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    RealSelf

RealSelf

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Overview

RealSelf has a rating of 2.7 stars from 104 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about RealSelf most frequently mention plastic surgeons problems. RealSelf ranks 3rd among Doctor Reviews sites.

  • Service
    12
  • Value
    10
  • Shipping
    4
  • Returns
    4
  • Quality
    8
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How would you rate RealSelf?
Top Positive Review

“BEST site by far for researching plastic surgery and other cosmetic options”

Becky H.
6/10/20

I first found RealSelf years ago when I was looking into a tummy tuck. It was very difficult finding prices, real reviews, doctor information, photos, etc and this site has it all! Since then, I've used this site for other cosmetic options ranging from non surgical to surgical. I'm back on again documenting and gathering information for another procedure I'm having done. It is very comforting to see real reviews on the doctors you're considering opposed to just what they want you to see. It has saved me a ton of time and money in consults alone by being able to narrow my selection down to a few doctors and feel comfortable with doing so. I highly recommend this site to every single person I come across that is researching something such as cosmetic surgery. It's a serious lifesaver!

Date of experience: 6/10/20
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Top Critical Review

“Updated after realself's distruthful response”

shannin s.
6/9/22

RealSelf has responded to my review with false information. I never created multiple profiles and post multiple reviews for the same doctor. That is a brazen lie that you are publishing online to attempt to destroy a patient's credibility. I contacted you saying that your website perpetuates fraud by not authenticating users as real patients. Your response and retaliation to me inquiring about the safety of consumer information on your website -- when in fact you are clearly perpetuating fraud related to dangerous medical procedures so that you can profit -- is, like, super gross and super pathetic. You guys are liars and your business model is inherently unethical. It is my hope that the FTC will come after you.

Date of experience: 6/9/22
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Reviews (104)

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plastic surgeons (23)
Thumbnail of user maggiel181
California
1 review
9 helpful votes
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April 1st, 2023

I based my decision to use a Beverly Hills ocular surgeon based on the hundreds of mostly positive reviews on this site. As the scheduled surgery drew near I began to look also at his negative reviews which included lack of communication, poor results and even hostile behavior. I ended up following through with the surgery feeling very uneasy. Well, I did experience all of those negative consequences.I had a less than optimal result and when I criticized his work, legitimately and respectfully, he became stunningly hostile and evasive. It was exactly as one reviewer had described. When I went back to look again at the reviews, the reviews by this patient had disappeared from the site. I also noticed a pattern in the positive review of questionable legitimacy. I think the model is corrupt. Doctors pay for sponsored ads and they are able to have negative reviews removed by convincing RealSelf's that the negative reviews are fake and "violate the terms of the agreement ". Consumers are being harmed here, and they are mostly women.

Date of experience: April 1, 2023

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Thank you for sharing your concerns. We are truly sorry to hear about your negative experience with your doctor. In regards to reviews on RealSelf: Reviews, whether positive or negative, are only removed if the community member that posted it requests for it to be removed, or if it is in violation of our Terms of Service. Community members can request to have their reviews removed at any time.

Thumbnail of user michelee41
Washington
1 review
21 helpful votes
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May 22nd, 2019

Realself.com doesn't seem to care whether someone's posts are truthful or not. Realself.com ignores documented proof of lies. I gave them proof a review had lies in it and they didn't care or address it at all. Nor did they remove it even though in their Terms of Service they state that reviews with lies will be removed. They will NOT. Realself.com allows liars to ruin businesses when they advertise these lies as truthful reviews. I now know that that is not the case. The review may or may not be truthful, Realself.com doesn't care. It looks like this company promotes inflammatory reviews whether they are accurate or not. I have been using them for years to help in decisions I make on where to get my spa/beauty treatments from, because I trusted them when they said "truthful" and am extremely disappointed in their lack of concern about the truth. I will no longer use them as I now know they don't discern between truth and lies and I hope anyone reading a review on this false site takes the reviews with a grain of salt and gets their information elsewhere.

Date of experience: May 22, 2019

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Thank you for sharing your feedback.

RealSelf is a place where consumers share their own opinions and experiences. Reviews belong to the person who wrote them, not RealSelf. As long as their content meets our Terms of Service, it remains published.

