Radiant Skin Dermatology and Laser

One of the worst «dermatology» offices I’ve ever been to. Although the staff is somewhat pleasant in person, they never answer the phone so you have to leave messages, after being forced to select option after option. And you better hope they get back to you before the 48hr cancellation fee window. And don’t be late because they will charge you for that too, only to have YOU wait over 20min.
During my first and only visit, I gleamed that the staff was not professional, nor knowledgable of insurance coverage. I also felt the ultimate goal was just to push product on me. Very expensive, and ineffective product at that.
The Dr. convinced me to get her own cleanser: Radiance Gentle Cleanser. It was a complete waste of money. Additionally she would only write scripts for certain products. I assume with companies she’s affiliated with. She seemed a little trite.
Overall, not a good experience. I so badly wanted to support a female-​minority business.

I could literally write a novel on everything was terrible (miserable awful unprofessional) about my experience. And I’m super tempted to because I really want you all to stay. away. The first warning sign came when I booked an appointment over ZocDoc and got a call stating that the doctor would be out of town during that time and that they had forgotten to remove the appointment as an option but would be happy to reschedule an appointment for the next month.
Cool. Fine. Whatever.
The appointment date comes (fun reminder, there’s an obnoxious $ 150 cancellation fee) and I’m admittedly like 5 minutes late to the appointment, and the woman at the front desk doesn’t greet me or anything. Cool. I inform her that I’m a new patient, fill out the paperwork, hand over my credit and insurance cards, and wait for roughly 20 – 30 minutes to be seen. The doctor herself was lovely, and I have no complaints with her. She suggested a treatment that I wasn’t sure if my insurance would cover and we made an appointment for the following day. When I’m ready to check out, the office manager Quintin (hey gurl) is loudly settling an issue with someone over the phone so I remain ignored, and it’s up to the medical assistant to help me finish the appointment.
But I’m having apprehensions about my insurance, because I’ve dealt with this issue before, and I call them only for them to confirm that they probably won’t cover the treatment, and I call back up to the office to see if they could just run a pre-​authorization to confirm if it would be covered. Quintin – again, the office manager – proceeds to tell me that this would delay the time of my treatment (cool) and that he has the same exact insurance and they cover that same exact treatment (fine) and that I shouldn’t even worry (whatever). And I explain to him as a new patient with this new procedure that it would just make me comfortable for him to double check and run the pre-​auth. And then he gives me some short answer and HANGS UP THE PHONE.
Girl, bye.
So I call back, deal with the medical assistant who was essentially like I can’t do anything, so she transfers me to the doctor’s voicemail, where I listen to some chipper little commercial before the line just disconnects.
Do not, do NOT, deal with the overwhelming unprofessionalism of Dr. Dele-Michael’s staff. It’s just not worth it.

Terrible doctor… I was a patient for over a year and a half and I just couldn’t take it anymore. Service is rude and quite slow. Emails are ignored and require multiple follow ups. Voicemails are never returned and phones never picked up unless directly to the front desk (in which case they forward you to a voicemail). I tried really hard to give a good reason to stay (after over 10 visits), but ultimately in the end I have to go to a competitor that actually treats their patients well. I’m not surprised by all these negative comments. Clinton at the front desk is a particular a**hole…sorry, but I had to say it. I’m sure many others feel the same way. His attitude is highly unprofessional and reflective of Dr. Dele-​Michael herself.

I was very surprised by the previous reviews I saw when I decided to write this one. I have been going to this Doctor for years and have had nothing but great experiences. I have just started sending my teenager to her with wonderful results. My daughters experience prompted me to right this review.
The staff is very personable and helpful. Waiting for my appointment has never been an issue and most important the doctor is amazing. Attentive, knowledgeable and always willing to answer in and all questions. She made my shy daughter feel so comfortable and her diagnosis and treatments have been on point. I recommend her to everyone.
As to the cancellation fees, this seems to be the route that all my doctors have taken. Unfortunately, it’s not exclusive to this office. I was just charged $ 100 for changing a dental appointment under the 48 hour mark. Healthcare is becoming a crazy business.

