• 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
Positive reviews (last 12 months): 0%
Positive
0
Neutral
1
Negative
0
10
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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!

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.

Reviews (104)

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plastic surgeons (23)
Thumbnail of user kiml65
Ohio
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 7th, 2015

I cannot say enough good things about my experience with Dr. Gentile. Thanks to this skilled and compassionate physician I now have a more youthful appearance and feel good about myself. I am so glad I visited Dr. Gentile.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user tonim120
Oklahoma
1 review
2 helpful votes
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August 30th, 2019

I started connecting with people on realself.com a couple of months before my tummy tuck. The people and reviews on there are extremely helpful. I connected with people going through the same thing with me and we are helping each other through the journey.

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Nothing beats the excitement of finding what you need to make a confident decision. We’re glad you have that support. Keep us posted on your progress and don’t forget to share your story!

Thumbnail of user kellyk35
New York
1 review
3 helpful votes
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November 6th, 2014

I'm a client of Dr. Hotchandani and I have gotten botox treatments done now three times and I am through the moon with my results. Rave over the professionalism, kindness, and knowledgeable doctor and staff.

Thumbnail of user natallyk
California
2 reviews
70 helpful votes
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April 21st, 2016

I posted my review for a really bad cosmetic surgeon doctor and I noticed realself only approved what they like to hear not the real history they post the positive feedback in the top and the negative in the end that's not right and one more thing they like to answer people's questions because I answered one of the questions to someone and they sent me a message that it's not the correct answer and I sent a message to them that I think its better to not answer any questions, no problems. I think they work with the business because they selling products

Thumbnail of user karenl784
Arkansas
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
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June 17th, 2019

I recently had a neck lift, eyelid surgery and partial facelift. The results are amazing and I feel and look 20 years younger. For years I have had "11's" between my eyes and deep lines on my forehead. She injected Xeomin and the results are unbelievable. I no longer have the lines and I receive compliments daily and it is totally natural looking. That hasn't happened in years and I will never use anyone else for my needs.

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Glad to hear you’re happy with your experience. We’d love to know more (and see your lovely results) so please consider writing a review on RealSelf too.

Thank you for your feedback!

Thumbnail of user mandyb100
Nevada
1 review
21 helpful votes
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July 23rd, 2020

The problem is that doctors put up tons of their own glowing reviews, written by everybody in the office, but negative reviews get removed if the doctor pays for "premium" listings. Realself a huge scam. Just like Yelp is, but at least Yelp is no longer so obvious about it.

I reached out to a few review writers when I was trying to select between a couple of doctors, and the responses I got were NOT from happy former patients, as their reviews wanted you to believe, but from office coordinators in the doctors' own office! Shady, shady, shady.

Also, RealSeld lets basic MD's call themselves plastic surgeons, even when they don't even have ANY specialty skills in surgery, let alone plastic surgery credentials. You can be a dentist and still advertise your Liposuction business on RealSelf - they don't require any kind of actual plastic surgery board certification.

Thumbnail of user juliusf13
Georgia
1 review
43 helpful votes
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October 25th, 2018

Real self will block you from telling the truth about your surgery. They will block you and all truthful commentary on the site. They are for the surgeon and not the patient. Careful what you read on that site.

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Hi Julius -- Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

All opinions, whether positive or negative, are welcome on the site. We treat consumers and doctors equally under our Terms of Service. Posts are only removed if they violate the Terms of Service.

We'd appreciate if you could email us (contactus@realself.com) so we can discuss your situation more specifically.

Thumbnail of user laram84
Australia
1 review
12 helpful votes
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October 4th, 2020

Sharks who charge doctors to remove negative reviews and a lot of same-style fake reviews from "online marketing". They charge not only doctors, but devices/pharma.
So, only info you know - who paid more to Real Self, not real.

Controversial, fake, sharky business.
Good luck to remove yourself from there.
Just stay away from them.

Thumbnail of user davidm341
Illinois
2 reviews
9 helpful votes
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November 1st, 2015

I am a plastic surgeon and have answered questions for RealSelf.com. I believe it is an extremely valuable site for obtaining objective imformaton about specific plastic surgeons and the procedures and surgery they perform. They do rarely remove bizaar or clearly inappropriated reviews. By the way, essentially all review sites do.

Be careful taking much away from the people who publish long negative diatribes. I suspect many are competitors who lack board certification and thus our not allowed on the site.

Thumbnail of user amandab57
Massachusetts
1 review
7 helpful votes
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November 24th, 2014

I was beyond impressed with my experience at Dr. Heher's office. Dr. Heher has always provided me with the absolute best care and advice. I am so satisfied after every visit and the reults are amazing! I wouldn't go anywhere else- New England Eye Center, Boston, MA.

Amanda Bruce

Service
Thumbnail of user judithm43
New Mexico
1 review
0 helpful votes
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May 13th, 2016

Dr. Karl Eisbach is a facial plastic surgeon in Albuquerque, New Mexico and I have to say his is the best. Dr. Eisbach ensures that his patients look natural and if they have just come back from a long and restful vacation. I have put my face in his hands off and on since 1992 and his beautiful work is always complimented on by my facialists and hair stylists because he leaves extremely minimal if any scar lines. His work has given me the confidence to change my life and to excel in my career and his office staff is stellar and caring. I will never allow anyone to touch my face but Dr. Karl Eisbach. He is outstanding.

