much heat for melasma, and Fitzpatrick III to V skin readily rebounds. The useful next step is reassessment, not more energy.
Read the full page →Why is my pigmentation darker after laser?
Usually post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation: the laser inflames the skin and melanocytes respond by producing pigment, more readily in Fitzpatrick III to V skin and when settings were too aggressive. If the condition was melasma, heat may have driven it too.
Read the full page →What exactly is laser toning?
Low-fluence 1064 nm Nd:YAG passes repeated over a staged series to gradually even tone and fragment dermal pigment, keeping the surface intact. It is defined by restraint, the opposite of maximum-energy treatment.
Read the full page →Is laser safe for Asian skin tones?
It can be, with protocols suited to Fitzpatrick III to V skin, where the risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation rises if energy is too high. Settings are calibrated to skin tone at every session.
Read the full page →Can enlarged pores be shrunk for good?
No. A pore is the fixed opening of a follicle and oil gland. Treatment changes how large it looks by reducing oil, clearing plugs and supporting the surrounding collagen; keeping that depends on maintenance.
Read the full page →What is 少女光 Laser?
Dr Sin Yong's protocol on the DEKA RedTouch Pro, a 675 nm fractional laser absorbed preferentially by collagen rather than water, so it acts on the dermal collagen structure directly, for redness, pores and laxity.
Read the full page →Can pico laser treat melasma safely in Singapore?
Only conservatively, and never as the whole plan. Melasma is chronic and heat-sensitive, so a picosecond laser is at most one adjunct alongside photoprotection, heat avoidance and topical management. Pushed hard, melasma commonly rebounds darker, particularly in Fitzpatrick III to V skin.
Read the full page →What is the difference between PIH and PIE?
Colour, and what sits beneath it. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is a flat brown, grey or slate mark made of pigment. Post-inflammatory erythema is flat pink or red and blanches when a glass is pressed on it, because it is vessels. Pigment treatment does nothing for redness.
Read the full page →Why do brown PIH marks fade faster than grey ones?
Depth. Brown marks hold pigment high in the epidermis, which sheds as skin turns over. Grey or slate marks mean pigment has dropped into the dermis, where immune cells hold it, so they persist far longer. Depth is assessed in clinic and predicts the course.
Read the full page →Will laser get rid of my freckles for good?
No. A pigment-selective laser fragments pigment already in the skin; it does not change the inherited tendency to make freckles, so new ones appear wherever ultraviolet light keeps reaching the skin. Daily sun protection decides how much of the change is kept.
Read the full page →What is Hori's naevus and why is it mistaken for freckles?
Clusters of grey-brown or bluish spots across the cheeks, common in Asian skin, that sit deeper in the dermis than freckles. Because the pigment is dermal, it needs a different wavelength and a longer plan; treating it as a freckle is a common reason a laser course disappoints.
Read the full page →Which pico laser wavelength is used for sun spots?
Usually 532 nm, which melanin absorbs strongly and which stays superficial, where sun spots and freckles sit. 1064 nm travels further with less absorption by surface melanin, so it is the more conservative choice in darker skin; 785 nm sits between the two.
Read the full page →What is a test spot before laser pigmentation treatment?
A small area treated first so the skin's reaction can be watched before a larger area is treated. It is used where the response is uncertain, such as after a recent tan or earlier darkening, and is read after the delay in which PIH appears, not the next morning.
Read the full page →What does fluence mean in laser settings?
Energy delivered per unit area of skin, and the setting that most directly decides how much heat a pulse leaves behind. Raising it can clear a sun spot more decisively and can also inflame the surrounding skin; in melanin-rich skin that margin is narrower.
Read the full page →What does skin look like after pico laser spot treatment?
The treated mark turns darker, sometimes greyish, within minutes, then over several days forms a fine crust, like a speck of coffee grounds, that flakes away on its own. Picking it early risks a mark of its own. Toning, by contrast, usually leaves only redness and warmth.
Read the full page →Can laser toning cause white spots on the face?
It has been reported. Hypopigmentation, seen as pale spots or a mottled pattern, has been described after frequent repeated toning of the same area, which is why toning is staged rather than run on an open-ended schedule. Paling that does not settle is reviewed, not treated over.
Read the full page →What is a long-pulsed alexandrite laser used for?
A 755 nm laser strongly absorbed by melanin, used for dark terminal hair and discrete benign spots such as freckles and lentigines in lighter to medium phototypes. Deeper skin tones are often matched to 1064 nm Nd:YAG instead, and it is not used for melasma, because heat can worsen it.
Read the full page →Does laser toning whiten your skin?
No. It is not a whitening procedure and cannot change natural skin colour. Low-fluence 1064 nm passes act on uneven tone from sun pigment, post-acne marks and, conservatively, melasma; the aim is evenness rather than a lighter base shade, and sun protection decides how much is kept.
Read the full page →Is a chemical peel or laser better for pigmentation?
Depth decides. A peel removes surface layers with acid, so it suits dullness and superficial pigment; laser toning and pico laser send light through a largely intact surface to pigment beneath. In Asian skin deeper peels raise the risk of post-inflammatory darkening. Pigment protocols at this practice are laser-based.
Read the full page →When should a dark spot be checked before laser?
Whenever one spot is the odd one out: darker, larger, growing, irregularly bordered or new in adult life. Lentigo maligna, an early melanoma, can impersonate a sun spot, so that spot earns a dermatoscope examination and a diagnosis before any pigment laser is considered.
Read the full page →Why is heat a trigger for melasma?
Infrared and visible light stimulate melasma independently of UV. A hot yoga class, a kitchen, a steamy walk to the MRT, or a sunscreen that covers UVA and UVB but not visible light can all contribute, and so can a heat-generating laser applied to the wrong diagnosis.
Read the full page →Does sunscreen need to block visible light for melasma?
It helps, because visible light is a trigger in its own right and a clear sunscreen covering UVB and UVA does not address it. Tinted formulations containing iron oxides are commonly used for that reason. Mineral or chemical filters matter less than wearing one daily and reapplying it.
Read the full page →Does haze in Singapore make pigmentation worse?
Studies link fine particulate pollution with pigment spots and skin ageing through oxidative stress, but the evidence is associative rather than settled for any one person. Haze is a second burden on skin already exposed to year-round UV, so sun protection does not pause on a hazy day.
Read the full page →Is there a season for laser pigmentation treatment in Singapore?
Not in the temperate sense. Singapore has no low-UV month, so timing turns on hours and recent exposure instead: a fresh tan or sunburn defers treatment, midday carries the most UV, and protection begins before the first visit rather than after it.
Read the full page →Can a pico laser be used on pigmentation after acne?
Yes, with conditions. Post-inflammatory marks may be treated with low-energy toning once the cause, such as active acne, is controlled, because over-treatment adds pigment rather than removing it. Many of these marks also fade on their own timeline once photoprotection is consistent.
Read the full page →What is the difference between SPF and broad spectrum?
SPF describes protection against UVB, the burning band, and says nothing by itself about UVA, which passes through cloud and window glass and reaches the dermis. A broad-spectrum product carries a separate UVA rating alongside its SPF; both matter for pigment at this latitude.
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