DC Derm Docs: Drs Dale Isaacson & Marilyn Berzin

I’m not a customer, I’m sitting in the waiting room for a customer. For over an hour, so I brought my laptop so that I can do some work. Connected, as advised, to the free wi-​fi, which is fine.
Except, unbelievably, it’s censored! Can’t access twitter (yes, that’s part of people’s commercial work some time), can’t access retail stores (I wanted to track progress of a purchase). Did a bit of googling, and found that the *default settings* do not allow access to Gay and Lesbian Issues, Restaurants and Dining, Sports/​Recreation, Travel, Vehicles, Humor/​Jokes, etc.
I can understand perhaps blocking streaming video or high bandwidth sites, but all of these are just regular sites that people visit day in and day out.
Why the censorship? Why is the business imposing its moral values on customers? Do they also ban gay and lesbian customers?
So I turned on my VPN, bypassing the censorship, and got on with my work …

Honestly have nothing bad to say about this place. Got a Groupon for laser hair removal and finished my sessions a little while ago and I am totally satisfied. I moved my appointments around more than I can count and they were more than accommodating every time.
I got all 3 laser techs over the course of my visits and I have to say that Jennifer is the best one — I need to know those zaps are working and she makes sure of it and also had the best bedside manners to keep me distracted during my treatments. If I do more treatments, I’ll definitely just request her.
I keep recommending this place to all my friends — Groupon or no Groupon — but alas, they’re too wimpy at the thought of even slight pain to go ahead with it: P

Although I have been a patient of Dr. Isaacson ’ s for many years, I will never go to DCDERMDOCS again because of his horribly rude office manager, Kate, and inefficient front desk. I have never, ever been treated as badly on the phone as I was just treated by Kate.
The front desk fouled up appointments for me, which would have resulted in me travelling from Bethesda to DC to find I had an appointment with a tech, not with Dr. Isaacson. When I spoke to Kate about it on the phone, I found her incredibly unpleasant and argumentative. She said «well, it happens, Daniela and Dale (Dr. Isaacson) are next to each other in the computer so sometimes appointments get mixed up.» No apologies. Then she mocked me and was so rude that I ended the call with her and called back to cancel another appointment. Why spend hundreds of dollars in a place where you are treated badly???
There are lots of good dermatologists in this area. I recommend finding one with a pleasant staff.

I purchased a Groupon for laser hair removal here, and was extremely nervous about it since it’s pretty expensive and I was having it done in a rather sensitive area. I took the advice of other Unilocalers and booked my first appointment with Jennifer who was absolutely wonderful. She explained everything to me in great detail and chit chatted with me and made me feel very comfortable. On top of that she’s extremely fast. I was in and out in about 15 minutes total even with filling out the paperwork and scheduling my next appointment. My second appointment is tomorrow with Jen again. I will continue to schedule my future appointments with her for the remainder of my package deal. It’s definitely worth it and although it’s an uncomfortable feeling it’s over with very quickly if you have the right person. Waxing is far worse!

I’ve seen both Dr. Berzin and Dr. Isaacson and I really like them both. I’ve had silk peals at the office, Botox and fillers and even had a skin cancer evaluation. The office is clean, the doctors are so knowledgable and professional. I trust them 100%. I don’t usually take the time to write reviews on Unilocal because I’m so busy but I just came back from another cosmetic appointment and I love the way I look in the mirror. It just makes me happy. So 5 stars for Dr. Berzin and Dr. Isaacson. I’d give them 10 if it was allowed.

So it’s been about a year since my first laser hair removal treatment and several months since my last (I went about ever 8 – 10 weeks and had a package of six sessions), and I am still very happy with my results. Minimal hair regrowth, and my skin looks healthy and normal. It’s great not having to deal with razor burn anymore.