There are so many things wrong with the experience of going to this doctor that it is hard to know where to begin.
The main thing though is that (except for one person) the staff are rude and incompetent — you cannot get the same answer about even the most basic things from any 2 people, or even from the same person twice. Nicky (?) is the most spectacularly rude of all. They are understaffed or unqualified for their jobs or both. Trying to get anything done with them by phone is a Sisyphean nightmare, between the holds and being passed around and being forwarded directly into people’s voicemails. Good luck. They could not care less about their jobs or you, and they clearly do not care if you know it.
The office and waiting room were at least 90 degrees on my five most recent visits. Yes, I am a glutton for punishment — kept going back out of inertia despite the repeated terrible experiences.
On one of these appointments, I waited for over an hour. When the medical assistant finally came to get me in the waiting room, she apologized to me for the wait. The receptionist said loudly and sarcastically, «SHE DIDN’T WAIT.» Um what? First of all, yes I did, for a really long time, and you can SEE the waiting room so you know this was true. Second of all, what in all of the Fs’ business is it of yours if your colleague is being polite to me? You’re scolding your colleague for being NICE? REALLY???
Outrageous cancellation policy & fine of $ 150.
The doctor: about two of the four separate issues I discussed with her, her advice vacillated wildly and repeatedly. Not exactly confidence-​inspiring.
Ashley is the only seemingly normal human being in the office that I encountered. Patient and polite.
There are probably literally THOUSANDS of dermatologists in New York. There is no reason to put up with this. Find another place, any other place.

I knew up front I wouldn’t be able to afford to pay my balance in full at the time of treatment, so I worked out a payment with Dr. Dele-​Michael before the procedure. The terms of the payment arrangement were put in my file.
A couple weeks later I notice an amount three times what I’d agreed to pay was debited from my account on a day we didn’t agree to. I immediately called the office and demanded a refund. I was told they couldn’t give me a refund because the amount they charged was less than $ 500. I was also told they were «just trying to help me out for the day» but the arrangement we agreed to wasn’t going to work. I didn’t get a call to let me know the payment arrangement wasn’t going to work or that the money was going to be debited from my account on another day.
Dr. Dele-​Michael herself was nice and knowledgeable. But when you screw with your patient’s money none of that matters. Steer clear and find yourself another dermatologist.

BEWARE!
I foolishly thought that this doctor could not ruin a simple mole check. Once the doctor realized I was not there for botox or another expensive treatment she quickly and carelessly scanned me. When I pointed out a couple of moles that seems suspicious she BARELY even glanced back. To think that the doctor would not even do an adequate mole check and could miss melanoma on someone is absolutely chilling.

For my first and most likely my only visit, I made a last-​minute appointment over the phone with a receptionist. The receptionist never disclosed that there would be a $ 150 cancellation fee if the appt is cancelled within 48 hrs. FURTHER after reading the financial agreement, I see that they charge $ 50 to re-​schedule your appt if you’re more than 10 min late.
I’ve never had a doctor’s office who was so hell-​bent on charging its patients. I get that there should be a penalty in order to make things efficient and not have patients flake but $ 150 is not reasonable by any means and $ 50 if you’re late is simply absurd.
The doctor herself, Dr. Dele-​Michael, seems very knowledgeable although I wasn’t impressed. The nurse and physicians assistant were great.
I won’t be returning for fear of being charged these fees. I’d much rather go to a doctor who has a much more reasonable policy.

I was introduced to Dr. Dele — Michael through Zoc Doc. I made an appointment for facial laser hair removal.
I have done countless laser treatments and electrolysis since the age of 20 because of excessive hair.
Now at 36yrs, my face (chin) is almost hair free. The doctors did an Allergy Test and blood work to diagnose better. Ashley performed my laser treatments.
Her machines are amazing!!! The office is clean. The staff is ok. Cancelation policy on Saturdays is unreasonable. I have insurance and never had an issue in the 7 months I’ve been getting treatments. It’s important to read before signing anything and/​or picking up prescriptions.

