PicoWay®

PicoWay is made by Candela Medical (Candela Corporation), the same manufacturer behind the GentleMax Pro line. Instead of heating tissue the way many older, longer-pulse lasers do, PicoWay fires extremely short bursts of laser light, each pulse lasting about a trillionth of a second (a picosecond). A pulse that short creates a mechanical shockwave that shatters tiny particles, such as tattoo ink or excess pigment in the skin, into smaller fragments rather than heating them, which is why the manufacturer and press coverage describe the effect as photomechanical rather than photothermal. The device uses more than one wavelength so different ink colors and pigment types can be targeted; Candela's original FDA clearance covered 532 nm and 1064 nm, and a 785 nm handpiece was added later. PicoWay first received FDA 510(k) clearance for tattoo removal in late 2014, and Candela has since obtained further FDA clearances for related uses, including benign pigmented lesions, a dedicated tattoo-removal handpiece, acne scars, and wrinkles. Candela also publishes separate treatment guidance for using PicoWay on "skin of color," meaning darker Fitzpatrick skin types, for certain indications.