Dr Pico Versus The Dragon Tattoo [Part 2]

Over the past three months, “Dr. Pico” has been engaging in a furious battle with an ugly blue dragon called Spyro. His weapon of choice is a picosecond aesthetic laser — the perfect tool to combat dragons made out of ink. Can he emancipate the innocent lady held in its clutches? Click on the video to watch their latest clash unfold!

Dr Pico is a tattoo removal specialist based in Darlinghurst, Sydney. The company uses a patented photomechanical laser dubbed “PicoSure” which delivers ultra-short pulses of energy into the patient’s skin in trillionths of a second.

The chief advantage of this method compared to rival laser technologies is that it targets the ink while avoiding unmarked tissue, resulting in less damage to the surrounding skin. Over a series of treatments, the ink is converted into dust-like particles that are small enough to be eliminated by the human body.

A few months ago, we accompanied Lifehacker reader Kelly to her first PicoSure treatment. At the end of our previous video, Kelly had just gone under Dr. Pico’s laser and the results were immediately noticeable. The tattoo had substantially faded to the point where “Spyro” was a lot harder to decipher.

Following the initial session, Kelly was concerned about lingering pain and the possibility of infection. Thankfully, the recuperation process turned out to be a piece of cake.

“I was worried that it would start to ache, or burn, or that it would get hard to move my arms, but nothing changed,” Kelly explained at the time. “I had no trouble driving, or sleeping with it even on the day of the procedure. I was a bit careful not to do any long reaching or stretching but otherwise my life pretty much went straight back to normal.”

Fast-forward three months, and Kelly is ready for her third laser treatment. The second session resulted in even more fading; particularly in the areas shaded aqua. It is hoped that the tattoo can be completely removed, which will negate the need to ink something over the top of it.

“My original plan to get another tattoo in the same place, but this was based on the assumption that it would be impossible to remove it completely,” Kelly said.

Check out the below video to see how Kelly fares in her third treatment:

And here’s a side-by-side photo comparing the original tattoo to how it looks now. Not too shabby! [Note: The supplied photos were taken under different lighting conditions but the increased transparency is still pretty obvious.]

We’re keen to see whether Spyro will linger on or give up the ghost completely. Only time will tell. We’ll be catching up with Kelly during her final treatment at the beginning of next year. For information on PicoSure’s tattoo-removal treatments, head to its website.


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