If I could give this place a ZERO, I would. I was truly disappointed by the utter lack of knowledge of this staff. They have one laser - the Alma diode - and didn't seem to care that the Alma diode laser is not appropriate for black skin. Also, there is no Dermatologist just a "doctor down the hall" affiliated with this center. When I went for a test dose and it hurt like hell! A day later I had 2nd degree burns from the test dose!! During my first and only visit, I asked what I thought were simple questions: what kind of skin care would be appropriate and inappropriate to use before laser treatment, name of a numbing agent they could recommend. All I got were vague responses. They did not seem the least bit knowledgeable about laser treatment. This was very annoying to me and bells started to go off in my head. To make things worse, one staff even recommended that I do my own online search! Well I did and found out all too late that the only appropriate laser for black skin is the YAG. These people seemed to have no clue. Though I did chose to come to this location because it was close to my home, I will say that if you are a woman of color - you should think twice before coming here. There are other reputable medi spas that have far more experience working with black skin and the Alma diode is the WRONG laser for you! My other problem is that you should never expect that if you call the office during business hours that they will actually pick up the phone. I spent one saturday calling for 2 hours straight with no pick-up. The only good thing I can say is that the staff seemed friendly and the other customers that came in seemed satisfied. Update - I was surprised to discover today that Yelp has an interesting practice of filtering reviews with some long winded and convoluted reasoning to justify their practices (smh). Until today, I didn't know others had written poor reviews of this place for months! So if you don't see all the other negative reviews then scroll to the bottom of my review and click FILTERED and type in the captcha code. Update #2 I found a review on Google Reviews for this sham business by someone named Kelly Young and it just goes to show that this business tries very hard to inflate itself. Clearly this silly Kelly Young has not read the Yelp reviews. I seriously doubt this business is in good standing the BBB and as for Groupon continuing to promote their services, well that really reflects poorly on Groupon given all the complaints and requests for refunds. I included this update because if what Kelly Young says is true then apparently the "Doctor (?owner) is a surgeon with 2 private practices and privileges at the best hospitals in Maryland." This is scary indeed because if this is true then I think the State of MD licensing board would be interested to know that one of its licensees is negligent and harming patients. Since that review is on Google Reviews I have to assume it is true but it if anyone knows for sure that it is wrong information then send me and email...Just food for thought. read more

Giving your customers less than 24hrs notice of appointment cancellation is just bad business.

I had a groupon here for Botox. I had to contact Groupon to redeem it because no one would answer the phone for weeks or return my messages. Fianlly, I get my appointment, arrive and wait 40 minutes. The "technician" came in through the front door talking about how she wasn't even supposed to be here this early so thats why she was late. She took me back to the room. She smelled like she had rolled around in an ashtry prior to coming to work. She then proceeded to go get the "Botox" and upon returning to the room, began yelling down the hall about how they didnt have enough for the day. (right in front of me) She then begins to pull up this "Botox" (I use quotations because the vial was not even labled) Meanwhile, she had not washed her hands and did NOT EVEN PUT ON GLOVES and came at my face without even so much as disinfecting it! YIKES!!!!!!! I literally yelled "STOP"....and got out of there as quickly as possible. This is dangerous. God only knows what she was about to inject me with, and what sort of germs were on her cigarette laden hands. Yes, I tried to save a buck, but does this excuse medical sanitation guidelines? I think not. I seriously warn people not to ever go here. Another business in the building that is a client of mine was recently contacted by a LAWYER asking if she knew this Skin Secrets MedSpa place because they could not get a hold of them by phone. Well, low and behold they have an ACTIVE LAWSUIT PENDING against them Can't say you haven't been warned. Proceed with caution!!!!!!! read more

If I could give this place zero stars, I would. I bought a groupon, and tried for 3 MONTHS to schedule an appointment. No one ever picked up the phone, and there is no answering service. I thought about driving out there, but from the reviews on yellow pages, it sounds like that would have been equally fruitless. BOO for bad businesses, and for getting scammed out of $100. :( read more

