Sun spots and age spots are the pigmentation you have accumulated. Years of Australian sun have changed how specific patches of skin produce colour, and the result does not fade on its own. Pink's Q-switched Fotona laser, designed by Porsha, our founding Senior Dermal Clinician, and delivered by the team she trained, is the most precise way to clear them.
Pink's sun damage patients are usually in their thirties, forties, or fifties. They have watched spots appear on their cheekbones, temples, and décolletage over a few summers and they want them addressed before they get worse. The spots are not going away on their own, and cream is not going to shift them. The right laser will.
"Sun damage does not fade on its own. It fades when the right laser meets the right protocol."
We treat sun damage the way adult patients want to be treated: accurate device matching, a realistic timeline for what you will see, and the discipline to protect the result once we have it.
Sun spots and age spots are often mistaken for freckles, and sometimes for melasma. Getting the match right matters, because the laser protocol that clears sun damage cleanly is not the same approach used for melasma, and it is different again from the way Pink treats freckles. Your clinician will confirm at consultation which condition you are actually looking at before anything is booked.
Accumulated UV damage. Usually appear from the thirties onward in Melbourne's Australian-sun context, earlier than the textbook "forties onward" onset because of the cumulative exposure in this population. Larger than freckles (5–20mm), often irregular-edged, more defined in colour. Do not fade seasonally. Face, décolletage, and hands are the common locations.
Genetic predisposition plus UV. Usually show up in childhood and intensify in summer. Small, flat, evenly coloured, often clustered. Fade slightly in winter and return with sun exposure. A different condition with a different protocol. See our Freckle Removal Melbourne page.
Chronic hormonal, UV, and genetic pigmentation disorder. Symmetrical brown or brown-grey patches, typically across cheeks, forehead, upper lip. Triggered or worsened by pregnancy, heat, and visible light. Not sun damage, and treated on a protocol designed specifically for it. See our Melasma Treatment Melbourne page.
If you are not sure which of these you are looking at, that is the whole point of the free consultation. Your clinician will examine your skin under clinical light and tell you honestly what you are dealing with, before anything is booked.
A sun spot is a patch of skin where the pigment-producing cells have multiplied and are now producing colour that does not fade on its own. The right laser targets that accumulated melanin selectively, heating the pigment until it breaks down, while leaving the surrounding skin and the healthy cells around it largely untouched. Pink uses the Fotona StarWalker MaQX Q-switched platform, chosen specifically for this task. It is the most precise Q-switched system Pink runs, and it is the reason a typical sun damage course at Pink concludes inside a short window.
Sun damage rarely sits at one depth. Some lesions are surface pigment, some sit slightly deeper, and some combine both. A dual-wavelength approach lets your clinician match depth to pigment inside the same session: shallower spots treated with one setting, deeper ones with another. That matching is what makes the clearance clean and even, and it is what tailoring means on this page.
The melanin inside a sun spot absorbs the laser's light far more strongly than the skin around it. The Q-switched pulse is fast enough to shatter the pigment without the heat spreading into the surrounding skin. The result is clean clearance of the treated spot and minimal impact on the skin beside it.
Surface sun spots and deeper accumulated pigment respond to different wavelengths. Treating both inside the same session, with the same platform, is what produces even clearance across an area of mixed-depth damage. Your clinician matches depth to pigment as she works.
Most sun damage courses at Pink run through three to six sessions, spaced four to six weeks apart. Your clinician will tell you at consultation, after a VISIA skin scan, where she expects your course to land inside that range.
At your consultation, your clinician will run a VISIA skin scan to show you which spots are surface-level and which sit slightly deeper, and plan the course accordingly.
Every course is tailored to your skin and the density of the sun damage you want cleared. The shape below is the general arc. Your clinician will give you a specific plan (number of sessions, spacing, aftercare) at your consultation.
Your clinician examines your skin under clinical light and runs a VISIA baseline scan, which shows the sun damage already visible alongside the pigment still forming under the surface. We ask about sun habits, skincare, and medications, and confirm the treated areas with you before the first session is booked.
