Laser tattoo removal · Melbourne

The ink, lifted out.

Calibrated to every Fitzpatrick type and planned in stages. A plan, not a promise.

What changed

The tattoo stayed the same. You didn't.

People evolve. Relationships end, beliefs shift, careers turn, and the reason a tattoo made sense can quietly pass while the ink stays exactly where it is.

Removing it does not erase who you were. It is the next considered step. We read your tattoo and your skin honestly, and build the plan from there.

The plan

Fading has a shape. It moves through three stages.

A count of sessions is not a plan. This is the actual shape of removal: what each stage does, and what you see while it happens.

Stage one

Fragmentation

The laser breaks the ink into particles small enough for your body to carry away. This is the stage you see most: the early sessions take the largest steps, and the change is dramatic and fast. It is the easiest part of the plan to believe in.

Stage two

Clearance

Your body keeps clearing the fragmented ink between sessions, but from one visit to the next the eye sees less than it did at the start. The progress has not stopped; it has gone quiet. This is the long middle, the stage that asks for patience, and the one we prepare you for from the start.

Stage three

Refinement

What remains by now is faint, often a ghost of the original tattoo. We treat it as far down as it will go, then give you an honest reading of where it has settled: the result on your skin, told straight.

The technology

The gold standard for tattoo removal, taken further.

What sets Pink's removal apart is not a single claim. It is three things, working together: the platform, the procedure it can run, and the clinician calibrating both.

The Fotona StarWalker MaQX

Q-Switched Nd:YAG is the architecture the clinical literature settles on as the gold standard for tattoo removal. The StarWalker MaQX is that, and a step past it: a hybrid pulse that carries picosecond-fast peak power inside a nanosecond of energy, as much as ten joules in a single pulse. Picosecond physics on the proven Q-Switched foundation, not in place of it.

The Fotona StarWalker MaQX laser used for tattoo removal at Pink Laser Clinics

FracTAT®

Pink runs two Fotona platforms side by side, and that pairing is what makes FracTAT® possible. The first drills a fine array of channels into the skin; the StarWalker then passes through them, lifting more ink in one visit than a single pass can. It is a clinically chosen acceleration. Who it suits, and what it adds to the plan, comes next.

Diagram showing how the FracTAT procedure lifts tattoo ink in a single visit

The clinician's calibration

A laser is only as good as the judgement directing it. At Pink the settings are not fixed in advance: wavelength, intensity and pace are chosen for your skin and your ink, then adjusted by your clinician after reading how the last session answered. That judgement is the part no specification sheet can carry.

A Pink clinician calibrating the StarWalker laser during a tattoo removal treatment
Acceleration

When removal should move faster.

FracTAT® is the most advanced method of laser tattoo removal, and the part of Pink's system built for speed. For the right tattoo it means noticeably fewer sessions. For others, the StarWalker clears the tattoo just as well on its own. That is why FracTAT® is a choice, never a default. Here is how to tell whether it is right for your tattoo.

Considered for

  • A previous course, elsewhere, that stalled or moved slowly.
  • A real deadline: a wedding, a career change, a date the tattoo needs to be clear of.
  • Some textural concern in the tattoo or the skin.
  • A tattoo that is hard to live with: a name, a memory, something tied to a person or a time you need behind you. Here, sooner is its own reason.

Not needed for

  • A small, simple, black-only tattoo the StarWalker clears well on its own.
  • Particular skin or healing histories better suited to the standard path.
The evidence

Q-Switched Nd:YAG is the architecture the clinical literature holds as the gold standard for tattoo removal, and FracTAT® takes that gold standard further. The peer-reviewed study of FracTAT® recorded an average of 97% clearance in a median of under five sessions, roughly 40% fewer than a standard course. That is published evidence behind the speed FracTAT® is built for. Your own number is not read from a study: it is set by your tattoo and your skin, and confirmed at your consultation. The study shows what FracTAT® can do; your plan is calibrated to do it for you.