I am really hoping that Yelp does not filter this review because this is a matter of personal health and safety. DO NOT GIVE YOUR BUSINESS TO THIS ESTABLISHMENT! Unfortunately I purchased the Groupon for the whitening, I traveled two hours to this facility. The woman on the phone gave me the wrong address, and the same woman when I entered (the Receptionist) is WHO DID MY WHITENING! They took me back to this room, laid me down on a bed, told me nothing, and pointed the UV light at my teeth for 45 minutes and thats it! When it was over-I waited 5 minutes and had to get up and yell down the hallway for her to come to me because I had some contraption in my mouth and I did not know what to do. She tells me to follow her, takes me to the bathroom, gives me a cup with water, tells me to "rinse my mouth out and have a good one." Seriously..that was it! When I come out, I approach the front desk and ask her for aftercare instructions, since I have never done this before. She responds.."Well typically the people that come in for this service, research before they come in." She provided me no information other than-"Don't drink any dark liquids for a few days." I am not a moron-that is common sense. She provided me with no other information. I had to put my dog down that day and honestly I did not want to travel 2 hours for this appointment, however, I knew I would lose my money if I did, so I went and because of the nature of my day-I did not handle the situation as I normally would-which would be flipping out, because I was already emotionally,mentally and physically drained. I was so livid, I called Groupon the moment I stepped out of the door, told them the situation and of course they refunded my money immediately. What disturbs me furthermore is that I asked the Groupon customer service rep how many complaints they have had and he did not really respond-which clearly they have had a lot! Coming from someone who works in the Salon/Beauty Industry this is unacceptable, dangerous, and these people are NOT LICENSED PROFESSIONALS. I know that this was NOT ZOOM Whitening-and I do not understand how you can advertise a branded service when that is not what you are doing! Groupon needs to start investigating the validity of not only the Businesses and there licensing but also the services they are offering as well. This was NOT Zoom Whitening and you are de-grading the ZOOM brand by falsely advertising this service and the professionals who are licensed and perform these services. Best believe I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau immediately and adding to their complaint list and I will not stop with this until hopefully these people are shut down. THESE ARE NOT LICENSED PROFESSIONALS! When you are offering medical grade services and having the "receptionist" perform them-with no license, that is ILLEGAL! People, please do your homework, do not let your vanity get you seriously injured or mamed. My heart goes out to the yelpers who have experienced that first hand! read more

I purchased an advertised Groupon offer for laser hair removal on a small area back in November 2011. There have been times where I've gone in for a scheduled appointment and the doors are locked and closed. Another time the AC wasn't working. I never know if I'm going to see handmade signs asking for tips. I was never under the impression that medical spa treatments required tip, and I have done research and know that it is not standard procedure. These are medical procedures that are being offered, not massages or haircuts. Of course there is the huge, absolutely unacceptable problem that no one answers the phone. Also need to mention the rare moment that there is a receptionist working. How is this acceptable business practice? By weaseling people for tips, having rude attitudes (I've heard employees talking trash on Groupon takers.... so why do you offer the service on Groupon?). My 8th treatment was supposed to be September 8th. Someone from the office called me and cancelled the day before my appointment. I have NOT received a call back as of October 4th regarding scheduling a new appointment. I have called your office almost every day for the last 3 weeks. I only have somewhere along the lines of 5 treatments left, and feel very cheated. Results are just now starting to show, and I've already paid for this service that it seems like I will no longer be receiving. Needless to say, I am INCREDIBLY disappointed in the service and staff at this facility. I do plan on calling groupon and seeing if I can get the rest of my money back and file a complaint. This place should not be in business. read more

