A picosecond laser delivers its energy in pulses measured in trillionths of a second. The pigment shatters from the pressure rather than cooking, and far less heat spreads into the skin around it than with an older laser.
That is the whole reason the device matters in this country. Filipino skin sits at Fitzpatrick III to V, and pigment-rich skin answers heat by making more pigment. Too much of it and the patch comes back darker than it started.
The pass itself is short. Most clients describe it as a rubber band flicked against the skin and rate it 2 to 3 out of 10. The face is warm and slightly pink for an hour or two afterwards, and there is no time off work.
What to settle before a Greenhills pico course
Bring the creams and soaps into the consultation
The useful first step at Greenhills is an inventory of what has already touched the pigment. Photograph every label if carrying the products is inconvenient. Irritation from an active product can keep making colour while a laser is trying to clear it.
Choose Greenhills for a repeatable route
The third-floor clinic is the practical option for Wilson, Little Baguio, Ortigas and nearby parts of Quezon City. A treatment plan spaced over several visits only works when the route can be repeated; Makati is the explainer page, not a requirement to travel there.
Use one camera and one window to judge change
Shop lighting can make pigment appear warmer, cooler or lighter within minutes. Record the starting point at home in indirect daylight and repeat the same photograph after each Greenhills review. That makes the decision to continue, pause or change the plan about skin rather than lighting.
What a session is like
The visit starts with an assessment under proper lighting, because the plan depends on how deep the pigment sits and no photograph over chat will show that.
The pass itself is short. Most clients describe it as a rubber band flicked against the skin and rate it 2 to 3 out of 10. The face is warm and slightly pink for an hour or two afterwards, and there is no time off work.
A course runs three to six sessions, three to four weeks apart, with sun protection that does not lapse in between. Lightening usually shows from the second or third.
When this is the wrong treatment
Skin that is currently broken or burnt
Active breakouts in the area, an open wound or a fresh sunburn all get settled first. Treating inflamed skin adds pigment rather than removing it.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
We do not treat during either. Melasma that appears in pregnancy often fades on its own in the months after delivery.
A result by the weekend
Lightening shows from the second or third session, three to four weeks apart. If the event is this week, the honest answer is makeup.
What it costs in San Juan, 2026
Published prices for a picosecond session around Metro Manila run from about a thousand pesos on a social-media promotion to twenty-five thousand at a dermatology clinic. The spread is different machines, different areas and different numbers of passes sold under one word.
Our list prices are ₱14,950 for the melasma protocol, ₱16,500 for the carbon facial and ₱7,999 for underarm. Promotions run through most of the year, so ask for today's rate.
Five questions to ask any clinic, including us
Is this actually a picosecond laser, or a Q-switched one?
A picosecond laser fires in trillionths of a second. The older Q-switched generation fires in billionths, a thousand times longer, so more heat spreads into the skin around the target. Both are sold as laser toning here. Ask which it is, and ask for the machine's name rather than the treatment's name.
Which wavelength is being used on my pigment?
532nm works on red and shallow brown, 1064nm goes deepest and is the safest on dark skin, 755nm sits between. Melasma and a freckle are not the same target, and a clinic running everything at one setting is not reading your skin.
How many sessions, and what happens between them?
Pigment work is a course. Three to six sessions, three to four weeks apart, with sun protection that does not lapse. If nobody mentions what you do between sessions, the plan is half a plan.
What is your experience with melasma on morena skin specifically?
Melasma punishes heat. A setting that clears a sun spot can darken a melasma patch, and undoing that takes months. This is the question that separates a clinic that treats pigment from one that owns a laser.
These are the list prices. We run promotions through most of the year, so call or message for today's rate and for course pricing. The consultation is free either way.
How far it is from where you are
Distances measured from the door, not estimated.
Inside Greenhills Shopping Center
Third floor. A course of three to six visits over four months is easier to keep when the clinic is somewhere you already go.
Wilson, Little Baguio and West Greenhills
Five to ten minutes, and most of our regulars here are inside that circle.
Ortigas Center and Mandaluyong
Ten to twenty minutes over Ortigas Avenue. Faster in the morning, which is why we keep the early slots for that side.
New Manila and southern Quezon City
Fifteen to twenty-five minutes, and there is no nearer ICONIQUE.
Where to find us in San Juan
3rd Floor, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan City, Metro Manila.
Find ICONIQUE on the third floor of Greenhills Shopping Center.
Open daily, 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM.
Call or message +63 917 623 9910. The consultation is free, and it is where we say whether this is the right treatment for your skin or whether it is not.
Our list prices are ₱14,950 for the melasma protocol, ₱16,500 for the carbon facial and ₱7,999 for underarm, all sixty minutes. Promotions run through most of the year, so ask for today's rate.
Is pico laser safe on morena skin?
Safety comes from the device, the settings and the person holding the handpiece, not from the technology alone. Filipino skin sits at Fitzpatrick III to V, where too much heat causes darkening rather than lightening, which is why we run conservative settings across more sessions.
How many sessions will I need?
Three to six for pigment work, spaced three to four weeks apart. Most clients see the direction of travel by the third.
Where exactly is the clinic?
Third floor, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan City.
