Pico Toning in Busan: Laser Toning Alone Is Not Enough for Pigmentation

Hello.

I'm Dr. Tae Hoon Kim, board-certified dermatologist, thinking about your skin 10 and 20 years from now.

Laser toning is a familiar treatment for anyone who has had pigmentation treatment, but it is also widely misunderstood.

Many people think of toning simply as a whitening laser, or assume that all brown pigmentation can be removed in the same way.

But pigmentation treatment is not that simple.

The pigmentation we see on our faces may look similar, but the cause, depth and skin response all differ, so each lesion needs a different approach.

Also, because pigmentation treatment can irritate the skin, sensitive skin should first build up enough strength to recover before treatment begins.

Today, I'll briefly explain what laser toning is, which types of pigmentation it is used for, and why picosecond lasers such as PicoWay are used.

In the past, low-output toning with Nd:YAG lasers was widely used, but recently toning with picosecond lasers has become the mainstream.

This is because pico toning can cover everything from low-intensity toning for melasma to stronger toning that can improve individual spots more quickly.

Pigmentation is difficult to treat because the color you see on the surface is not the whole story.

Melasma is brown, sun spots are brown, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is brown too, so it can be confusing, but if the depth and cause of the pigment differ, the treatment method must differ as well.

Melasma can react sensitively to strong treatment; because the melanocytes in the skin are already sensitized, strong heat or inflammatory stimulation can actually make the pigment darker.

If melanin production is overactivated and the skin has become sensitive to external irritation, then, as I mentioned earlier, building up the skin's resilience so that it can recover should come before laser toning.

Before melasma treatment, I would like to suggest a few things that can improve the skin's condition down to the deeper layers.

However, skin types differ from person to person and the treatments that are possible vary with the situation, so what matters is consulting a board-certified dermatologist directly.

Why do you need several sessions of pico toning?

Pico toning usually requires several repeated sessions because the treatment itself is not designed to remove pigment in one strong session.

Low-intensity energy is delivered repeatedly to break down the melanin pigment little by little, and the skin needs time to process it.

In the early stage, however, I consider it necessary to use the energy somewhat more densely, based on the skin's own capacity to recover.

The reason is that when patients see their pigmentation improving early in treatment, they are more likely to trust the treatment and keep coming back consistently.

That does not mean pushing ahead with strong energy while the skin barrier is weakened.

If this is overlooked and treatment continues at high intensity, redness, dryness, stinging, hypopigmented spots and rebound hyperpigmentation can occur.

What matters is not the number of sessions, but watching the skin's response and holding to a line that does not irritate the skin too much and does not cross a certain threshold.

What makes pico toning different?

PicoWay delivers laser energy over an extremely short time measured in picoseconds — trillionths of a second.

Because the energy is delivered in a shorter time than with conventional nanosecond lasers, a photoacoustic effect that causes an instantaneous pressure change in the pigment particles can be expected.

Put simply, rather than heating the pigment for a long time to burn it, it is closer to shattering the pigment particles into fine pieces with short, rapid impacts so that they can be cleared from the body.

Thanks to the advantages of this short pulse width, it is used not only for common pigmented lesions but also in many other areas, such as tattoo and scar treatment.

However, pico toning is not right for everyone.

If the skin is sensitive and accompanied by redness, or if pigmentation has worsened after toning in the past, the treatment approach must be different.

If the energy is excessive or the intervals are not controlled, hyperpigmentation can recur, and in severe cases problems such as hypopigmentation can occur, so care is needed.

Pico toning in Busan for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation

Many of you are probably troubled by acne scars, marks and hyperpigmentation.

They start out as red marks but gradually turn brown over time, and where the inflammation was deep, the brown pigmentation reaches deeper and becomes more distinct.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which develops as melanin production increases after the skin has been inflamed, can persist longer and the lesions can grow larger because of damage to the skin barrier.

For example, I often see such cases among patients who had scar treatment after their active acne had settled to some extent and who had a habit of frequently touching or squeezing their skin.

That is why post-acne hyperpigmentation calls not only for stabilizing the skin barrier but also for correcting daily habits and proper home care.

Thank you for reading this long post.