I would not recommend this place to anyone. You pay for what you get I should have known better. I reciently hair removal on my face and got burned pretty bad. Now I hav e hair on my face s till and burns on my face and neck. I have been tring to reach the o wner for 3 weeks and she will not retun my call. I leave a message with a lday name Holly over and over again and nothing is do. I have sent e-mails and a UPS letter and all of that for no responce. . This place is a rip off. I have had laser done eles where before and have big changes in as little as 3 treatments. I have had 6 treatments and no changes besides getting burned 2 differnt times. They charge $5.00 for a spray of numbing spray which can be purchased at Sally"s Beauty Supplies for $10.00 a can. They are making a killing and hurting people and getting away with it. read more

If I could give this place ZERO stars, I would. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. I have shown up for 2 appointments after driving an hour to get there only to find the doors locked. They didn't call any of their customers to tell them they were closing early for "emergencies". They don't have a real phone number to get a live person, only an answering service or voice mail. The second time this happened, another customer was there as well and the same thing happened to her...TWICE. No one called either of us or did anything to rectify the situation. I had already paid for the service too! The spa itself it a little suite in a building and was the most unprofessional place along with the WORST customer service I have ever experienced. Avoid ever going here. read more

While there for a spider vein treatment I was told that I would receive a discount if I made a made a second appointment but that I had to pay for the appointment in advance. They did not have a credit card machine and the woman at the receptionist desk called someone and gave the person my credit card information and then proceeded to give her a higher dollar amount then we agreed upon. I immediately told her that this was not the amount agreed upon and she called and told the person the amount should be reduced. Obviously, I did not have a good feeling about this but proceeded with the transaction. She then told me I would not receive a receipt to sign and she would give it to me at the time of the appointment I had just scheduled. After leaving work and taking vacation time to get to the appointment last week, the offices were dark and locked when I arrived. And, of course, when I called I received an answering machine saying there office hours were until 6 p.m. on that day. I was standing outside their offices at 5 p.m. I would not recommend that anyone use this company. Of course, I don't believe that you could get in touch with anyone if you even wanted to make an appointment. This is not a reputable company and you should steer clear!!! read more

I went here the other day to redeem my groupon for Zoom teeth whitening. When I walked in there was no one at the front desk. It was blistering hot and stuffy, definitely no AC on. When someone came out from the back they were dressed extremely unprofessionally and were loudly complaining about how one of the employees didn't show up so they were on their own for the day to try and 'figure out' how to handle her clients procedures. I got attitude when I mentioned I was paying with a Groupon and then was brought to the back for the whitening. I asked specific questions I had about the procedure and how my teeth may react and the girl doing my whitening would give answers like 'I think you'll be fine' or 'Just use common sense', not very confident in her knowledge. I'm pretty sure the room I was in is used for a bunch of different services they offer there. Instead of a dental chair, I was told to lay down on a massage-like table. Now here comes the part where I should have walked out and said no thank you, I am really wishing I had. She went to put the 'Spacer' in my mouth that keeps your mouth open while the whitening happens... I was in so much pain! The spacer was clearly too large for my mouth and completely scratched and scraped my gums up as she tried several times to get it to stay even after I told her it was hurting me. It was the only size they had and did not look like the professional quality type that my dentist has used. Eventually she told me to just hold my lips open as she put the whitening agent on my teeth and then put trays on my teeth. I'm pretty sure this is not the proper way to do it, I've never had my teeth whitened before so I can't really say for sure but it seemed like a band-aid method to get me in and out of the office on a busy day. 45 minutes later, I'm done, I get shaky instructions on what not to eat and drink but she clearly doesn't know the answers to my more specific questions again. I left, mad at myself for not leaving after the first few red flags and that I wasted 45 minutes of my life, seeing no difference in the color of my teeth at all. It terrifies me that people get things like botox and laser treatments done in this office, especially if the simpler services are this terrifying. In all fairness, some people were leaving the office visibly happy and thrilled with the results of whatever they had done, so maybe they just have no clue what they are doing with the zoom procedure... I feel like I wasted the discounted price that I paid for the Groupon for this, I am just so so glad I didn't pay full price with this experience. read more

