Freckles or moles. When the answer is a GP, and when it's laser.

Flat pigment or raised tissue. The distinction that decides everything.

Freckles, age spots, and sun damage are pigment. Melanocytes in the epidermis produce melanin, the skin's natural pigment. When they produce more than usual in one spot, a freckle or solar lentigo appears. The lesion is flat. Close your eyes and run your fingertip across it; you won't feel it.

Moles are tissue. A mole, or melanocytic nevus in medical terms, is a cluster of pigment-producing cells that have grouped together and formed a raised structure. The lesion has volume. Skin tags, dermatofibromas, and seborrheic keratoses sit in the same tissue-based category, not the pigment one.

The distinction matters because the two categories want different lasers. A Q-Switched Laser targets pigment, not tissue. The device emits a wavelength of light that melanin absorbs preferentially, shatters into microscopic particles, and lets the body's immune system clear it over the following days and weeks. That's the right tool for flat pigment. It will not remove a mole.

Pink uses a different laser for the raised side of the work. Er:YAG is ablative — it removes tissue at the surface — and it's the platform Pink uses to flatten some raised lesions cosmetically. Skin tags. Some moles. Some pigmented raised lesions. The exact list depends on what the lesion is and on the GP assessment that comes before any laser is used.

Either way, the GP step is non-negotiable for raised lesions. Lasering an unassessed raised lesion damages the visual reference a doctor needs at a future check-in, and could delay a diagnosis. The clinical answer is always check first, treat second.

The self-check. What you can see in the mirror.

You can do a first-pass check at your bathroom mirror. Not a diagnosis (that's a doctor's job), but enough to know whether you're looking at a laser conversation or a GP conversation.

Flat pigmentation (probably laser territory).

• Sits flush with surrounding skin, no raised profile
• Small to medium in size (freckles 1 to 2mm, age spots 5 to 20mm)
• Stable shape over years
• Seasonal in the case of freckles (fade in winter), fixed in the case of age spots
• Uniform colour, light brown through to darker brown
• Often appears in clusters on the face, shoulders, décolletage, or hands

If a single freckle-like lesion doesn't match the rest of your pigmentation pattern (it's noticeably different to the others, growing faster, or changing in any way), have it checked before booking laser. Freckles can be a cover story for something underneath, particularly in patients with many overlapping spots.

Raised lesions (GP territory).

A raised lesion is a skin check conversation, not a laser conversation. Dermatologists use the ABCDE rule to flag moles that warrant a closer look:

• A — Asymmetry. One half of the lesion doesn't match the other.
• B — Border. Edges are irregular, scalloped, or poorly defined.
• C — Colour. More than one shade inside the lesion. Black, red, white, or blue alongside brown.
• D — Diameter. Larger than 6mm, roughly the size of a pencil eraser.
• E — Evolving. Changing in size, shape, colour, or texture. Or bleeding, itching, crusting.

A single flag doesn't mean cancer. It means the lesion deserves a professional eye. A GP or dermatologist decides whether what you're looking at is benign, suspicious, or somewhere between.

What Pink treats.

Pink uses two laser platforms for pigmentation and lesion work. The Fotona StarWalker MaQX is a Q-Switched Laser, used for flat pigment. Er:YAG is ablative, used for flattening some raised lesions cosmetically after a GP has cleared them.

Flat pigment, treated with Q-Switched Laser:

• Freckles (ephelides). Genetic and UV-triggered pigment that usually appears in childhood.
• Age spots and sun damage (solar lentigines). Larger pigment patches that appear from the thirties onward on sun-exposed skin.
• Melasma. Hormone and UV-triggered patches treated under the signature melasma protocol. Managed, not cured. Melasma is a chronic condition that responds to treatment but doesn't permanently resolve.
• Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). Pigment left behind after acne or skin inflammation.

