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The Pigmentation Guide

Pigmentation at Pink: melasma, freckles, and sun damage, and how laser clears uneven tone, calibrated to your skin. Answered by Pink's clinical team.

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Last updated July 2026 · kept current with the guide

Reviewed by Pink's clinical team 4.9 across 448 reviews · Google & Yotpo Treating every skin tone, Fitzpatrick I–VI, since 2019 Doncaster, Melbourne

Pigmentation is the skin remembering sun, hormones, and time, and showing it on the surface as freckles, age spots, and uneven tone. Not every dark mark is the same, and the first step is always knowing what you are looking at, because what clears sun damage is not what you would use on a mole. Once the mark is understood, laser can lift it precisely, breaking the pigment into particles the body clears on its own.

At Pink, pigmentation is treated with calibrated Q-Switched laser, matched to the mark and to your skin. This guide answers what we are asked most: how to tell freckles from age spots and from moles, how the laser actually clears sun damage, and how to keep results from drifting back once the skin is clear.

The treatment behind this guide
Pigmentation Treatment
Pink's pigmentation treatment, calibrated to the pigment type and your skin. Located in Doncaster, Melbourne.

Reading in this guide

The questions we're asked most, answered properly, one at a time.

Black-and-white editorial image of a pregnant woman in a long coat on a beach.
The Pigmentation Guide
Laser pigmentation, after pregnancy and while breastfeeding: what's safe and when
Laser energy is localised. It treats pigment in the skin and does not enter your bloodstream or breast milk, so on that basis a gentle low-fluence 1064nm approach is generally considered reasonable while breastfeeding....
8 min read
Editorial portrait of a woman with deep skin tone and a clear, even complexion.
The Pigmentation Guide
Brown marks left after acne. Why they are not scars, and what fades them
The brown marks left behind after acne are usually not scars. They are post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, or PIH, which is pigment, and pigment fades. A scar is a change in the skin's texture. A mark...
8 min read
Black-and-white editorial portrait of a woman in contemplative, soft lighting.
The Pigmentation Guide
What melasma actually is, and what "managed not cured" really means
Melasma is a chronic pigmentation disorder driven by hormones, UV, heat, visible light and genetics, with pigment sitting at both the surface and deeper layers of the skin. It is a chronic condition. It...
8 min read
Editorial side-profile portrait of a woman with luminous, even-toned skin in soft dramatic light.
The Pigmentation Guide
Melasma or sun damage? Why the difference changes the whole treatment
Melasma and sun damage can look almost identical, but they are not the same condition. Sun damage is discrete spots from years of UV, and it can be cleared. Melasma is symmetrical patches driven...
7 min read
Natural-light editorial portrait of a woman with clear, lightly freckled skin and a calm, direct gaze.
The Pigmentation Guide
Which kind of pigmentation is mine? Freckles, sun damage, melasma and post-acne marks, told apart
Most facial pigmentation is one of four kinds: freckles, sun damage, melasma or post-acne marks. You can usually tell them apart by what caused them, when they appeared, and whether they fade in winter....
8 min read

Quick answers

The short versions of the questions readers ask before they book.

Will it come back? What lasts and what needs upkeep, across pigmentation types
Whether pigmentation comes back depends on which kind you have. Cleared freckles and sun spots stay cleared in the spots treated, though new ones can form with fresh sun. Melasma is chronic, so it is managed rather than cured and...
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Is laser safe for darker skin? What changes when your skin is Fitzpatrick IV to VI
Laser can treat pigment safely on darker skin, Fitzpatrick IV to VI, when the wavelength and calibration suit it. The risk is real, because darker skin reacts more readily and the margin for error is smaller. What makes it suitable...
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Will laser make my melasma worse? An honest answer
Yes, laser can make melasma worse, but only when it is the wrong laser for it. Melasma is misread as a sun spot, or treated with heat and aggressive, one-pass energy, and it flares. Calibrated correctly, with a low-fluence 1064nm...
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How to Keep Freckles From Coming Back After Laser.
Laser clears existing freckles, but the tendency to form them stays, so the result holds best with daily SPF and sun habits that limit new pigment. Most people keep their result with consistent protection and the occasional maintenance session. Without...
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Freckles or moles. When the answer is a GP, and when it's laser.
Freckles and flat sun spots are pigment in the surface skin and can be treated with laser. A mole is a different structure, and any mole that is new, changing, or irregular should be checked by a GP or dermatologist...
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Age spots or freckles. How to tell which you have.
Freckles are small, often genetic, and tend to fade and return with sun exposure. Age spots are larger, flat, and a sign of accumulated sun damage that does not fade on its own. They can look similar but respond differently,...
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