What is a PFD Patch?
Created by DESCRIBE, a PFD Patch is a square of silicone infused with perfluorodecalin (PFD) – a completely inert, harmless liquid that allows your Laser Removal Technician to treat your tattoo up to 4 times with the laser in a single treatment session. Not only does the Patch allow up to 4X as many laser passes per visit compared to conventional treatment, it also helps the laser reach ink particles deep within the skin, which may be particularly beneficial for older tattoos.
PFD has been used for over 10 years to help prevent what we call “frosting”. Frosting is a skin reaction in which your skin turns white during laser treatment. When this happens, we can’t continue treatment because it won’t remove any more ink. Your skin would be too sensitive to continue after frosting, anyway.
Frosting is what makes us have to wait 4 weeks between laser treatments. The way PFD patches came into play was that they would apply the PFD solution after a treatment then wait about 30 min and do a treatment again- essentially working on a single client for a few hours. While this is great for removing the tattoo faster, I can say none of my clients would want to do laser treatments for multiple hours. I mean who would really?
Does the PFD Patch have side effects?
Well to start we can do up to 4 treatment in 1 session. Imagine you can get 4months worth of laser removal results in a single day!? That sounds amazing to me and I know all of my clients would differ on that as an option as soon as I tell them. Secondly its been called “Most Innovative Laser Tattoo Removal Product of 2016” by Patient’s Guide so thats definitely something! Third, most clients are reporting less pain during the treatments with the PFD patch vs. with out it. That right there is the nail in the coffin. I would say the biggest thing aside from cost that my clients talk about with me is the pain side of laser tattoo removal. Now I do offer some numbing creams and what not that can help with the pain of removal but they themselves can also have side effects to the treatments such as slowing the process down in the long run. So again, up to 4 treatments, in 1 session, higher laser levels safer allowing us to remove more ink and reported less pain. Sounds like a no brainer to me.
Does the PFD patch have side effects?
Side effects from the PFD patch are the same as normal laser treatment as as we know all laser removal has possible side effects and we do our best to avoid them at every turn, that being said if we are able to do laser removal in half the time it normally takes with less pain and no additional side effects then count me in!
Aren’t you worried about losing money with the PFD patch?
The cost of the Patch, as well as the cost per session for laser tattoo removal, can vary by each laser removal technician you talk to and the region that you are in. It’s also important to remember that we are able to do up to 4 passes per treatment vs. only 1 at at a time so that will offset the cost of using the patch.
Lets face it, if we can get a better result in half the amount of time its worth it in my opinion. I’ve always maintained the business practice that I would rather get you results as fast and safely as I can so you will recommend me to all your fiends and family that may need help in the laser world. I truly take pride in helping people in my life and the more clients I can help remove an unwanted tattoo or get into a beautiful new coverup the happier I am.
Why should I use the patch?
- We can do up to 4 passes in a single treatment vs. only 1. That means up to 4 months of treatments in a single session! (so awesome!)
- The PFD patch actually absorbs laser energy that can cause more damage to the skin without it therefor making treatments safer.
- Patients have reported less pain, redness and swelling after treatments with the patch. Less injury can mean you are able to do more treatments sooner than you would normally.