Let’s start with the good. The staff is very helpful and professional. The office is clean and the front desk staff has been very patient when OTHER PATIENTS somehow have their consultation with the doctor or technician but still have 50 more procedure questions during the check-​out/​payment process.
Anyway, the not so great. I went to the office for laser hair removal due to the convenience of the office being close to my job in DC. Matter of fact, I canceled a hair removal appointment with my regular dermatologist in Gaithersburg to avoid taking time off from work for the procedure. At this point, I’ve had laser procedures at least 20 times over the past 10 or so years so I know the routine: You get the area treated and in about 10 – 14 days the treated hairs start to fall out. It’s been that way at all 4 or 5 of the dermatologists or laser treatment facilities that I’ve been to, regardless of the machine they used and regardless of my being a light-​skinned African American.
After the two week period, none of the treated hairs were falling out or responding to treatment. I stopped by the office and Asia, my hair removal technician, informed me that the settings she used were appropriate for my skin tone and that I may need up to 12 sessions before I see results. If I’d never had the procedure done before, I probably would have been ok with this, but I’ve grown accustomed to seeing results at the treated sites after each treatment based on my actual experiences and not based on the standard «You’re African American so it may not work for you.» I’m used to losing about 75−90% of the treated hairs by the 14-​day point, but as of now, it doesn’t appear that I’ve lost any hairs as they all seem to be growing healthy and strong — which is a bad thing in this case. LOL.
Lastly, the cost per session for the area I have treated is $ 300, which is more than the cost at any of the other locations or dermatologists that I’ve used. Furthermore, at all the other locations, if there was still hair that had been missed during the initial treatment, all of the dermatologists or technicians have done no-​cost touch-​ups to ensure quality of service and customer satisfaction. However, at DC Derm Docs, after telling me that the other locations may have used different machines and reminding me of my skin pigment, Asia ended with «I don’t know what to tell you.» No attempts at trying to correct the matter besides having me come back for another $ 300 session that would possibly have no results.
In all fairness, this was just my experience and may not be everyone else’s. I canceled my next $ 300 appointment with them before leaving the office and quickly called my regular dermatologist to schedule my next laser hair treatment. I may have to take half a day off, but with him, at least I’ll be paying $ 50 less per session and there will be evidence that I had a procedure done afterward.
Good luck with your services. I was dissappointed, but maybe you’ll have a better experience.

I bought a couple Groupons for laser hair removal. I have been pretty happy with the results. Some areas will hurt more than others. I would suggest bringing an icepack with you and numbing yourself up before they get started. This makes all the difference in the world!!! I am having the most sensitive area done, without ice — I was squirming with tears rolling out of my eyes. With ice, I’m like «oh – you’re done».
I do agree with the comment about unevenness of the quality of technicians. For the most part, they are all competent. But if you get different Techs, they have different approaches and might miss an area that another Tech would have gotten. Some Techs are not communicative and try to rush through your appointments. On one occasion, I had a tech discouraged me from icing up beforehand — I suspect it had more to do with her impatience — than the effectiveness of the results. But for me – there is no way in heck — I would go through this without icing up.
The best Tech is Jennifer! She is so patient and nice and thorough. She’ll actually make jokes or talk you through the process — to keep your mind off of being zapped.
Now I just call up and request Jennifer. To get even results — I would recommend figuring out which Tech you work well with, and just request the same one when you are scheduling the appointment.

I was actually turned off by most of the negative reviews on here. Had an appointment for Botox. Had the last one six months ago and didn’t like it as the botox I think they used were severely diluted. Hence I had to look for another place. First thing off, everyone was friendly and very capable. Dr. Isaacson was great in explaining everything even if I already knew most of the stuff he was telling me. He also was great at explaining another treatment I had wanted done which is «secret» ^_​^. Price per area is not cheap, it’s $ 400 an area but then if things are great like the treatments I had with my «favorite» dermatologist way back in «Pennsylvania» then it certainly is worth the money. He told me to come back after 4 weeks to see how the botox worked and was going to give free «touchup» shots if it did not get the desired effect they wanted. So far, I am happy happy! Will come back to this post after 4 weeks! Knock on wood!

