# PicoWay vs PicoSure vs Q-Switched: Which Laser Wins?

> Pulse width, wavelengths and performance on blue and green ink compared. What

URL: https://removal.cloakanddaggerlondon.co.uk/guide/picoway-vs-picosure-vs-q-switched-lasers/
Last-Modified: 2026-07-27

Guides

# PicoWay vs PicoSure vs Q-Switched Lasers

Pulse width, wavelengths and real performance on blue and green ink compared — plus what 'pico' marketing does and does not guarantee before you book anywhere.

Published 27 July 2026 · 7 min read

![PicoWay laser system in a dark treatment room with amber highlights on matte black casing](/images/featured/picoway-laser-system-in-a-dark-treatment-room-ambe.webp)

## Why This Comparison Is Worth Making

If you have started ringing round London clinics, you will have noticed that everyone claims to have the best laser. It is one of the few areas of this industry where the specification genuinely matters, and also one where the marketing is least helpful.

Three things actually differentiate tattoo removal lasers: pulse width, available wavelengths, and the operator. The first two are hardware facts you can check. The third is not on any spec sheet and matters just as much.

This guide covers what the differences mean in practice, so you can ask better questions wherever you end up. We run PicoWay for 

PicoWay tattoo removal in Shoreditch

[/ →](/)

, and the reasoning below is the reasoning we used to choose it.

![Detail of the laser handpiece and articulated arm](/images/content/detail-of-the-laser-handpiece-and-articulated-arm-.webp)

## Pulse Width: Picoseconds vs Nanoseconds

A Q-switched laser fires in nanoseconds — billionths of a second. A picosecond laser fires in picoseconds — trillionths. That is roughly a thousandfold difference, and it changes the physics of what happens to the ink.

At nanosecond speeds, a significant share of the energy becomes heat before the pigment fractures. Heat spreads into surrounding tissue, which is the source of the discomfort, blistering and scarring risk that older removal was known for. The pigment does break apart, but into relatively coarse fragments.

At picosecond speeds, the energy is delivered and gone before meaningful heat develops. What the pigment experiences is a photoacoustic shockwave — a mechanical pressure event rather than a thermal one. It shatters into much finer fragments, and the skin around it takes far less collateral damage.

Fragment size is the thing that translates into session count. Your lymphatic system clears smaller particles more readily, so more ink actually leaves your body per session. That is the mechanism behind the “up to 50% fewer sessions” figure, and the fuller explanation of 

how the laser breaks down ink

[/guide/how-does-laser-tattoo-removal-work/ →](/guide/how-does-laser-tattoo-removal-work/)

 is worth reading alongside it.

> **Pulse width is the headline, wavelength is the fine print**
> 
> A picosecond laser with one wavelength will beat a nanosecond laser on black ink and still stall on the greens in your sleeve. Both specifications matter, and clinics tend to advertise whichever one they win on.

## Wavelengths: What Each One Is For

Ink absorbs light selectively. A pigment only fragments efficiently when hit with a wavelength it actually absorbs, which is why wavelength availability decides which colours a machine can genuinely treat.

**1064nm (Nd:YAG).** The workhorse for black and dark blue ink — the bulk of most tattoos. Critically, melanin absorbs it poorly, which is what makes it the safe wavelength for Fitzpatrick IV to VI skin.

**532nm.** The frequency-doubled wavelength, absorbed strongly by red, orange and warm tones. Melanin absorbs it much more readily, so it is used selectively and at lower energy on deeper skin.

**755nm (alexandrite).** PicoSure’s primary wavelength. Genuinely strong on green and blue, which is its main advantage. Melanin absorption sits between the other two, which limits how aggressively it can be used on deeper skin tones.

![Technician adjusting wavelength settings on the laser console](/images/content/technician-adjusting-wavelength-settings-on-the-la.webp)

|  | Q-switched Nd:YAG | PicoSure | PicoWay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pulse width | Nanoseconds | Picoseconds | Picoseconds |
| Main wavelengths | 1064nm (+532nm on some) | 755nm (+532/1064 modules) | 532nm + 1064nm |
| Black ink | Good | Good | Excellent |
| Red and orange | Needs 532nm | Good with module | Excellent (532nm) |
| Green and blue | Often stalls | Strong (755nm) | Treated with 532nm/1064nm |
| Fitzpatrick IV–VI | Safe at 1064nm | More cautious | Safe at 1064nm |
| Heat to skin | Higher | Low | Low |

The honest read on that table: PicoSure has a real edge on green specifically, thanks to 755nm. PicoWay’s dual configuration is stronger across a mixed palette and clearly safer on deeper skin. Both comprehensively outperform a nanosecond Q-switched machine.