I do not recommend Skin Secrets Med Spa. I bought a Groupon and have had a very difficult time getting the laser hair removal treatments I paid for. Only once in four months have they ever answered their phone, which is when I made my initial appointment. I was unimpressed by their lack of professionalism, lack of dignity offered to customers, hygiene or the technician. I'll spare details, but I've had appointments cancelled and have arrived twice to find the salon dark. I think they may be out of business - have met several other customers who are experiencing the same situation. The business name is no longer listed on the building directory and the name plate next to the door to the suite is now gone. I have filed a request for a refund from Groupon and a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and am completing this review in hopes of preventing others from making the same mistake. There are other more reputable and dependable businesses that will deliver the same services. This organization is just undependable and unprofessional. Proceed with caution and an awareness you will have to work very hard to get your treatments, IF you're successful. Update - 11/9/2012 - I requested a refund from Groupon on 11/3/12. They apologized for the problems and said that they could offer me an immediate Groupon credit refund which would never expire, as they didn't know if they would be able to resolve this with the merchant in a "timely fashion". I advised that I would prefer a refund in the form payment was made (credit card) and would wait for them to attempt to resolve it. I don't often buy Groupons, so I'm not interested in having my money tied up indefinitely. I am disappointed in Groupon, as it would seem the number of negative reviews posted here that have previously requested a refund would make them fully aware of the problems with the merchant and that it is entirely unlikely they will be able to reach them, much less resolve this complaint. Their site indicates "We're confident in the businesses we feature on Groupon and back them with the Groupon Promise. If the experience using your Groupon ever lets you down, we'll make it right or return your purchase. Simple as that.", so I am hopeful they will make good on their Groupon Promise. That said, I'm not inspired to do more business with them. I'll update this review when the matter is fully resolved. Update: 11/19/2012 - I followed up on my request to Groupon for a refund and received notification yesterday that they would provide me with a refund. It is reassuring that Groupon stands behind their promise, which will make me more likely to buy another Groupon in the future (for a different merchant, of course). read more

I too regret ever doing business with this company. I have shown up for appointments and no one is there (twice). They never answer the phone either. Also, the quality of their service is terrible. I have had laser hair removal done elsewhere and had immediate results. With 3 treatments I still have not seen a bit of difference in my hair loss. When I asked for a refund they refused. I have even filed a complaint with the BBB read more

This place is a complete joke!! I bought a deal for laser hair removal which allowed me to go 6 sessions. I went to the first session and the "technician" not even sure if she was licensed took a chunk of meat and skin off my underarm! Second session I had the same areas done and saw a new "technician" there. I was relieved to not see the same person who did my first session in fear that she would injure me again. Boy was I in for a surprise! This person took a nickel sized piece of skin off my body bearing flesh and I was in so much pain! She neglect to tell me what she did and I had no way of knowing because it was in my private area. I found out the next day and had to go to the doctors who prescribed me topical medication and antibiotics. I contacted them to let them know what happened and they were unapologetic stating that I signed a release form and am aware of the side effects! Obviously taken a chunk of meat and skin off someone is not considered a side effect!! As you can already tell the intelligence level of this person when they don't even know the definition of what side effect is! Stay clear of this place. I asked Groupon for a full refund and they didn't hesitate to refund me my money which was great. I went on Better Business Bureau and this place already has 3 complaints within the past 7 months. I would NEVER return to this place. Please do not make the same mistake I did. read more

this place is the worst. they never answer their phone, so you can't make an appointment. it's been months. don't waste your time nor money here. read more

This place is HORRIBLE. I bought a LivingSocial deal here and was pretty excited about the price. It took a few days of calling/leaving messages and E-mailing to schedule my first appointment, which was aggravating. The service was fine though. Then I scheduled my 2nd appointment while I was there, but they called a couple days before the appointment and left me a message to cancel it. I tried calling again this week to reschedule it, but they don't even have a voicemail anymore! I E-mailed and never heard back. I've read some reviews on google with identical stories and am hoping LivingSocial will return my money as well. I highly recommend that everyone avoid this place! read more

