Acne, and the marks it leaves.

Yes, across Fitzpatrick I through VI when the wavelength and modality are matched to the skin. Pink runs both Fotona platforms with 1064 nm Nd:YAG in Q-Switched and Long-Pulsed forms, the safest laser wavelengths for darker skin types because they have minimal melanin absorption. Where ablative laser is appropriate, fractional Er:YAG is selected on the same skin-type basis. Pre-conditioning with melanin suppression runs ahead of any device session in darker skin. The clinician matches the protocol to your skin type at consultation before any treatment plan is created. How a laser is used matters as much as which laser.

Active acne is temperamental, and we don't promise outcomes, especially with pigment clearance. What we expect is that your skin will change within the first 4 to 6 weeks. Sometimes that change shows as early as when a new home care routine starts, sometimes after the first treatment. Everyone responds at a different pace, and what you do at home matters as much as what happens at the clinic. For scar revision, changes typically show after the first session. Most scar treatments are spaced 4 to 6 weeks apart, so visible improvement is often noticeable as early as that first visit. How long it takes to reach the result you want depends on the depth and the nature of your scars.

No. A free consultation at Pink doesn't require a referral. We don't prescribe medication, so the GP-and-script pathway most acne clinics need isn't part of our process. If you're already on a medical pathway for severe inflammatory acne (the kind that requires a specialist's prescription), we can run treatment alongside or after it. For laser, peel, LED and skin assessment, you book directly through the consultation.

It depends on the medication. For severe acne medications that significantly alter sebum production and skin barrier function, the timing of laser and ablative treatment is a clinical decision that your prescribing specialist usually leads on. The historical "wait six to twelve months" rule has been revised in current dermatology literature for most non-ablative laser procedures, but the call belongs with the specialist. We assess at consultation, and if the timing isn't right yet, we plan the treatment cycle to start when it is. Active-acne treatment that doesn't conflict with your medication may be possible immediately, depending on what you're on.

It depends on what we're treating and how your skin responds. Active acne treatment plans typically run across 4 to 8 sessions over 8 to 16 weeks, paced by skin response. Atrophic scar revision usually runs across 4 to 6 sessions over 6 to 9 months, with maintenance after. Some patients need fewer; some need more. If you'd rather start with one session, you can. Per-session pricing is on each treatment's own page. Whichever path you take, the plan adjusts visit by visit, with VISIA imaging tracking the response.

They are different treatments, on different surfaces, at different points in the timeline. Active acne treatment focuses on the skin you are in now: sebaceous activity, bacterial load, inflammation, hormonal patterns. The toolkit there is Long-Pulsed Nd:YAG, MediSOL LED and PinkRX peels. Scar revision focuses on what acne left behind: structural changes (icepick, boxcar, rolling), post-inflammatory pigment, post-inflammatory erythema. The toolkit there is fractional Q-Switched microchannel resurfacing, fractional Er:YAG ablative, TCA CROSS for icepick scarring, FRAC3 for collagen remodelling, and Long-Pulsed Nd:YAG for vascular treatment. Most patients walk both paths in time. We start with what's loudest and sequence the rest.

Deep narrow icepick scars don't respond well to laser resurfacing alone, because the scar tract goes deeper than fractional resurfacing reaches. The published-evidence treatment for icepick scars is TCA CROSS, where high-concentration trichloroacetic acid is applied focally into the base of each scar to stimulate localised collagen reconstruction. Pink runs TCA CROSS as part of the PinkRX peel range, sequenced into the scar revision plan where indicated. Multiple sessions are usually required and visible improvement builds over months. The combination of TCA CROSS with fractional treatment and collagen remodelling is the standard approach.

It varies by modality. Q-Switched and Long-Pulsed Nd:YAG sessions feel like a quick warm pinch repeated across the treated area, with minimal downtime: transient redness for 24 to 48 hours and you can wear makeup the next day. Fractional ablative Er:YAG is more involved. The treatment itself feels like deeper heat and pinpoint pricking, and the downtime is 3 to 7 days of redness, micro-crusting and gentle peeling. TCA CROSS feels like a sharp stinging on each scar for 30 to 60 seconds, with 5 to 10 days of small darkening at the treatment points before they shed. LED and superficial peels have no downtime. The treatment plan is built with your downtime tolerance in mind.

There are three ways in. Per-session pricing is on each treatment's own page; if you want to try one, you can. Pre-built packages sequenced for the most common acne and scar plans are on the package pages, built from years of writing customised plans so some people fit them as-is. Customised treatment plans are written at the in-person consultation, where we read your skin and the budget you've come in with, and write a plan that fits both. Plans are modified to budget. The goal is for you to start.

That depends on which marks. Acne scars (the structural ones: icepick, boxcar, rolling) don't reform once they've been treated and the dermal collagen has remodelled. The improvement is durable. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation can recur if new acne flares produce new pigment, which is why active acne management runs alongside scar revision when both are present. Post-inflammatory erythema typically clears with vascular treatment and doesn't recur once the underlying inflammation has settled. Active acne itself is a chronic condition driven by hormones, sebaceous activity and bacterial load, so maintenance treatment and topical regimens are part of holding the result long-term.