We're happy to discuss concerns directly with the reviewer or the provider but we can't discuss either account with a third party, per our Privacy Policy. This protects everyone who is using the site.

Comments are only removed if they violate our Terms of Service, which includes protecting the privacy of all consumers. We don't allow community members to publicize another person's medical records.

We appreciate all feedback and we thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. Please don't hesitate to reach back out to our support team (contactus@realself.com) if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Thumbnail of user mm1609
Australia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 1st, 2023
Verified purchase

It seems impossible to save login details so it was annoying having to almost create a new account each time. Was hoping for better answers to my questions

Date of experience: December 1, 2023

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Thank you for sharing your feedback. We would be more than happy to assist you further with your concerns. We have sent you a follow up email and look forward to your reply.

Thumbnail of user susank694
Indiana
1 review
1 helpful vote
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November 20th, 2019

If you ARE ever going to have any cosmetic work done this site is great. They provide both sides of a procedure. They have actual people who have the work and photos (usu) before and after.

Date of experience: November 18, 2019

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

We’re so glad you’ve found the community (and photos) helpful. Thank you for your kind review!

Thumbnail of user atlantae
Georgia
1 review
5 helpful votes
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June 7th, 2021

Real Self is a dishonest organization whose sales person did not follow through on what was promised and the Free Trial turned into a 3 month non refundable contract around $350/month with no leads.

Service
Value
Quality

Date of experience: June 7, 2021

Thumbnail of user andreas249
Florida
1 review
68 helpful votes
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February 17th, 2015

Dr.'s pay to advertise and can take bad reviews off on technicalities,( that's how they keep it legal). They also can put bogus good reviews up there.

Tip for consumers:
Dr.s pay to advertise and can take bad reviews off on technicalities ,( that's how they keep it legal ). Be very careful as there are many bogus good reviews . I would never use this site again as you cannot get an honest feel for a Dr. on there. A good Dr. will not be all over the Internet trying to look good ,( the word is TRYING). People have been botched by many Dr.s on that site.

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Value
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Quality

Date of experience: February 17, 2015

Thumbnail of user lawrenceb27
Texas
2 reviews
29 helpful votes
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August 17th, 2019

Don't fool yourself. Realself is in no way accurate nor impartial. In fact, Realself works closely with several plastic surgery societies to actively promote the myth to the public that plastic surgeons are superior over all other physicians, but also to hide their disasters and bad reviews. In fact, Realself solicits plastic surgeons to advertise on their site and promote their positive reviews. You will see providers with hundreds of positive reviews and not a single bad one. How is this possible? It is not. Fake reviews are plentiful. However, when non plastic surgeons receive false and defamatory reviews, Realself not only refuses to remove them, they propagate them as some sort of proof that plastic surgeons are superior! Unfortunately, studies have shown that plastic surgeons are not only not superior, but have higher rates of complications over other specialties. Realself hides behind internet free speech laws but then actively solicits and produces false and defamatory content on its own. This is not "free speech", this is fraud and defamation. I am actively assembling litigants to begin a class action lawsuit against Realself for this fraud perpetrated against the public and the cosmetic surgery community.

Tip for consumers:
Do not trust.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality

Date of experience: August 17, 2019

Thumbnail of user nazd1
California
1 review
50 helpful votes
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January 19th, 2016

You have to get permission from Realself management to remove your pictures. They will try to block you instead of removing your photos it's a total invasion of privacy

Date of experience: January 19, 2016

Thumbnail of user kathyh29
New Jersey
1 review
3 helpful votes
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November 13th, 2014

Melissa Hamilton at SpaMedica in Toronto recently suggested fillers. There was no bruising or down time and the results keep getting better every day.

Kathy

Date of experience: November 13, 2014

Thumbnail of user hazelg60
Tennessee
2 reviews
7 helpful votes
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February 6th, 2022

When you use this site to ask questions, you must not forget that the people who will answer the questions are plastic surgeons.
So, if you are considering alternative methods to surgery, you may not get a truthful answer.

One example is a question about the effectiveness of Volufiline in creams to increase the size or firmness of breasts.
Every answer that was given claimed that no creams exist that do this, but that only surgery will accomplish increase in size or firmness of breasts. Some even claim that there has been no research that proves it.
Those answers were entirely misleading, because there are studies and cases where Volufiline has caused an increase in adipocytes which lead to increase in breast size, notably one published on the web by Sederma.