I came here for a silk peel and Lynette never asked me what type of skin I have which I think is important to know which solution to use on my skin. I had to initial a lengthy form saying I didn’t use x products in the last 2 weeks, shouldn’t you tell me that before I come in? She didn’t say much to me about the peel so I don’t know if she applied sunblock to my skin before I walked out. I guess I expected a lot more when getting a procedure done at an upscale dermatologist’s office.

I had my first appointment at DC Derm Docs after I had bought a Groupon for 6 sessions of hair removal. I had always wanted to try laser hair removal and was looking for a place that was safe, clean, and professional (not a «spa»). Both Doctors Isaacson and Berzin are not only certified but have been recognized as «top doctors» in the Washingtonian and other sources. Having done my research, I felt comfortable purchasing the groupon and trying them out.
When I called for my first appointment, I felt a bit rushed so I called back because I’m a laser hair removal virgin and had alot of questions about prepping myself, etc.
Office is located in a building and thankfully the security guard knew what I was talking about and directed me to suite 850. On the elevator ride up, I could not help but picture the worst but walking into DC Derm Docs, I was quickly put at ease– it’s like a REAL doctor’s office! ahh! I arrived 15 minutes earlier and filled out massive amounts of paperwork. My name was called and I was led into an examination room by Tara, who was my laser technician. She seemed like she knew her stuff, spoke really fast and was sure to reiterate that it may take more than 6 sessions to get desired results but would be available as a discount– thanks sales lady! I told her it was «my first time» and she was helpful and answered all my questions. It was time, I laid back on the table, technician put on gloves (yay cleanliness), cleaned the area I requested to get lasered and ZAP! ZAP! «Ok honey, you’re done!» I was astonished at how QUICK my session went. I mean i sat there and felt as if someone was using a vacuum cleaner to suck the living life out of my skin/​hair and after a few zaps felt a bit of a sting but nothing unbearable and not as scary as the burning smell. Not bad at all! I rescheduled as instructed and look forward to planning my remaining sessions every 8 – 10 weeks. If all go well, I hope to buy more sessions and maybe look into getting other parts lasered…

I purchased the Living Social Deal and was unable to make an appointment during the specified time frame. Every time I called they didn’t have availability and during the last week before the promotion expired they stated they were short staffed. They offered services for the paid value ($ 185) but I would have to throw in another $ 200 to receive even one service. Extremely disappointed and a waste of money!

Came here for a silk peel with a Groupon. I only dealt with an aesthetician, I’m assuming, but she told me that one silk peel wouldn’t really do anything (glad I wasted $ 90!). After having microdermabrasion done, and a VERY light «glycolic peel», which was so «light» that it did nothing, she offered to do some extractions for me because I had a few blackheads. Well, she obviously didn’t know what she was doing, because all she did was turn my tiny blackheads into big zits. Four days later, I’m left feeling much worse about my skin than before I went to DC derm docs. …thanks.

I visited Dr Dale Isaacson for a bad allergic reaction that I was going through, twice, 1 month apart. The first time, Dr Isaacson was fast, too busy to ask questions from, rude and diagnosed me incorrectly. A month later I had to visit the emergency room for the same reaction. The next day when I visited him again because I didn’t know another dermatologist in DC. He did not even remember me.
These Docs are OK for laser hair removal or botox but ANYTHING more serious, avoid at all costs as they do not answer questions, rude, and routinely misdiagnose. Be warned.

I went to get laser hair removal and it was a complete waste of money. The treatments (i had 6 done) had no visible effect on me, except for leaving me really red after each treatment. Each time I went, different technicians followed different procedures. I have been to other laser hair removal places where the treatment was much more effective (they had different laser machines that require use of gel), and which have a much more personal and pleasant atmosphere.
I do not recommend this place at all. Oh, and beware, if you miss an appointment you already paid for, you lose that LHR session. Which, in my books, is akin to ripping you off.

