Tattooing has been around since the early beginnings of modern civilization. The discovery of selective photothermolysis at last has made it possible to remove tattoos without leaving a scar. Q-switched neodymium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet, alexandrite, and ruby lasers with pulse durations in the nanosecond domain fulfill this need. Argon or cw-CO(2) lasers as well as intense pulsed light sources should not be used since they often produce significant scarring. This article provides an overview of current laser systems. Developments leading to new tattoo inks, feedback systems to detect the absorbance characteristics of tattoo inks, dermal clearing agents, and perhaps even lasers with shorter pulse-durations might improve the results in the future.

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With PDL, it is possible to achieve good results with numerous, partly less well-known indications (i.e. lupus erythematosus). With other diseases, PDL has so far been considered to be a complementary therapy method or to be in an experimental state.

After two treatments of black tattoos with a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet laser (1064 nm), the use of picosecond pulses does not provide better clearance than nanosecond pulses. However, pain is less severe when using a PSL.