As ever, it is important to note that medical practitioners are not immune from recommending only the kind of work they do, and denying the efficacy of alternative methods that are aimed at achieving the same thing.
The moral is: Read the answers, do your research. Then make up your mind.
The only benefit of surgery is that it is quick.

Date of experience: February 6, 2022

Thumbnail of user kikil3
New York
1 review
61 helpful votes
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February 5th, 2015

I posted some pic on realself. Com, bc i got a botched nose surgery in a day, my account is closed without permission, do not trust this site

Date of experience: February 5, 2015

Thumbnail of user jenns69
Florida
1 review
23 helpful votes
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October 17th, 2018

Let me start by saying for a few years I have absolutely loved this site. I've loved seeing all the before and after photos, and being able to contemplate different treatments based on the experiences of others. Sadly, over the past 6 months or so, I really began to notice the negatives in the deceptive way the site and the reviews are apparently manipulated. I no longer trust it as a credible/complete picture of honest reviews. I have had nothing bad happen to me- only positive doctor experiences for the most part. I'm only writing this from a place of frustration at seeing statistics falsified (the "Worth it" percentage rating for example,) as well as frustration with seeing numerous fake positive reviews, and seeing specific doctors' reviews manipulated (negative reviews removed for some, and positive reviews removed for others.) I've seen this first- hand from "stalking" some of the same reviews and doctors for 2 years. (This is a common thing we potential customers do when trying to make a decision on treatment.) I believe the manipulation is based on who is a paying dr on real self versus those who don't.
Real self has every right to censor whatever it wants in order to benefit it's customers, I suppose, but if you're going to do that, don't purport yourself to be an honest, unbiased review site that provides the same platform for all. If the main purpose is to provide positive marketing for paying doctors, and try to entice other drs into paying by promises of portraying them in a better or different light, then RealSelf should just be upfront about what they are and what they are not. They should have some sort of disclosure to users (like the other aggravating constant pop ups to download their app every time you log on.)
Many potential customers don't know how to spot fake or manipulated reviews, and I'm sure many of them rely on the reviews from this site in large part when making a decision to get these medical treatments. This is one area of business where full disclosure seems absolutely crucial, because the potential implications of being "duped" provide for much higher stakes when the services are to one's body.

Date of experience: October 17, 2018

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Thanks for sharing your concerns with us.

You mentioned that you've seen both positive and negative reviews removed. All experiences and opinions are welcome on the site, but we do remove reviews that violate the Terms of Service.

Everything goes through the same moderation process and is also re-moderated periodically. In some cases, our moderation process does reveal a group of reviews that are in violation of our guidelines. If you've seen groups of reviews removed from the site, it is only because those reviews violate the Terms of Service.

We hope this helps to clarify. Please don't hesitate to get in touch (contactus@realself.com) if there are any specific reviews you'd like to discuss.

Thumbnail of user erikam40
New York
1 review
8 helpful votes
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February 26th, 2017

People can make negative comments about a surgery that you're perfectly happy with which can be really hurtful.

Date of experience: February 26, 2017

Thumbnail of user raniaa5
Pakistan
1 review
14 helpful votes
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October 10th, 2019

RealSelf is totally fake had a bad rhinoplasty experience and wanted to warn people about the doctor but they kept deleting my reviews and comments

Date of experience: October 10, 2019

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

We’re so sorry to hear you had a poor experience with your surgeon. We know how frustrating it is when things don’t go as planned.

We give everyone space to share their story, but we do remove posts that violate our Terms of Service. Please get in touch with us (contactus@realself.com) with the email address you used to write the review so we can look up your account and provide more information (for privacy reasons, we can only share this information with the reviewer).

Thumbnail of user chriso1
Arkansas
654 reviews
3,555 helpful votes
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October 13th, 2010

Cosmetic surgery. People have it for many reasons, hopes and expectations. It costs a very great deal of money. And sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't, and even if it works, it may turn out not to be worth the money. How do you tell?

Enter realself.com, a social community which appeals to a large niche audience, those who have had cosmetic surgery or are thinking about doing so. Here you will find detailed stories of other people's experiences, how much it hurt, how much they paid and whether they thought the procedures were worth the money. There is a voluntary team of board-certified plastic surgeons on call to give advice, too.

