Doctors urge regulation of laser skin treatment at beauty parlours

Beauty parlours that offer laser skin treatment will continue to pose a danger until they are forced to use only licensed medical professionals to operate equipment, a panel of doctors told a forum yesterday.

In one case, a woman who received laser treatment from a beauty parlour suffered a second-degree burn, said Connie Lau Yin-hing, a former chairwoman of the Consumer Council and a panel speaker.

In another example of why regulation is needed, the forum was told that one parlour charged as much as HK$240,000 for its laser skin treatment - more than double what a dermatologist would normally charge.

At present, anyone performing laser treatment or operating intense pulsed-light equipment is not required to have medical training. Doctors say professionals should be operating such sophisticated equipment.

Lau said the Consumer Council received 99 complaints about light-based cosmetic treatments in the first 10 months of this year - already more than last year's total. Some of them were critical of hefty charges by the beauty parlours, Lau said.

Misleading advertisements were also common, Lau said. Some touted permanent hair removal, but Lau said tests by the US Food and Drug Administration did not support such claims.