A satisfied and long time patient.

Thumbnail of user teresaw26
Pennsylvania
4 reviews
41 helpful votes
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October 22nd, 2019

This site reminds me of the Sneetches story about Sylvester McMonkey McBean. For enough money, he's going to solve all your problems. This site has plastic surgeons paying for memberships & it can get costly but the more they pay the higher thier ratings go as a skilled surgeon. The site allows bogus reviews from employees, family, friends as long as the surgeon pays his dues. This is very unfortunate for the consumer looking for highly skilled surgeons & specialists. Furthermore, it's very unethical.

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Doctors can’t buy ratings -- they’re only based on consumer reviews. (Even Dr. Seuss can’t buy stars!) The rating calculation is shown on the doctor’s profile page. It’s an average of all ratings from consumers.

We also don’t allow reviews from anyone connected to the doctor, including friends and family, since this is bad for consumers. We only want to hear from real patients who have unbiased experiences with the doctors they’re reviewing.

We understand that all online trust is earned, so we hope this information is helpful. Transparency is very important to us and we welcome all conversations if you have further questions: contactus@realself.com

Thumbnail of user cf44
Pennsylvania
1 review
48 helpful votes
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March 17th, 2017

I was contacted by realself asking me to delete my post, so i will change my review. I would not use this site to find cosmetic, plastic or any kind of doctor or surgeon. Alot of the reviews are not real, alot of reviews are removed and members are blocked. I posted a bad review showing my botched surgery and even tho my review was the most recent it came in at 25th down the list, and you had to hit the more reviews to see it. Yes the doctors review that was written 7 years ago is still the #1 top review to view and it was a 5 star. Then i was removed from using there site. Site is too censored and there is no freedom to warn other people of a doctor who cares only about the money and not his botched patients.

Thumbnail of user mb129
California
1 review
65 helpful votes
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January 6th, 2016

So I joined RealSelf to find a doctor for a face lift, at the time I didn't know that RealSelf had a reputation for being fake.

There were quite a few doctors in my area (Los Angeles) that had amazing reviews by happy clients, so I reached out by PM to 7 of the most recent patients by 7 doctors.

Well, lo and behold, I got 6 replies not from "patients" but from office staff trying to sign me up for consultations!

Only one reply was from a patient and because of her spammy sounding response, where she didn't address my question to her, I strongly suspect her account was fake, too.

I HOPE no one chooses a plastic surgeon from the reviews on RealSelf!

To add insult to injury, I posted my concern in the RealSelf forum under a very obvious fake review, but my post got deleted immediately. What a scam site!

Thumbnail of user pm161
Arizona
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
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June 15th, 2019

Dr. Predmore of All About Me Medical Aesthetics is absolutely wonderful. She is so patient and really listens to what you want. I love that she gave me ample time to explain what I was looking for. Dr. Predmore is very honest and knows definitively what she is doing. My experience was outstanding and I highly recommend Dr. Predmore. I do not plan on going anywhere else for my injections and overall skin and body care.

REVIEW500

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Congratulations on finding a doctor you love. We’re glad to hear we were a part of your journey. Make sure you write a review of your doctor on RealSelf too, if you haven’t already. The community appreciates your opinion.

Thumbnail of user bijout
New York
1 review
32 helpful votes
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October 25th, 2018

The reviews aren't real there all BS. Thee reviews on Real Self are not from real patients. My sister wrote a review and sent pictures - it was never posted. I wrote two reviews. They weren't posted either. Hummmm so don't use that web site to make a decision, its all advertising.

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Hi Bijou -- Thanks for your review. Please email us (contactus@realself.com) so we can look into your missing review. We want to make sure we received your review and, if we did, discuss why it wasn't posted.

All opinions are welcome on our site, but we don't publish reviews that violate our Terms of Service. This includes reviews that are incomplete, unconfirmed or use language that violates our guidelines. Once we hear from you, we'll be able to review your specific case.

Thanks in advance for getting in touch.

Thumbnail of user adrianag55
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
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July 17th, 2019

I took one year to choose and finally I decided after saw three doctors to do my lipo with doctor Dreszer. With him I felt very comfortable and answered all my questions. Today after-only three weeks I see already beautiful results.

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

We love to hear when community members have great experiences. Research is important, as you’ve pointed out, and we’re glad you’re enjoying your results. Don’t forget to write a review, if you haven’t already. Thanks!

Thumbnail of user cristinas46
New York
1 review
53 helpful votes
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March 13th, 2019

I had my account blocked after posting negative review of a doctor that they elected as their CMO- i used the site to help research reconstructive surgery after ill-advised surgery by a Dr Lara Devgan whose surgery has since caused me many health problems & eye problems. They have blocked me after joining discussions with other users who questioned our rspecitive drs recommendations & how realself endorses these Drs even if they are not at the top of their feild. I was blocked hours later.