Just wanted to update to say that Groupon has refunded 100% of my money! :)

We bought a Groupon for unlimited laser hair removal and it was horrible. First of all could never reach them by phone so we drove there to make an appointment. My daughter signed up to have hair removal under her arms and on the first arm they burned her horribly the nurse turned the laser down for the second arm and that one turned out fine. My daughter has blisters under her arm and needed to be seen by a medical doctor, she will be lucky if she can shave anytime within the next month or two. Very disappointed and will never go back! Also, want to add that she had had hair removal done on her lip previously at a cosmetic surgeons office and that went very well. Be careful about the person weilding the laser. read more

After many attempts some one finally answered the phone and I made an appt for Groupon Botox. I was delayed in getting there because of traffic and called to make sure they waited. They had lost my appt! Anyway, the woman who did the Botox seemed competent and I liked what she said about how she administered it. But after a week I saw very little result and the results I did get were uneven. I've been trying for days to call back to get it tweeked but no one answers the phone. I guess I'm going back to my regular doctor. It may cost more but at least I can have confidence that she'll take care of me. read more

I purchased a groupon deal for this place but never got to use it. After attempting to contact this business numerous times over an 8- month period and leaving over 20 messages, I never actually spoke with anyone, as they never answer the phone and do not return messages! After groupon was unable to get a response from the business on my behalf, they refunded the purchase price. read more

When I went for my first appointment it was easy! However getting that appointment was a task as they never answer their phone or e-mail. They day before my second appointment they called and left me a voicemail cancelling my appointment, and saying they'd reschedule. Well they haven't called to reschedule nor will they pick up their phone or answer an email for my to reschedule. I'm starting to think they took my money and are running with it... read more

Less than 24hrs notice for a cancelation?? How about NO notice until you get to their front door and read a sign saying "Closed A/C broken, sorry, email to reschedule". Hahahaaaa, not only once...but twice! The first time this happened I emailed to reschedule and I voiced that I had taken off of work early and that it was a long drive for me. I received an email back from Kelly saying "sorry. Next available appt is..." which was last night at 6:30pm. Guess what I was greeted with upon arriving last night!? Yup, "A/C broke. email to reschedule". I literally thought I was being pranked. read more

As many others have stated, I showed up for my scheduled appointment only to find them closed for no posted reason. In the past, I've tried calling for days before anyone ever answers and now the number appears to not work at all. read more

I was excited to get a deal on Dealfinder for laser treatment at this place. I'm totally regretting it. They never answer their phone and it takes days to get an email response. You can't make an appointment and when you do, they don't show up! I went to my noon appointment today only to find the doors locked and lights out. Two other ladies showed up for their appointments. I called and nothing. I regret referring these people to my friends. After speaking with those two clients and the friends I referred, they've all stated similar experiences. One of the ladies said it was the second time she came to an appointment only to find it closed. RUN FROM THIS PLACE! read more

I purchased two Zoom Whitening services through Groupon back in April, but over several months have been unable to reach the spa by phone. My fiance and I wanted to get information about the best time to do the process before our wedding. Needless to say we got no return phone call. We booked the appointment through Groupon based on research we had to do ourselves. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the office (15 minutes early), the lights were out and the door locked. The "Sorry You Missed Us" sign stated they would return at 9:00 a.m. (the time of our appointment), so we continued to wait. We soon were joined by 3 other customers, forming a line in the tight space outside of the office. All customers stated that they too were unable to reach the office by phone. Two of them stated that there were negative reviews about the spa that complained about poor customer service. I wish we had done our research BEFORE purchasing this Groupon. We waited until 9:30 a.m., and still no staff member had arrived. After arriving home, I have found several websites online with negative reviews about this spa and the BBB rates them with an "F." Needless to say, I do not want to reschedule. I hope that you are reading these reviews BEFORE having a negative experience. I am waiting for Groupon phone lines to open so that I may request a refund. read more