A tattoo black tattoo on the forearm reached 75% fading after 1 sessions at American Pride Tattoos over 3 years.
Before (session 0) and after (session 1) at American Pride Tattoos.
The tattoo
A medium black tattoo on the forearm on Type IV skin (olive to light brown, tans easily), 1–5 yrs old when treatment began.
Fitzpatrick Type IV requires conservative energy settings and longer recovery between sessions to reduce hypopigmentation risk.
The forearm drains adequately but sits further from the major lymph nodes of the torso.
The laser
American Pride Tattoos treated this case with the Picoway, a picosecond platform.
For black ink, it operates at 1064 nm with a pulse duration of 240 - 450 ps.
Mike from GO describes PicoWay as a monster on black ink, and it is his personal choice for black ink removal.
This platform is rated safe for Type IV skin, which is relevant given the tighter margin between effective treatment and permanent pigmentation change on darker skin types.
Bottom line
Type IV skin requires longer recovery between sessions and conservative energy settings to avoid permanent pigmentation changes. That makes provider selection especially important.
The last 5 to 10 percent of clearance is consistently the hardest phase: residual ink sits deepest, immune response slows, and the composition of what remains is unknown.
Similar cases in the gallery: Black Forearm Half Sleeve on Type IV Skin: 75% Fading After 9 Sessions at Removery — Black Tattoo: 25% Fading After 9 Sessions