Spa Lasers Could Pose Dangers

Susan Koeppen Goes Undercover To Shed Light On Potential Risks

(CBS) 

With a hidden camera, Koeppen and her producer went to five New York spas to inquire about their laser treatments. Some, she says, were upfront about the risk.

A technician at one is seen on tape saying, "Any light, meaning like the light from the laser, can cause an immediate burn; there's like a 50-50 risk there."

Another admits, "I hate to say it, but you can get burned."

But at other spas, Koeppen and the producer were given a very different pitch.

One technician is caught by the hidden camera responding, 'No, no, no, no, no!" when asked if Koeppen could get burned.

"So, it's completely safe?" the producer asks. "No risk?"

"None" is the response.

"No side effects to the laser?" the producer pressed, at another spa.

"No, no, no, not at all," was the answer he got.

Koeppen asked if there's a chance she could get burned.

"No, I promise, and will give you a guarantee you're not gonna be burned, you're not gonna feel anything," a technician answers.

"This woman just frightens me," Waldorf said when shown that video. "Anybody who tells you that any treatment is 100 percent guaranteed, zero percent complication rate is lying to you, and you should run the other way."

A big no-no before and after laser treatment, Waldorf stresses, is tanning: It can cause permanent discoloration of the skin.

But one spa employee assured Koeppen, "You can still tan honey, I'm telling you!"

"That last woman," Waldorf said, "I can only call her irresponsible. If you are tan, there is a higher risk of complications."

Koeppen also shared the videos with Eric Light, president of the International Medical Spa Association, the group that represents laser spas.

Light told Koeppen he wasn't surprised some of the information she and the producer got wasn't right. He says the problem is, there are no national standards for laser spas and, too often, consumers are fooled by a nice décor and lots of certificates on the wall. The truth is that they don't mean a thing.

"Don't just naturally assume this person is extremely well trained," Light says. "That certificate on the wall means they attended a class," that could have been two hours long or even less.

His organization is pushing for better training and tougher regulations for spas, "a national standard," Light says, so everyone's on the same page.

What's it like at the moment, Koeppen inquired.

"Chaos," Light lamented.