Botched Laser Treatments - Stay safe!

This article in today's The Star reports yet another case of laser treatments gone wrong at beauty salons in Malaysia. There have been many such cases, sometimes involving laser or IPL machines, but there have also been cases where botox, filler or 'nutritional' injections of questionable source or content have also gone horribly wrong, not just here in Malaysia, but in the region and throughout the world.

I would like to remind consumers to be wary when seeking any kind of treatment that involves a high degree of risk, or relies heavily on the skill of your service provider. Any time you are seeking to do a treatment such as lasers - a procedure that essentially damages the skin in a controlled way, in order to achieve a specific effect such as skin cell renewal or destruction of skin structures such as hair follicles - it is also vital that you have a certain amount of trust in the service provider.  You need to know that the person handling the machine has been well trained to understand what the effect of each turn of the dial or push of a button, on your skin will be. It is unfortunately much harder to be certain that the equipment they are using is reputable, reliable and has been thoroughly tested and calibrated to give the desired effects.

Scars, blisters and burns are some of the dangers of bad laser treatments

Even medically approved laser machines have vastly different modalities, and the protocol involved has to be carefully planned through tests and actual user feedback for maximum efficacy. Though there are protocols given by laser equipment companies, and sometimes expert users who have had personal experience with real-life hands on treatment, each service provider - which may be your aesthetic doctor, or an assistant under the supervision of the doctor - still needs to have the skill and knowledge to adjust the equipment to each patient's personal needs.

I spoke before of the risks involved when choosing laser or other beauty treatments by price sensitivity, but it is very important to realise that laser equipment in particular, can vary greatly in cost. A machine from a reputable laser company can cost upwards of USD100,000, whereas a cheap salon set can be had for merely USD1000. When you factor in the cost of disposables, manpower, and upkeep of premises, the fact that a treatment can be had for the cost of a cup of coffee and a slice of cake should alert you to be wary of the results to be expected.  

CosMed, MD