I went to my first consultation today, with a dermatologist who uses the LightSheer. I was really optimistic going in, but…I was almost in tears coming out.
First of all, the consultation cost $55 (there’s no charge if I were to get the treatment done on the same day, but I didn’t want to do that). I know that a lot of places don’t charge for consultations, but I decided it would be worth it because I wanted to ask questions about some other problems I have with my skin as well. I had mentioned this to the receptionist ahead of time, because I didn’t want to pay that much just for the hair removal consultation, and she said that would be fine. I seriously thought the $55 would get me a half-hour with the doctor to talk about whatever I wanted.
But it didn’t turn out this way. She basically talked to me for 2 minutes, did the test patch, and then kicked me out. I told her that I was thinking about doing my legs first, and I was unsure about other areas because I wasn’t sure where she thought the laser would work best, or where there would be the least risk of damaging the skin…but she didn’t even look at my legs or any other areas to see what my growth was like. She just said that it’s up to me and that it would work anywhere. I specifically asked if it would work better in areas that have darker hair rather than fine/lighter hair, just to see how she would respond, but she just kind of beat around the bush and didn’t really answer the question.
Anyway, she seemed a bit annoyed when I asked for a test patch. I was hoping to get one on my legs because that’s the area I was considering doing first, but she only gave me one on my stomach. And the worst part is, while she was doing it, she said “You really do have a lot of hair!” - which is probably the most hurtful thing you can say to someone who is hairy and obviously has a problem with it!
She refused to tell me what settings she used for the test patch. (Is this normal?)
I asked for a price list for different areas, and this was also refused. They said that I had to tell them which area I wanted done, and then they would give me the cost for that area. But how am I supposed to decide what I want done, if I don’t know how much it’ll cost???
I had decided to get a consultation here because 1) the dermatologist does the treatments herself, and 2) she’s been doing this for a long time. But, after meeting with her today…there’s just something about her demeanor I didn’t like. I thought she was very arrogant, and that she was in a hurry to get rid of me. So…I’m very disappointed.