Pure Dermatology & Aesthetics- Nina Desai MD- — Attraction in Manhattan Beach

I first heard of Dr. Desai through Susan Yara on YouTube. I should have known that this referral wouldn't be the best, given that apparently they are friends and Dr. Desai does free treatments for Susan.

Anyways, I started seeing Dr. Desai in late June 2021 to treat my melasma. This is a very difficult medical condition to treat. Since Dr. Desai is a woman of color, I felt comfortable with her and thought that she would be a good doctor. Well, fast forward to about nine months and I am so regretting my decision. I should have got at least a second opinion.

At the consultation Dr. Desai sounded nice, caring and understanding. She suggested a series of cosmetic treatments including peels, microneedling with PRP, and Clear and Brilliance lasers. To prep the skin she prescribed 8% hydroquinone but i was not on hydroquinone long enough to give a chance to work. Tje prescription is $90 and it must be used within a month. I wasted money on this as well. I did two of each treatments without results.

She then recommended a peel called cosmelan which costs $1,200. It is extremely painful with about two weeks downtime, skin is literally raw and super sensitive. After two weeks of the peel, my skin looked brighter, even and smooth. About a month after the peel, the melasma came back just as it was before the peel. I complained to Dr. Desai and she recommended I go see a gynecologist to get my hormones checked. She referred me to the UCLA gynecologist group in Torrance. The gynecologist was surprised to learned I have been referred to them as she stated they don't do hormones checks there. Another terrible experience, waste of time and money. Dr. Desai also said that she have saved a bit of the peel for more stubborn areas. She only offered this after I complained that I was not seeing improvements.

I also had other treatments with her. PRFM for hairloss, did two of these again no results. I asked her what can we do to improve my neck fine lines and wrinkles. She recommended the bbl/halo. Well, not only this laser did not work, it made some pigmentation on my neck so much worse. I paid another $1,200 for this treatment. Now I cannot wear any tops to cover my neck because it is extremely sensitive (over a month since the treatment now), I cannot wear low cut tops because I feel extremely self conscious about my neck. I emailed Dr. Desai asking her if she can refund my money so I can go get treatments elsewhere to try to correct what she messed up. She never responded to my email (not surprised).

I spent about $10,000 at Dr. Desai practice without any results. I am now struggling emotionally as I feel she took advantage of my medical condition. She made the skin on my neck worse. She is an opportunist and capitalized on my condition.

I noticed if someone makes a negative comment on her IG posts or questions her, she deletes the comments. She tried posting a picture of my face saying a great the cosmelan peel is. I asked her to remove it because it was misleading to others.

In talking to other doctors they recommend treating melasma with a medical approach first and hence the results with lasers, peels, etc. However, if Dr. Desai would have taken that approach, she would have not made $10,000 off me.

I would never recommend this doctor for medical treatments.

Also a bit pushy with her skin care line. I broke down and bought the tinted sunscreen. The cerave tinted sunscreen is way better for 1/10...

I admittedly never take the time to write Yelp reviews, but am so impressed by Dr. Desai that I want to ensure the word gets out about her fantastic practice.

I am a 36 year old mom of two and have a history of melanoma. From my history of skin cancer, I am very cognizant of skin health. Separately, working mostly remotely for the past two years via Zoom was also looking for someone who would conservatively help me in age-prevention (let's be honest, seeing yourself on camera day in/out, is not the most enjoyable). Dr. Desai not only takes the time to get to know you and your concerns, but is thorough in explaining the options and ultimately exceptionally conservative in her recommendations. Dr. Desia has done comprehensive skin checks for me and really upped my aging-prevention regimen. She recommended some products that have made a noticeable difference and also botox. It was important to me to age gracefully, and I think Dr. Desai is perfect for anyone like-minded. She ensures I look like myself -- just slightly refreshed and it's nice to know what I am doing well will assist in me aging gracefully and feeling like my best self. She has phenomenal products, but never pushes them and has even talked me out of some options I had read about and raised to her. As an example, during my last visit there were several products that she gave me names of other brands she trusts for me to purchase on my own. I trust her from experience and decided to get a few of her products as well and they are noticeably than anything I've purchased (Skinceuticals included) as they are tailored.

In sum, I could go on and on about how great Dr. Desai is. She is the only person I trust and will personally see from here on our for...

I was referred to Dr Nina Desai from a dear friend who is a natural beauty and constantly being confused for someone decades younger! I trusted whoever she trusted with her skin.

My first visit, I was very nervous as someone in my thirties wanting to be proactive without doing anything too invasive - Dr Desai was amazingly patient, kind and shared all my options - the post op time (which was my main concern) and what would give me the best ROI given my criteria and leaning preventive.

I first started w micro needling with PRP (which was amazing) and then graduation to BBL and Halo Laser Treatment a few months later to treat some some sunspots and help with some aging.

I am obsessed with the results and see a huge difference. Sometimes I forget but, a close friend of mine I haven’t seen in 2+ years even told me yesterday that seems like I look even younger than the last time she saw me and could see a major difference since my laser in November. This made me happy and had to share how highly I recommend Dr Desai...