I bought the groupon for laser hair removal while back. Their laser machine is not the newest one and it does hurt a little, but it did the job.
All the techs were friendly and knowledgeable. I never had to wait for more than 2 minutes (even when I was half an hour early). The facility is, as you expect from a professional medical office, VERY clean (I’m starting to become a germophobic after horrible experience at NV laser and Medical Cosmetic Enhancements (Dr. Drew Varano MD) who don’t wear gloves!
and did I mention they give you a good deal for touch up sessions (after your 6 session groupn is over).
These guys deserve 5 stars as much as they need to upgrade their laser machines :)

I went in November for a silk peel and a woman by the name of Lynette attended me. She was very pleasant, friendly and knowledgeable. My skin looked FABULOUS after the treatment. I highly recommend her.

The first time I went in to the office, I was taken aback by how fancy the waiting area looked. «If the waiting area is this nice, the service here must also be great!» I thought. Wrong.
I had the groupon for laser hair removal and went in for appointments twice. Both times, I was disappointed by what seemed like carelessness on the technician’s part — she didn’t even ask or try to make sure the whole treatment area was treated. Removal was uneven to a point beyond «regular hair growth cycles.» (Big patches where I pointed out that hair was growing, but she couldn’t be bothered to move the laser gun half an inch over.) No matter, I decided — if I go in for the recommended number of treatments, it should even out, right?
Well, this morning I was scheduled for my third and last groupon treatment. I was planning on extending my package to get the complete number of treatments, but not any more.
I called because I was running late, and was told that my scheduled time was actually a half hour earlier than the time I entered on my calendar (as I stood in front of the desk scheduling the appointment last time), and that I had just forfeited the last use of my groupon. There was no reminder call yesterday that might have let me know I put down the wrong time on my calendar — which, from experience, most doctor’s offices and even salons consider standard customer service. The admin who informed me of this was unapologetic and oddly chirpy about it, which was even more off-​putting.
Suffice to say, this office seems great when you walk in, but the techs are careless, the admins are dismissive, and their policies are more about making money than providing customers with the services for which they are paying. This experience was very different from when I sought laser dermatology treatment when I lived in Denver. I will not be purchasing an extended package from this business, and I will be taking care of fixing the so-​far patchy hair removal at a different establishment.
The only good thing was that this happened while I was finishing the groupon, so I only forfeited $ 66 instead of a few hundred dollars.
Side note: Looking at the other reviews, it seems like every reviewer who used a groupon had some sort of problem — maybe if DC Derm Docs doesn’t want the kind of clientele that uses groupons, they shouldn’t offer groupons in the future.

I came here and had 3 silk peels done on different days. I am not really impressed with this place. I only dealt with the techs. I felt every time I had a question regarding my skin, they would give me one word answers and not give me any helpful advice. Even though I would ask for it.
One tech lost/​replaced my file which in turn I was given a free silk peel which I thought was very thoughtful and professional of them.

I was unwilling to give up my favorite cosmetic treatment just because the incompetent gargoyles at Radiance made my skin look like I had been thrown on a hot grate, so I went in search of professionals.
DC Derm Docs was recommended to my by a phenomenal esthetician down at Celadon Spa (they do not do laser hair removal there but the know their stuff!!). I can say with complete confidence that I will go here for this service for as long as they offer it.
There are two actual MDs practicing ON the premises and instead of getting a low-​rate technician an actual nurse performs the service. The office is clean, and the staff extremely friendly and professional. They are all also very knowledgeable not only about the procedure but about all the different kinds of technology available.
They have the very latest technology, which is an indicator of the quality of the treatment you will receive. The days of squeezing little foam balls while bracing yourself for a lengthy series of small painful laser zaps are over. Instead, they use a virtually painless laser that covers a much larger area. The procedure that used to take 10 — 15 minutes now took 3. Everything is as it was before Radiance butchered me. Perfect, immediate results. AND on your first visit there they give you 50% off your first treatment (I had no idea so it was a lovely surprise, and it addition it cost three times less that Radiance).
If you are considering this service, DC Derm Docs is the way to go.