Attempting to banish cellulite has often been a frustrating and pricy dilemma for women, with everything from caffeinated creams to vibrating massages promising to smooth dimples.

Now, women are shelling out up to US$11,000 (S$13,948) for a controversial new laser treatment called Cellulaze - all in the quest to rid their bodies of lumpy, dimpled skin - forever.

Now hundreds of doctors and clinics in the US and UK are offering the high-tech cellulite treatment - with media reports appearing in the New York Times and Today Show in the US, followed by a slew of websites and bloggers.

"Approved by the FDA in January for showing improvement for up to three months, Cellulaze is rapidly become one of the hottest beauty crazes, despite the hefty price, dearth of scientific data, and reports of ugly complications in some patients," reports Yahoo News on March 4.

The device's manufacturer suggests that doctors and plastic surgeons charge US$7,000 for treating an area the size of a standard sheet of paper.

The technique involves using a laser to burn the connective fibers anchoring skin in a dimple shape, while also smoothing out the bulges.

"Cellulaze says that its laser technology attacks all three problems responsible for cellulite: bulging fat, too-thin skin, and the connective tissue that tugs at skin and creates dimples," wrote the New York Times.

Plus the manufacturers say that it only requires one treatment, with "permanent" results, but can take about three months before results fully take effect.

"As we've pointed out, cellulite is not actually a 'problem,' wrote blogger Jezebel about the new trend.

"It's completely normal. That's just how ladies' thighs are constructed. But we've been conditioned to think it's a problem, that it's unattractive."