Clean office, not much of a wait, nice doctor. They have a new policy where no show or late cancellation fee is $ 150. That seems exorbitant, unfair and just wrong. I haven’t had to pay it but I am going to transfer my care somewhere else. I also hate how a lot of derms (including her) just give you all these prescriptions without much instruction on how to use it. The pharmacist doesn’t give you that either so I end up doing more online research… so what does the $ 60 copay cover? I’m overall not too impressed with the practice so I am still on the hunt again.

I called to make an appointment with this doctor via Zocdoc at 4 PM on a Wednesday afternoon. I then received a voicemail from their receptionist right after saying that if I needed to cancel the appointment at any time I would be charged $ 350, they will just bill my insurance for the visit.
I called back really confused and they said for Saturday appointments you must cancel at least a week in advance without getting charged any penalties and since my appointment was on Saturday (less than a week away) they will charge me.
The receptionist was very rude and I would not want to see a doctor that has such terrible policies.

I created an account just to tell everyone NOT to go here after I showed up for an appointment to discover the office closed for the third time.
Just to repeat, this office has scheduled my appointment during closed office hours three times. The first time, I thought it must have been my fault. Maybe I put it in my calendar wrong. But now it’s happened 2 more times, after I called to confirm the appointment.
Rude and incompetent front office staff, inconvenient hours and worst of all, they didn’t even fix my skin. After 6 months and over $ 1000, there’s been no change. I told the nurses and the doctor that it wasn’t working and they just said «Oh.» and seemed confused. No change to the course of treatment, not even asking seeming to really understand what they were doing.
Do not go here. I’ve never been more dissatisfied with a service in my life.

I arranged an appointment with Dr. Dele-​Michael to have a cholesterol deposit removed from above my eye. I saw another dermotologist a few months ago and after a painful procedure with him and a month of healing, the deposit was still there. Dr. Dele-​Michael explained what went wrong with the last procedure and numbed the area for her to do the procedure correctly. She was very knowledgeable and is all about comfort and kindness. I feel confident that the problem is now solved, but stay tuned…

TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE, please read & consider before you go! The last point is a doozy!
1 — Getting an appointment was difficult, the receptionist was rude but I anticipated that since many of the reviews on the place noted that. I really needed to see a dr so didn’t care.
2 — During my appt, the dr did not even approach me, examine, look at or touch my skin. She was so certain she already knew what I had, that she only sat across from me the entire time & prescribed something.
3 — In the middle of my appt, another dr/​nurse who was shadowing her just burst into the room w/​o knocking which was alarming as I was sitting there pants-​less!
4 — When I went to pick up the prescription, the pharmacist informs me that the frequency of dosage the dr wanted me to use was toxic, 7xs more than any person should be allowed, so he had to call her to clarify & make her aware of her mistake! What?!
5 — The prescription was costly (okay, that’s an insurance issue) but w/​in two days I saw another nurse and doctor who both said I was completely misdiagnosed. They said had the dr bothered to get out of her chair & properly examine me, she would have known.
6 — I got a phone call from my credit card company for a FRAUD alert — apparently someone at Radiant Skin tried to charge my credit card for $ 155,430.00. I was so thrown off, I had her repeat it several times. YES, SIX FIGURES OF FRAUD!
In summary — this office sucks.

Her front desk is rude, forgetful and dishonest.
Although the Dr. was pretty good, I had to reschedule an appointment on short notice. The front desk woman rescheduled and I showed up for the appointment and she said I didn’t have one. She also said I need to pay $ 40 for a cancellation fee if I ever wanted to see the doctor again. No thanks.
You messed up, I paid $ 20 in cab fare to get there and now, not only can I not see the doctor, but you want to charge me money for appointment you forgot to move?
DO NOT GO HERE

Worst Dr. ever! More interested in selling her products or promoting certain drugs than solving your medical issue! And sure enough, right after I posted my bad review, there’s a fake positive review.

Pleasant experience. Doctor was very knowledgable and quick. No waiting. My acne flair ups have subsided since I’ve been put on a regimen of antibiotics and Aczone.

