I don’t exaggerate when I say that there are tens of thousands of providers across the country offering cosmetic laser services. But all are not created equal. This leads to my Cardinal Rule of Cosmetic Lasers: your best results depend both on WHAT treatments you choose and WHO is performing the treatments.
As a board-certified dermatologist performing laser skin treatments in Portland, Oregon, I want to take some time to talk all about the WHO of cosmetic laser medicine…specifically, what can happen if a person makes a poor choice when choosing a treatment provider. Pay close attention – these lessons are really important.
Just Say No to Malls
Every day at my practice there will be at least one patient who begins their concerns with, “I was at a med spa in the mall…” Stop right there. Fortunately for many of my patients, the experiences they describe happened to their friends, but I also treat patients who have had really awful experiences at mall-based treatment centers themselves. Here are just a few of the things I hear from patients who have had disappointing results elsewhere:
- “I have these lumps…”
- “My face looks droopy…”
- “What do I do about the scars!?”
I’m constantly amazed and disappointed that so many unqualified people can administer laser therapies. What is this strange force that reaches out to people on late night TV, the Web, or inserts in the Sunday paper, claiming results too good to be true from woefully under-trained providers? “Lift the fat away, walk out the door, and lose pounds while you wait.” Yeah, right.
No one wants to (and no one should have to) look worse after cosmetic treatments. So what can you do to ensure that the person performing your treatment knows what they’re doing? In my next post I’ll tackle just that issue, providing 3 steps you can take to protect yourself and your outcome. Stay tuned!
