Removing freckles with laser pen is cancer risk, Zoom users told

THE rise of Zoom and other video conferencing tools has prompted growing numbers of people to use laser pens to remove their freckles, dermatologists have warned.

The devices, which can be obtained online for as little as £10.99, use heat or electric currents to vaporise or break apart dark marks on the skin.

Experts have warned that the devices can lead to burns, scarring and further pigmentation but can also result in individuals inadvertently removing signs of melanoma, leading to the possibility that the cancer grows underneath the skin or spreads to lymph glands and organs undetected.

Dr Bav Shergill of the British Association of Dermatologists told The Sun

day Telegraph: “If you use these devices to try to lighten up a mole or what you think is a freckle but it’s actually a melanoma – you could cause a scar or reaction on top of the skin which covers over the pigment.”

“Later on you may find that this melanoma has spread and the cancerous cells underneath the skin are still there. This is a disaster and the worst possible consequence you can imagine.”

Despite the health risks, according to Dr Shergill, dermatologists across the country have observed an anecdotal increase in the popularity of the freckle removal laser pens, caused in part by the growing number of individuals becoming self-conscious of their freckles while using video conferencing tools such as Zoom.

“We don’t have any specific statistics. They are hard to collate as a lot of people are ashamed of buying these products on the internet – so they don’t really report it,” Dr Shergill said. “But we know from the number of adverts and from anecdotal evidence around the country that this is going on.”

The British Association of Dermatologists is now calling for the sale of the devices to be banned.