My daughter went there for a skin cancer check. She had to show the doc which moles cuz the doc missed one… and by the next morning after the shave of the tissue, my kid had an infection. IN BOTH AREAS. NOT GOOD.
Then, there was the unexpected charge on the bill. So she called «billing» and got someone who kept putting her on hold… STILL UNRESOLVED.
DONT GO HERE.

Now you see reviews of the great job she does however if you notice all, with the exception of 1, are posted after I wrote my experience to make up for my bad experience and rating. I’m sure these people were happy with her and I’m sure more will but do you take the chance to end up like I did when it comes to skin care on your face? To me that is a risk factor one has to consider. The truth is anyone can be good when things go their way but what really makes a business good is how do they handle a situation when things don’t and I writing to tell you my situation was not handled right and I did not receive any justice so that does not to me make a good practice or one I would ever use again. As a business owner for 22 yrs I have made my share of mistakes we are human and going to, however, the difference is I made good with my clients to their their satisfaction, even when it cost me, as that is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, that is not what the ending of my situation is and I have every right to be upset and tell the truth to others. Also when one makes a mistake with facial work and you are a women in their 50’s in sales in a young peoples industry it can be pretty devastating.
As one who has Always maintained a rigorous routine with skin care and I know the importance of finding a good dermatologist I am sharing my experience with this doctor because if I can save even just one person from going through the trauma I have had to endure then I have for sure done the right thing by taking my traumatic and upsetting experience and utilized it for the good. This transpired Feb of 2013.
I am a very fair person and I gave every opportunity for this doctor to pay for the correction from a plastic surgeon only to be denied.
If you have doubts contact me I would be happy to share pictures and emails & text messages between the doctor and myself. You will see what my eyes look like a year later and both are very different and yes some will be due to normal aging but most of the damage is from this Doctors work. From her injecting the filler around my eyes the way she did and not even inject each side evenly she stretched the skin around my eyes permanently and now my eyes are completely uneven.
I went to this Dermatologist for Fraxil treatment. The first time to her office all went well she did the Fraxil and I had an appointment to go back in 3 or 4 weeks for 2^nd session. When I arrived for my 2^nd appointment for the Fraxil and went into her office she began to tell me that she had other plans and that the Fraxil was not a good idea. I was tired and had a very rough day and was just happy to be sitting in a chair. She began to tell me my eyes we deep set and that she wants to put filer around my eyes that I would look younger I said well I want the Fraxil she then said no this will be better. So trusting her and unfortunately being too tired to give an opposing thought I let her do it. Well needless to say as you will see with the pictures I post that she went overboard with the procedure on my left eye then started on my right eye and I am there for over 1 hour at least while she is trying to correct her mistakes on me with this procedure. She knew as she was doing it things were not going right.
I was real upset when I left and I knew something was wrong. I had budgeted myself the $ 750.00 per Fraxil session and she agreed to work with me on that however on the way out I get this bill for $ 1800.00 When I got home I emailed her and told her I was very upset and what she did was wrong. She kept emailing calling and texting please come back she will fix it. Well I am sorry I was not going to ever trust her again and I was not letting her touch my face again.. Well when my Amex bill came in I disputed the charge and immediately had it taken off of. That tells you something right there that she knew she screwed up.
In January of this year I was getting ready for the day and looked at my eyes and thought wow they are not getting any better and this is just about a year later and I should not have to live with this and this doctor should take care of this at her cost not mine. So I wrote her and told her how I felt only to receive a letter form her insurance company. This was in February well just yesterday June 26,2014 I get an email from her insurance telling me they will not pay to have my eyes repaired and the case is closed. So this is the end of it and now my eyes are permanently damaged and the only resolve if for me to pay for the damage this doctor did.
So I say to you buyer beware and there are many other dermatologists out there who will probably do a great job and not scar you.

Dr. Dele-​Michael is a knowledgeable, caring, and stylish doctor and I highly recommend her. She is attentive and her bedside manner is excellent. She is down to earth and makes you feel comfortable and special. All of her staff (Hi, Ashley!) reflects the professional and efficient, yet easygoing environment you instantly feel comfortable in.