The site has been online for four years and has been steadily growing the audience and building the community until its visitor figures have made it into seven figures. It is unique as far as I know, and may represent a growing movement to create "vertical" social communities focused on one common interest rather than being so broadly diverse as to be ultimately unsatisfying.

There have, of course, been forums of a similar nature for years; just look around and you'll find a depressing number of depression forums, for a start. And these can be really useful, and reassuring, and supportive. But often, they aren't, because they're prone to the common problems that almost all forums suffer - control issues, issues of moderation, trolls, flaming, phony postings, spam, and so forth and so on. You can never be sure you'll get a sympathetic response or proper control. Here, though, is a much more organized and friendly environment, optimized for one class of user and supplying both practical advice and sympathy, and a safe place to open up about such a sensitive and perhaps even taboo subject.

If you've ever considered anything from eyelids to major reconstruction, or want to share your experience, this is the place to go.

Date of experience: October 13, 2010

Thumbnail of user katiew82
Florida
1 review
37 helpful votes
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October 12th, 2017

I was a Realfriend and loved RS when I first started out. Quickly it became obvious that we are censored, not allowed to convey our true experience if it upsets another doctor who pays the site more than the doctor we are using. This is unethical. Most of the RS staff are millennial IT guys who are dismissive and half-annoyed at us who have plastic surgery and who are completely out of touch with the experience. I had the top facelift following and pulled my entire review (which took months and many invested hours) because I was told I would lose my status if I said anything to defend my doctor who was being smeared by two users with no pictures or reviews. Conversely, another top doctor, who had more ad space completely hacked a woman and left tissue death and pretty much butchered her. She was defending her doctor while normal women were commenting that she should seek a lawyer. We were told to defend her and the doctor and to outcast the woman who were bringing this up. It is all "pay to play" and if users realized that bad reviews were suppressed on higher paying doctors (some pay RS 400 a month up to thousands) they would not feel this was "real" at all. We were constantly censored and any real depth in response to other reviewers was discouraged. The staff would openly talk rudely to each other to us who did not even work for realself. Toxic environment and very fake site. We need something new that encourages meaningful journeys, open debate and real testimonies. Only then can we make informed decisions, not partially informed decisions because RealSelf has a financial motivation to appease doctors who pay more, even if the work they do is sub par.

Date of experience: October 12, 2017

Thumbnail of user daniit
Maryland
1 review
1 helpful vote
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September 30th, 2019

RealSelf gave me the answers I needed from real people and doctors. I was able to look at real results and choose a doctor that I trusted.

Date of experience: September 30, 2019

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Thank you so much for the kind review! We’re glad you were able to research and find a doctor you trust.

There is always work to be done to improve what we’re doing, so if you have any specific feedback about what is or isn’t working for you in terms of your experience finding a doctor on RealSelf, please let us know: contactus@realself.com We’re here to help!

Thumbnail of user margareth61
Philippines
4 reviews
2 helpful votes
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February 9th, 2016

Love the beauty products here. I tried the makeup set that mom gave me last mom, and so far the quality is good

Service
Value

Date of experience: February 8, 2016

Thumbnail of user lucia4
California
1 review
19 helpful votes
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September 16th, 2020

Realself is a shady website that hides or deletes negative reviews. They exist to advertise for mediocre doctors. Shame on them!

Date of experience: September 16, 2020

Thumbnail of user joannad17
GB
1 review
1 helpful vote
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April 4th, 2017