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Hi Cristina -- Thank you for getting in touch.

All opinions, whether positive or negative, are welcome on the site. We treat consumers and doctors equally under our Terms of Service. Posts are only removed if they violate the Terms of Service, and registered accounts blocked for repeated violations of these terms. An example of why someone might be blocked is if they're using obscene language directed at another RealSelf community member.

We hope this helps to clarify, and please feel free to get in touch with us directly if you'd like more information.

Thumbnail of user theresae36
California
1 review
26 helpful votes
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May 19th, 2019

This is a very unreliable site for researching potential plastic surgery procedures. They post the top rated reviews and you really have to dig for the truth. Just do NOT use or rely on them ever!

Thumbnail of user drb150
GB
1 review
15 helpful votes
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December 17th, 2019

Literally take your money. Be very careful the spotlights are a con. Our representative OLU Only called us to sales pitch. No help with optimising our profile / paying 1k a month for about 2 website clinics. Can never get hold of anyone at customer services. DO NOT EVEN BOTHER USING

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

I am so sorry you had this experience with our team, that is not our intention. The RealSelf Spotlight program is designed to help promote your profile and your content so you can get more visibility on RealSelf. Your RealSelf Advocate should be helping you to optimize. If this was not your experience, I would love the opportunity to fix it for you. Please contact me immediately so I can help address your issues. Maureen Ezekwugo (Chief Customer Officer, executiveleaders@realself.com)

Thumbnail of user asmab8
India
1 review
1 helpful vote
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May 22nd, 2018

I got liposuction and abdominal plastic done in 2015 and my tummy scar looks really horrible. Dr. Anup has the magic touch and give me confidence again and did my Scar revision surgery procedure by leveling the pubic area and adjust everything... Scar almost invisible.
Dr. Anup Dhir is the best ever Plastic Surgeon and I will recommend him to who ever wants to do any Plastic Procedure. I really trust you Dr. Anup. Thanks a million...

Thumbnail of user mehdim31
GB
1 review
34 helpful votes
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July 13th, 2020

I paid 20,000 pounds to a surgeon based on the 5 start reviews I read on RealSelf. Just a few days before my procedure, I came across a thread of comments on RealSelf itself which were not posted under the surgeon's reviews but posted separately elsewhere of patients whose operations were botched by this surgeon, two of whom I contacted and met in person, who said that their negative reviews of the surgeon were deleted. I cancelled my surgery but of course did not get my money back. Realself can be a useful research too for potential patients but it is largely and mostly a PR tool for cosmetic surgeons. You will hardly find any surgeon with reviews that put a practitioner in bad enough light to deter would be patients. It is obvious that there are unhealthy links between RealSelf and cosmetic surgery practitioners whose real costs are being paid by unsuspecting vulnerable people. Sooner or later they will be caught but many people and households will be ruined till we get to this point.

Thumbnail of user christinaa108
Washington
1 review
9 helpful votes
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October 3rd, 2018

RealSelf was a great tool for me a few years ago while preparing to have a breast augmentation. It can be awesome if you're looking for information about a cosmetic procedure, researching plastic surgeons, or simply want to share your cosmetic experience with other people. However -- the website seems to have undergone a redesign and it's now a bit clunky to find information. And what I mean is, as a user I simply want to know "Who are all the doctors in XXXX city who perform breast augmentations? What are their prices? What are their reviews?" Or, if you have a question, you want to be able to click somewhere and find a list of similar questions which have already been asked. This information is available but it takes a bit more navigating now to really find what you're looking for. The other thing is, there are some elements of the user experience which can be frustrating. Like if you submit a question, you can't ever edit it and it has to be reviewed prior to being asked. I think they need to solicit and implement feedback from users. The concept is great but it's not the most user friendly place to find information.

Thumbnail of user sharonw39
RealSelf S. – RealSelf Rep

Hi Christina -- Thank you for sharing your feedback! We always want to hear from our community members.

We have millions of pages of information and we understand that delivering the right information at the right time is critical. We know this can be difficult and we're working to make it better. Thanks again for letting us know your thoughts.

We are listening, and will incorporate your specific concerns into site improvement initiatives, so please feel free to email us at contactus@realself.com if you have other ideas or concerns.

Thumbnail of user joj117
GB
1 review
0 helpful votes
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July 31st, 2019

Stephanie Webster has developed the URBAN HEALTH METHOD - a fat loss nutrition and coaching programme - Stephanie coached me through skills that I would never have stuck too, if Stephanie wasn't there to guide me. I witnessed extraordinary personal growth in myself, with weight loss, improved mood, more energy, and less stress.
Thank you Stephanie!
https://urbanhealthmethod.com/

Service
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Quality
Thumbnail of user yasminal2
Florida
1 review
2 helpful votes
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January 5th, 2016

Dr Joshua Lampert was the answer to my prayers I had the best experience At the office they always provided me with the absolute best care iI'm a very satisfied customer I highly recommend Dr. Joshua for any surgery procedure

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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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