Raised lesions Pink can address with Er:YAG, after GP clearance:

• Skin tags
• Some pigmented raised lesions
• Some moles, depending on the lesion and on what the GP has cleared

Not every raised lesion can be flattened at Pink. Some lesions are clinically better off staying with the doctor for shave excision, surgical removal, or cryotherapy. Some are simply better monitored than treated. The GP assessment is what decides which path the lesion takes.

The GP step.

Whatever the lesion, if it's raised, changing, bleeding, asymmetric, multi-coloured, or simply something you've noticed but aren't sure about, the first appointment is with a GP, not Pink. That sequence is non-negotiable.

What happens after the GP step depends on what the GP finds. Many benign raised lesions come back to Pink for cosmetic flattening with Er:YAG. Some are referred to a doctor for excision or other treatment. Some are left alone and simply monitored. The path is set by the clinical assessment, not by what the patient hopes for.

This isn't defensive positioning. It's how a clinic that takes patient safety seriously operates. Treating an unassessed raised lesion would, at best, damage the visual reference a doctor needs at a future check-in. At worst, it would delay a diagnosis. Neither outcome is acceptable, so the clinical answer is always the same. Check first, treat second.

What a GP skin check actually looks like.

Short appointment, often fifteen minutes. Your GP examines the lesion visually and usually uses a dermatoscope, a handheld magnifier with a light. They're assessing pigment distribution, border symmetry, and structural features that aren't visible to the naked eye.

Four common outcomes:

1. Benign, no follow-up needed. Most moles land here. You're clear to move forward with cosmetic conversations if the mole bothers you visually.
2. Benign, worth monitoring. Photograph and review at three, six, or twelve months. Standard practice for people with many moles or a family history of skin cancer.
3. Referral to a dermatologist. When the GP sees something that warrants a specialist eye, you'll be referred. A dermatologist has advanced imaging and the authority to biopsy if needed.
4. Biopsy at the GP. Some GPs perform minor skin procedures on the day of the appointment.

A clean skin check isn't a "no" to laser. It's a "yes" to every flat-pigment conversation you were already planning to have. Booking with Pink can happen as soon as you have written or verbal confirmation that the flagged lesions are benign. Bring any GP notes or photos to the consultation so the dermal therapist can map treatment areas accurately against what the GP has already documented.

What happens at your Pink consultation.

Your first appointment at Pink isn't a treatment. It's a consultation. A dermal therapist reviews your pigmentation concerns in detail and runs a VISIA skin analysis, a photographic scan that maps pigment at the surface and in deeper layers, UV damage, melanin distribution, and areas of concern you may not have noticed yourself.

From the VISIA results, the therapist confirms whether what you're seeing is flat pigment within Pink's scope, flags any lesion that should see a GP before Pink touches it, and sets the approach for your skin and your Fitzpatrick type.

If something in the scan suggests a GP review first, you'll be told directly. No soft language. No "maybe see someone." The consultation is designed so you leave knowing what's treatable, what isn't, and what the next step is for each finding on your skin.

So. GP or laser?

Short decision path for anyone still on the fence:

• Flat, stable, pigmented spot. Book a pigmentation consultation with Pink.
• Raised lesion of any kind. GP first. Bring the GP findings back to Pink — many benign raised lesions can be flattened with Er:YAG once they've been cleared.
• Anything changing in size, shape, colour, texture, or bleeding or itching. GP first. Don't wait.
• Not sure which category you're in. GP first, then Pink. The sequence is cheap. Reversing it isn't.

At the clinic

Pink treats flat pigment with the Fotona StarWalker MaQX. Each course starts with a VISIA scan and a conversation about your pigmentation pattern, your UV history, and any lesions that need a GP review before laser. The pigmentation work itself is on Pink's pigmentation treatment page.

Adjacent reading

• Age Spots or Freckles? How to Tell, and Which Laser Each Actually Needs.
• How Laser Clears Sun Damage: The Mechanism, Step by Step.
• How to Keep Freckles From Coming Back After Laser.

Filed by Pink Laser Clinics · April 2026