Its 6 weeks after my tummy tuck and lipo to abdomen and flanks. Im absolutely amazed and overjoyed with the results!
Im a 48 years old woman and in 2013 I had a gastric bypass operation at St Anthonys hospital in Cheam in Surrey which resulted in a weight loss of 4.5 stones which I was really happy with but I was left with, not so much loose skin, but a fat tyre around my waist.
Im tried every diet from LighterLife to the cabbage soup diet together with going to the gym 3 times a week I just could not shift this fat around my waist.
I have, over the years, thought about surgery and have seen a couple of surgeons but never really felt happy enough to go through with the procedure.
I went to an open evening presentation by Mr Marc Pacifico last December at the Nuffield Hospital in Tunbridge Wells. Mr Pacifico is a very nice, friendly and easy to talk to plastic surgeon. After the presentation I was impressed and followed it up with a 10 minute free consultation with Mr Pacifico.
In January 2017 I had a further consultation with Mr Pacifico at his offices at Purity Bridge in Tunbridge Wells to discuss the procedure further and during which I was convinced that this surgery was right for me and so it was in fact its the best thing that I have ever done!
I booked my operation for 22nd February which hopefully would leave enough time for most of the swelling to go down as I had a holiday booked in Spain in May.
When I woke after the operation on 22nd February 2017 Mr Pacifico came to see me and told me that he had removed 3.5 kilos (the size of the average baby!) of skin and fat from the tummy tuck and 1 litre of fat from the liposuction.
Its now 6 weeks later and not only have I got a flat stomach but a flat abdomen and a great shape waist. Basically Ive got a great new body which Im over the moon with so thank you very much Mr Pacifico. My operation far exceeded my expectations!

Date of experience: April 4, 2017

Thumbnail of user annettem14
Japan
2 reviews
63 helpful votes
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May 15th, 2015

I visited the website thinking that it might be a good source of advice for non-surgical methods of enhancing or improving different areas. I found out that it was not a good source of information at all.

I then thought I would see what advice was given about something I knew about personally.

I have a good personal experience with a non-surgical method of breast enhancement that actually works: the Brava vacuum pump method (FDA approved).
I was interested to see that some had a question about that kind of method.

After seeing what advice was given and the language used, it soon became clear to me that the web site is not a reliable source of information that somebody can rely upon.

All the questions that were asked about ways that they can achieve better or larger breast shape that were not surgical were answered by people who are called doctors or surgeons. You might think that the advice was sound medical advice, but it was not.
Without question, all the questions were answered by negative comments. Those who mentioned the Brava system said it wasn't effective in the long term, or that it only gave an increase in one cup size, and that they only proven method was one that required somebody like them, surgical. I know from my own personal experience that both those answers were completely untrue, so it meant something to me. I posted a comment in the forum accordingly, in which I thought some information was wrong and my own reasons for saying so. That was a few months ago. Although my comment was approved and appeared on the site, it was removed within two weeks.

Any genuine questions regarding how a person can improve the look of themselves will always be told that there is only one proven way to do it, and that is the surgical method: implants, fat injection, etc.

Any question about non-surgical methods is met with negative criticism and a statement that there is only one way to do it, etc. etc.

Any comments that an alternative method works are removed.

I think you get the picture.

Even looking at some entries on the forum that are from people who need help - for example, surgical wounds opening up after a few days, etc - don't seem to get much help apart from the "moral support" from people who are non-medical and nothing much in the way of practical advice from the surgeons or doctors. That is despicable.

It is a way that plastic surgeons use to increase business for themselves, and one of the ways they do that is by criticizing any method of enhancement or body shape improvement that does not require a visit to a plastic surgeon.

I would be wary of any reviews that are carried out by plastic surgeons, cosmetic surgeons, or however they style themselves, because they are highly unlikely to be objective reviews.

Tip for consumers:
Be wary of accepting information given about the appropriateness of a particular method.

Even if you have decided to elect for surgical procedure, the information you receive will not always be objective.

Date of experience: May 15, 2015

Thumbnail of user christinam16
Arizona
12 reviews
308 helpful votes
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September 24th, 2013

So far, no malpractice about this company. A good alternative

Date of experience: September 24, 2013

Thumbnail of user annah289
Alabama
1 review
3 helpful votes
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July 23rd, 2019

Judge it for yourself. We must be truthful with our opinions because every person is different...

Date of experience: July 22, 2019

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Opinions are at the heart of what we do and are so important in helping others make confident decisions. Thank you for being part of the community.

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From the business

RealSelf is the leading and most trusted source for people considering an elective cosmetic treatment. More than ten years ago, we built RealSelf as the destination for people to learn about cosmetic procedures, share their experiences, and connect with top providers.

Today there are more cosmetic treatment options than ever before—from Botox to laser hair removal, microneedling to CoolSculpting. That’s why RealSelf provides unbiased information about cosmetic procedures and the doctors and clinicians who perform them.

Company Representative

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S.

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