For all skin types both tattoo ink and the skin pigment melanin absorb laser light. This can result in the skin appearing paler (de-pigmented) or rarely darker (hyper-pigmented) during the treatment process. These changes are not usually permanent and the skin colour usually returns to normal within months. Darker skinned patients often notice some lightening of the skin (de-pigmentation) This usually returns to normal in 6 to 18 months. We tend to recommend Nd Yag 1064nm Q switched lasers for the treatment of darker skinned patients as the risk of pigment change is less.