The cost

FracTAT® is the premium path, and it is priced as one. Per session it costs more than the standard course; because it reaches the result in fewer sessions, the difference over a full plan is far smaller than the per-session figure suggests. What that difference buys is time: fewer visits, and the tattoo behind you sooner. Your free consultation confirms whether FracTAT® is the right call for your skin and your ink.

Fitzpatrick I–VI

Six skin tones, one standard.

An all-skin-types claim is only as good as the mechanics behind it. Here are ours. Darker skin is not a harder case handled at the edges of what we do. It is a design constraint the calibration is built around from the first session.

Laser removal works because tattoo ink absorbs the laser's energy. Skin absorbs it too, through melanin, the pigment that gives skin its tone. The more melanin a skin carries, the more it competes with the ink for that energy, and the more precisely the treatment has to be set.

Two things answer that. Wavelength first: at 1064 nm, the laser's longer wavelength passes through melanin with little absorption, reaching the ink while leaving the skin's own pigment largely undisturbed. It is recognised in the clinical literature as the safest wavelength for darker skin. Then calibration: the right wavelength still has to be matched to the skin in front of it, set low and unhurried for higher Fitzpatrick types, and adjusted by the clinician as the skin shows how it responds.

The record behind that is the largest published safety series in tattoo removal: 1,041 patients treated on the Q-Switched Nd:YAG architecture the MaQX is built on. Hypertrophic scarring occurred in 0.28% of cases, and no keloids formed. Thirty-eight of those patients had Fitzpatrick V or VI skin, the tones where scarring risk runs highest, and none of them scarred.

The StarWalker MaQX is FDA-cleared for tattoo removal across all skin types, Fitzpatrick I through VI, at 1064 nm in PICO mode.

None of this is a setting dialled in once. It is the Pink Clinical Team's judgement, read and adjusted at every session.

Meet the Pink Clinical Team →
Fading for a cover-up

A cover-up starts with a canvas.

Some tattoos here are not being removed. They are being faded, on purpose and partway, to give a new tattoo room to work. A covering artist needs a lighter canvas than the one you have now. That is the whole goal: enough fading to get there, and not a session more.

It is the same laser and the same calibration as a full removal, stopped at a different point. Because a cover-up needs the old ink lightened, not gone, it is usually a short plan: often two to four sessions, sometimes a little more, depending on the tattoo. The early, dramatic fading carries most of it.

Pink fades; your artist covers. Bring the design you are planning, or what your artist has told you they need, into the consultation, and the plan is built backward from that: the right amount of fading, for the cover-up you actually want.

Pricing

Priced by the size of the tattoo.

The number you see is for the plan, not the session. Each bracket below is sized by the area of the tattoo and carries the program built for that size. A single session is always available as a way in, and any tattoo larger or more layered than the brackets is costed with your clinician at consultation.

1Your tattoo size

Choose the bracket your tattoo fits inside. The everyday reference is a guide, not a measurement.

2Your plan

Choose your plan. The programs are staged courses with a typical session count; a single session is the way in. FracTAT® can be built into either.

A staged program

Session counts here are a guide, not a promise. They shift with the tattoo: layered tattoos and densely packed ink take more, fine-line tattoos sit at the lower end. Your consultation gives you a realistic count for yours.

Or a single session
3Add to cart

A program covers one tattoo, and the quantity is for taking more than one single session. A second tattoo of a different size starts fresh above.

1
Larger, a sleeve, or complex

Larger than this, a full sleeve, or layered and complex? Your plan is costed with your clinician at consultation.

Every price here is set for a typical tattoo in its bracket, the realistic place a plan starts. Your free consultation confirms the bracket and calibrates the plan to your tattoo and your skin.

