I don't like writing bad reviews - I even tried to get an email address for Aesthetic Med Spa's management to give feedback directly, but I was told I had to go through their online contact form which is just a reservation portal. So I gave up and have posted here instead.
I had a really bad experience after purchasing a Groupon voucher for Botox. My goal was really just to test it out for the first time to see how I reacted. My sister had a bad reaction in the past so I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn't suffer the same. So I was just hoping for 20 units in my forehead, and if it managed to soften my forehead lines (without making me look frozen or startled), then that would be great. And if not, I was happy to go back for additional units once I was sure I wouldn't have a bad reaction to the product.
I was injected by Christina, and I'm not sure if it was just a personality clash, or she was having a bad day, but I found her to be incredibly abrupt and patronizing. I kept explaining that I was nervous, and really adamant that I wanted the smallest amount of Botox possible to just test if out. I ended up having to talk her down from 20 to 15 units in my '11', and then 5 for the rest of my forehead (I had no idea where they were placed and it wasn't explained to me at all). I left the spa feeling really confused as to why it had been such an awkward experience, and feeling that I hadn't really understood the procedure at all.
Fast forward 7 days, and the center of my forehead was completely frozen, but the outsides were totally normal (still had very visible lines and full movement). As a result, any time I made an expression, the outside of my eyebrows would shoot up so HIGH in my forehead while the middle and the corners of them were frozen in place, so I looked like a mad Dr Spock any time I spoke or laughed or made any facial movements. I was mortified, so called the spa to let them know what had happened.
They put Christina on the phone and again, I just found her to be so abrupt and rude. Literally all I wanted was 'I'm sorry you weren't happy with the results - but this is really common, and we can fix it easily'. Instead I got a really defensive and patronizing explanation as to why she had only injected the middle of my forehead and then told I'd 'need to pay for more' units if I didn't want my eyebrows to be raised. She made me feel like the whole thing was my fault, or that I was being unreasonable by not being happy with it. I got so upset by her attitude on the phone that I told her I would just go elsewhere to get it fixed. I couldn't imagine having to go back there and go through the whole experience with her again.
I ended up getting a last-minute appointment at a different spa (Westlake Dermatology). They looked at my forehead, explained why I had been left with these crazy eyebrows that were halfway up to my hairline, told me what they would recommend to fix it (including marking my forehead and showing me everything in the mirror) and really took the time to explain everything to me as they could see I was nervous. They gave me 1 additional unit on either side to even everything out. Fast forward another week, and my eyebrows are now back to normal, thank goodness. Unfortunately, the middle of my forehead (including my frown lines) is still completely frozen and 'overdone' from the first procedure which I didn't want, but at least I don't look like Jack Nicholson anymore.
The experience at Westlake was SO different to my experience at Aesthetica. The staff at Westlake were super friendly, really took their time to make me feel comfortable and explain things to me, and then even followed up with a phone call after a week to make sure I was happy. I found the whole thing to be relaxing and enjoyable. Nothing like my experience at Aesthetica.
After calling Aesthetica and having a very obviously heated phonecall with Christina which ended very badly, no one has reached out to me since. I work in PR, and I know that if I had an unhappy consumer out there I would at least want to try and apologize and see if it could be fixed. I will never go back there and not because I wasn't happy with the results (I know that this is a common problem and an easy fix), but because of how I was spoken to and made to feel by their staff. read more