PicoSure Pro tattoo removal.

Older Q-switched lasers operate on the nanosecond scale. They work, but they fragment ink less efficiently and tend to leave behind colors the laser's wavelength doesn't cleanly target.

PicoSure Pro operates on the picosecond scale — three orders of magnitude faster pulse duration. The energy delivered is more photoacoustic than photothermal: the ink particles shatter rather than burn. The result is fewer sessions for most tattoos and a meaningfully better outcome on the colors that older lasers leave behind.

We treat with PicoSure Pro because it's the device we'd want if we were the patient. There's no other reason to pick a laser.

Not every tattoo needs to come off completely. If you plan to cover the work with new ink, a partial removal — three to five sessions to fade the existing piece so a tattoo artist has more design room — is often enough.

If you're working with a permanent-makeup artist on a fade-then-redo for old microblading or lip blush, the same approach applies. Our sister studio, Ruth Swissa, performs the corrective tattooing; we coordinate the removal sequence.

PicoSure tattoo and pigment removal in Los Angeles ranges roughly $200 to $1,500 per session depending on the size and location of the area treated. Full-face pigment work runs $1,000 to $1,500; mid- and lower-face zones $800 to $950; neck pigment $300 to $450. Most plans run four to ten sessions spaced six to eight weeks apart, with package pricing on request.

Treatment area is the primary cost lever. Pigment work on a full face is a longer pass, more numbing, more energy delivered — and priced accordingly. A neck capillary cluster or a small focal pigment patch is a fraction of the time and a fraction of the cost. Per-session pricing in LA generally scales with treatment area first, ink complexity second.

For tattoos, ink color and saturation set the floor. Black ink is the most predictable and clears in the fewest sessions. Reds and oranges respond well. Blues and greens — the historical hard cases — respond more slowly and may take additional sessions. Highly saturated multi-color pieces or cover-ups can push session count beyond ten.

Session count is the multiplier most patients forget. A $300 per-session price across eight sessions is $2,400 in total. A $800 per-session price across four sessions is $3,200. Comparing per-session prices in isolation, without comparing total session counts, misleads more patients than it helps. Picosecond devices like PicoSure Pro typically need fewer sessions than older Q-switched lasers.

Location within LA matters for pigment removal pricing more than for tattoos, because pigment cases tend to be longer-relationship treatments where injector experience and protocol quality dominate. Beverly Hills clinics sit at the top of the range; Calabasas and the Valley generally below for comparable expertise.

PicoSure Pro is a picosecond laser — pulse duration measured in trillionths of a second. Older Q-switched lasers operate on the nanosecond scale, three orders of magnitude slower. Per session, the two devices may price similarly in some clinics, but the picosecond device typically clears tattoos in fewer sessions. Total cost across a plan is usually lower with PicoSure Pro despite higher equipment cost.

Q-switched lasers also struggle with certain colors — blues, greens, and pastels — that picosecond technology handles meaningfully better. For multi-color tattoos, the cheaper per-session Q-switched price often turns into more sessions, more total cost, and a less complete fade.

Cover-up tattooing is the other adjacent path. If you plan to ink over an existing tattoo, full removal is rarely necessary — three to five PicoSure sessions to fade the existing piece gives a tattoo artist enough design room. Total cost is roughly $1,200 to $4,500 versus $4,000 to $8,000 for full removal. The right answer depends on what comes next.

For permanent-makeup correction — old microblading, lip blush, eyeliner — the picosecond approach applies the same physics. PMU pigments often contain iron oxides that behave differently from tattoo ink; the protocol shifts, the price stays in the $150 to $600 per session range. Ruth Swissa handles the corrective tattooing if a redo follows the removal.

Pricing at Swissa Med Spa is determined at consultation, after evaluating the tattoo or pigment in person. Multi-session package pricing is available on request. The plan and total are confirmed in writing before the first session.