Would rather talk it through first? Book a free consultation →
In a client's words
This helped with my tattoo removal to get rid of the darker spots of my tattoo, the treatment was not painful and the staff took care of me
Ken A.  ·  Verified reviewer  ·  FracTAT® Tattoo Removal, 2023  ·  Fitzpatrick III
4.9
★★★★★ across 413 reviews on Google & Yotpo
Treating tattoos since 2019
FracTAT® since 2021
Read what Pink clients say →
Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions

How it works
How does laser tattoo removal work? +
Laser light passes harmlessly through the skin and is absorbed by the tattoo ink, breaking it into particles small enough for your body to carry away on its own. Each session repeats that, taking the tattoo down in stages.
Why does it take several sessions to remove a tattoo? +
A tattoo holds far more ink than one session can clear. Each session fragments another layer, and your body needs the weeks in between to remove what has been broken down. Pacing it that way protects your skin; rushing it does not make removal faster.
The experience
Does laser tattoo removal hurt? +
There is discomfort, and we will not pretend otherwise. How much depends on the size, density and place of the tattoo, and on you. Your clinician calibrates the treatment to your skin and uses cooling to keep it as comfortable as it can be, and the consultation is where we talk it through honestly.
What does my skin look like after a session? +
Straight after, the treated area turns white briefly, then becomes red and a little swollen, much like mild sunburn. Over the next days it may blister, weep or scab as it heals, and that is normal. It usually settles within one to two weeks, and your clinician sends you home knowing what is normal and what is worth a call.
What is “frosting,” and is it normal? +
Frosting is the white bloom that appears on the tattoo within seconds of the laser passing over it. It is a normal, expected reaction and fades on its own within about half an hour. Seeing it means the treatment is doing its job.
Outcomes and safety
Will my tattoo be completely removed? +
Many tattoos clear completely, and many fade to where they are no longer noticeable. How far yours will go depends on the type, depth, age and colours of the ink and how it was applied. We read all of that at your consultation and give you an honest picture before you start, not a promise we cannot keep.
Does laser tattoo removal leave a scar? +
Scarring is uncommon when removal is done correctly. The largest published safety series, 1,041 patients, recorded hypertrophic scarring in 0.28% of cases and no keloids. The risk that exists comes from a treatment set too aggressively for the skin, which careful calibration is built to prevent.
Is laser tattoo removal safe for darker or olive skin? +
Yes. The 1064 nm wavelength Pink treats with passes through the skin's own pigment with little absorption, which is why it is recognised as the safest wavelength for darker and olive skin. From there it is calibration, set low and adjusted as your skin responds. Our Fitzpatrick I to VI section explains the mechanics in full.
My tattoo has a scar from when it was done. Can it still be removed? +
Yes. Some tattoos, particularly older or layered ones, carry a little scarring from the day they were done, and that does not rule out removal. Your clinician examines the area at your consultation, factors it into the plan, and tells you honestly how it may affect the result.
Can a tattoo on a keloid-prone area be treated? +
It depends, and it is worth raising early. Areas like the chest and shoulders, and skin with a history of keloid scarring, carry more risk, and your clinician assesses that carefully before any treatment. Where laser removal is sensible, the plan is calibrated conservatively; where it is not, we will tell you and point you to the right specialist rather than proceed.
The plan
What is FracTAT®, and should I choose it? +
FracTAT® is Pink's acceleration option, a companion procedure that lets the laser lift more ink in a single visit, so a suitable tattoo can clear in fewer sessions. It suits some tattoos and adds little to others, so it is a choice, not a default. The FracTAT® section above sets out who it is for and what the evidence shows.
How many sessions does a cover-up fade take? +
A cover-up needs the old ink lightened, not gone, so it is a shorter plan than a full removal: often around four sessions, or about three with FracTAT®. The cover-up fading section above explains how the plan is built around what your covering artist needs. Like every count here, it is a guide your consultation makes real.

Doncaster

Where to find us.

Doncaster. Shop 3, 642 Doncaster Road.

Pink Laser Clinics, Doncaster

Shop 3, 642 Doncaster Road
Doncaster VIC 3108

1300 549 008

clientcare@pinklaserclinics.com.au

Monday
Closed
Tuesday
10am – 7pm
Wednesday
10am – 7pm
Thursday
10am – 8pm
Friday
10am – 7pm
Saturday
10am – 3pm
Sunday
Closed

★★★★★ 4.9 from 413+ Google & Yotpo reviews