The first session does most of the visible clearance. Sessions typically run 20 to 40 minutes depending on area size. Most patients describe a warm snapping sensation, uncomfortable but not painful. Treated spots darken to a coffee-ground look over 24 to 48 hours, then flake off naturally over the following one to two weeks. Normal activity resumes the same day; makeup resumes once the treated areas aren't freshly lasered.
Daily broad-spectrum SPF 50+ is non-negotiable during and after the course. It protects the treated skin while it heals and it slows the formation of new lentigines in the surrounding skin. Pink will walk you through a simple aftercare routine. No exfoliants or active skincare on the treated area for the first week.
We reassess at four to six weeks. Most sun damage courses run across a handful of sessions to reach the clearance set out at consultation. The Australian-sun context means most patients are clearing accumulated pigment across more than one pass. Your clinician shows you the VISIA delta at each review so you can see what's shifted.
Cleared sun spots do not return in the same place. New ones can form in the surrounding skin if it is not protected from UV. Maintenance at Pink is mostly about sun protection, not about repeat laser. A touch-up session every year or two is often enough for patients who stay disciplined with SPF.
A sun damage course at Pink is priced per session and planned with you at consultation. Most patients complete a course inside three to six sessions. The exact number depends on the density of the sun damage and how your skin responds. Per-session pricing sits with the course selector below. Your clinician walks through the full plan with you at your free consultation, before you commit to anything.
Laser sun damage treatment is straightforward on most skin, but it is not right for everyone or for every week of the year. Here is how we think about it.
If you are looking for laser treatment of sun spots on the backs of your hands, we treat those the same way we treat freckles on the hands: the same Q-switched approach, the same session expectation. See our Freckle Removal Melbourne page for the course and pricing. We do not often see full-body sun damage treatment at Pink; face and décolletage are what this page is written for.
If any of this is unclear (particularly whether what you are looking at is a sun spot, a freckle, or something else), book a free consultation and your clinician will work through it with you honestly before anything is booked.
At Pink, these protocols are used and explained in cosmetic-class terms, intended to improve the appearance of pigmentation, not to diagnose or treat underlying medical conditions. If you have concerns about a specific lesion, we'll refer you to your GP or dermatologist before we proceed.
Real patients. Real sun damage courses. Pink treatment room. Each pair is attributed to the protocol used and the number of sessions it took.
More before-and-after pairs will be added here as consents are processed. Pink never uses stock photography for before-and-after imagery.
Our Q-switched sun damage approach was designed by our clinical team, led by Porsha, our founding Senior Dermal Clinician. She directs how the protocol evolves and assists on more stubborn cases where her seniority is called for.
Day to day, Stephy, our Multi-Modality Laser Specialist, leads the consultation framework and plans each course. Your VISIA review, the shape of your course, and the settings chosen on the day are all decided inside the same protocol and delivered by our trained clinical team.
What that means in practice is consistency. The approach stays the same whether you sit with Stephy or another clinician on our team, because the protocol itself is the standard, not one person's preference.
The course runs across three to six sessions, spaced four to eight weeks apart, with a free consultation and VISIA scan first to confirm the plan suits your skin. Sessions are sold one at a time, so you pay as the course progresses.
What one session covers
Ready to start
Fifteen minutes with a Pink clinician, one VISIA scan, and a written course. You leave knowing what your skin needs and what the whole course would cost. No obligation to continue.
Book a free consultationCompare Your Options
Sun damage responds to three broad paths. Here's how they differ in approach, plan, and what you can expect from each.
Pink Laser Clinics
Q-switched Sun Damage Course
Alternative Lasers
IPL or Single-Wavelength
At-Home Skincare
Tyrosinase-Inhibiting Serums
Frequently asked
The treatment uses Q-Switched pulses on the Fotona StarWalker MaQX, with dual wavelengths tuned to break down pigment clusters that form after years of UV. Each pulse passes through the top of the skin and targets the pigment itself, which fragments into smaller particles your body clears over the following weeks. The full course runs across three to six sessions, paced to how your skin is responding.
The pigment we treat in a session doesn't come back on its own. What can change over time is new pigment forming from fresh UV exposure, hormonal shifts, or skin inflammation. With daily SPF and a maintenance session once a year, most clients hold their result well. Without sun protection, new spots can form. Sun damage isn't a one-time fix; it's a result you keep with consistent protection after.