For most people in London, the mixed-palette and skin-type flexibility matters more than a single-colour advantage — most tattoos are predominantly black with some colour, not predominantly green. Our guide to 

removing blue and green ink

[/guide/removing-green-blue-and-other-stubborn-ink-colours/ →](/guide/removing-green-blue-and-other-stubborn-ink-colours/)

 goes into what to realistically expect on the stubborn end of the spectrum.

## What the Specification Means for You

Two practical consequences follow from the table above, and they are the ones worth carrying into a consultation.

**Session count.** Finer fragmentation means more ink actually leaves your body per session, because smaller particles are easier for macrophages to collect and move into the lymphatic system. Across a full course that compounds. A tattoo that needs twelve sessions on a nanosecond machine can reasonably be expected to need six to eight on a picosecond one — which on a per-session pricing model is a very large difference in total cost, and on a fixed-price model is a very large difference in how long you are living with the process.

**Skin-type safety.** This is where wavelength availability stops being a specification and becomes a gate. If you have Fitzpatrick IV to VI skin, a laser without 1064nm should not be treating you, because melanin absorbs the shorter wavelengths strongly and competes with the ink for the energy. That competition means less energy reaches the pigment and more reaches your skin — slower clearance and higher pigmentation risk simultaneously. Being turned away by a clinic is usually a statement about their hardware rather than about your skin.

There is a third consequence that rarely gets mentioned: comfort and downtime. Lower thermal load means less blistering and a shorter recovery, which matters more than it sounds when you are committing to eight or more appointments over a year.

## What “Pico” Marketing Does Not Guarantee

The word “pico” has become a marketing term rather than a specification, and there are three things it does not tell you.

**It does not tell you the wavelengths.** A picosecond machine with a single wavelength is still a single-wavelength machine. Ask which wavelengths are available, not whether it is “a pico”.

**It does not tell you the settings being used.** A laser run at timid energy to avoid any risk of a reaction will underperform a well-set nanosecond machine. Conversely, a laser run too hot clears faster and raises the pigmentation and scarring risk substantially. The settings decision is the operator’s, and it should follow from your patch test.

**It does not tell you the operator’s experience.** This is the variable nobody advertises. A technician who works exclusively on tattoo removal, has treated hundreds of pieces on your skin type, and knows when to hold energy back is worth more than a spec-sheet upgrade.

Some clinics also use “picosecond technology” loosely for machines with a picosecond mode alongside a mostly nanosecond operation. Asking for the make and model, then looking it up, cuts through all of it in about a minute.

## The Questions Worth Asking Any Clinic

Which laser is it, by make and model? Which wavelengths does it have? Do you patch test before agreeing a plan? What is your protocol for my skin type? And what happens if it needs more sessions than you have estimated?

Five questions, and the answers will separate clinics faster than any comparison article. If a clinic is vague about any of them, that is the answer.

Quick answers

## Common Questions

### Is a picosecond laser always better than a Q-switched one?

For ink fragmentation and session count, generally yes. But a skilled operator on a good machine beats a poor operator on a better one every time. Settings, patch testing and interval discipline matter as much as the hardware.

### Why does having two wavelengths matter?

Different ink colours absorb different wavelengths. 532nm handles red and orange; 1064nm handles black and passes more safely through melanin-rich skin. A single-wavelength machine can only treat part of a mixed-colour piece efficiently.

### Does PicoSure remove green ink?

It can — its 755nm alexandrite wavelength is genuinely good on green. PicoWay's dual-wavelength configuration gives more options across a whole mixed-colour piece and is the safer choice on deeper skin, which is why we run it.

## Still weighing it up?

Bring the tattoo in. The consultation and patch test are free, nothing is booked on the day, and you leave with a fixed price and a realistic session estimate.

Book Free Consultation

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Learn more about complete laser tattoo removal

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