Yes, with the right settings. Q-Switched pulses are wavelength-specific to pigment, which means they target the spot rather than heating the surrounding skin. That precision matters more on darker skin, where the wrong settings can leave post-inflammatory pigment behind instead of clearing it. Your VISIA scan and consultation set the parameters for your specific skin, which matters more than a Fitzpatrick number on its own.
Freckles and sun damage overlap visually but behave differently. Freckles are genetic, smaller, more scattered, and tend to come back seasonally with sun. Sun damage (clinical name solar lentigines) is larger, more defined, and doesn't fade on its own. If you're unsure which you have, the VISIA scan sorts it at the consultation. Our Freckle Removal page covers the freckle-specific course.
Most people describe a warm elastic snap with each pulse, brief, over in a fraction of a second. Cool air on the treatment area runs throughout, which keeps the sensation short and manageable. A session is around 45 minutes inside the room: the pre-treatment check-in, the pass, a short cooling phase, and the aftercare walkthrough.
Almost none. The treated area reads warm and slightly flushed for a few hours after a session. Sun-damaged spots themselves often darken briefly as the pigment fragments, then lift off over the following week to ten days. Most people return to work the same day. Keep sun off the treated area and stay on SPF 50 for the fortnight that follows.
Three to six, spaced four to eight weeks apart. The number depends on how deep the pigment sits, how much area we're treating, and how your skin responds at each check-in. Your written course is built at the consultation and adjusted between sessions if needed.
Pricing is per session, shown on this page. A sun damage course is typically three to six sessions, and you book sessions individually as the course progresses, so there's no upfront commitment. Your written course at the consultation sets the expected total. The consultation is free.
The difference matters because the treatments are different. Sun damage is stable pigment that can be broken down with Q-Switched laser. Melasma is hormonally driven and responds to a different, gentler protocol because aggressive laser can worsen it. The VISIA scan tells us which you have. If your results point to Melasma, we walk you through our Melasma Treatment course instead.
Yes. Every sun damage course starts with a free fifteen-minute consultation and VISIA scan. We don't sell sessions without seeing your skin first, because the settings and the session count depend on what the scan shows. The consultation is free, with no obligation to continue.
Yes. Sun damage on the décolletage is common and responds to the same course. At the consultation we confirm the treatment area with you: face, face and neck, or face and décolletage. Each session covers the full area in scope. One session is one session at one price, so larger areas don't compound the cost.
Most people see a visible shift after their first session. The darker spots either lift cleanly or darken and flake off over the following week to ten days. Across the full course, pigment clears progressively with each pass. The complete result usually lands four to six weeks after the final session, once the skin has finished its cycle.
The pigment we treat doesn't come back. What can happen is new pigment forming from fresh UV exposure, hormonal shifts, or skin inflammation. Daily SPF, a wide-brim hat for prolonged outdoor time, and a maintenance session once a year are how most clients keep their result holding well. The treatment is durable; the maintenance is what protects it.
No laser during pregnancy, and that's a firm rule, not a precaution. Skin behaves unpredictably in pregnancy and hormonal pigment changes can confuse what we're treating, so we ask clients to complete the course either before or after. If you're breastfeeding, the treatment itself is fine, with timing planned around your routine. We're happy to see you for a consultation either way.
Before a session: arrive on clean skin (no makeup, no SPF yet) and avoid active UV exposure for two weeks beforehand. After a session: SPF 50 daily, no direct sun for at least two weeks, no retinol or active exfoliants on the treated area for a week, and keep the area well moisturised. A full aftercare sheet goes home with you.
Visit the clinic
Sun damage sessions run out of our Doncaster flagship, a short drive from Templestowe, Bulleen, Balwyn North, and Box Hill. Free on-site parking.
Shop 3, 642 Doncaster Road Doncaster VIC 3108Clinic hours
The Pink Journal
Longform pieces on sun damage, laser, and the weeks that follow. Publishing across the next season.
Article
Two pigment marks that look alike to the eye, sit differently under the skin, and respond to different laser protocols.
Article
What Q-switched light does to pigment clusters, why it's selective to damaged cells, and how the skin clears what the laser breaks down.
Category hub
See how sun damage sits alongside melasma, freckles, and PIH in Pink's full pigmentation category.