American Laser Skincare
Reviews and Complaints

9-3-2010 I asked for a full refund ASAP because I have done my best to work through the problems I have experienced but now that I have started voicing my concerns I have found I am not the only one with issues with American Laser Centers.
First, I referred 2 people to American Laser Centers and I have not received 1 referral fee of $250. I was told in April to call the Referral Program Number [protected] and they said the fee had not been sent out but it was coming soon. I called several more times until in August I was told by the new manager $250 was sent out in March. I called the Referral Program Number and they too changed their story though I received nothing. They lied to me.
Also, I did not pay for services until I was told by the manager that I would be given a referral fee for signing up my daughter. Then I was told my daughter came in before me so I could not receive a referral fee for her but that was not true. My daughter has no money and could not come in before me when it was my money that paid her bill. I saw the ad on Facebook and I made an appointment in Ft Lauderdale and I referred my daughter. They lied to me.
Now if 1 referral fee was a problem I might not have a problem but I handed out at least 20 referral cards and the 2 referrals that I confirmed paid for service were not honored with me receiving $250.
At the same time I have been trying to be patient with the process but my daughter, my friend and I all believe we have more facial hair after 4 months of treatment than we had before treatment. We have different technicians every time we come and we are given different settings each time too. Then Lorie, the temp manager, told me it can take up to 2 years for us to get 100% removal. Other laser removal businesses say it takes 4 to 6 treatments max. I am not happy with, making appointments, paying and receiving no results. They lied to me.
Additionally, my referral, feels she has more hair then before treatments and she was receiving electrolysis before I referred her to American Laser Centers. She was burned, has a scare and has not been satisfied with general results for any of the services she has paid for and received.
When Yvette came by to complain to the new manager, the manager tried to ignore the complaints. Yvette was insistent and did manage to be heard and other customers heard too. So Yvette met Des, with the same complaints as well. Yvette submitted complaints on Jun 9th and July 27th. They lied to them too and we have had the same experiences, bad services promises not kept and only ting we have lost is our money.
Because I have been doing research and a technician told me I may never see any results because the machines dont work well for some people I do not feel I will ever get complete Laser Hair removal from American Laser Centers. Therefore I am requesting a full refund.
I saw an on line article in the (c) 2006 South Florida Sun-Sentinel by correspondent Barbara Hijek which said.
“A study by Dr. Kathleen Gilmore, national medical director for American Laser Centers, found problems occur rarely _ fewer that one-tenth of 1 percent of all cases. The findings were presented at a meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.”
If there are so few problems American Laser Centers should provide refunds for the rear 4 people to complain but they have refused to refund any of our money so we have filed fraud complaints with our credit card companies. All we wanted was quality hair removal. All they have done is taken our money and wasted our time while making our hair growth worse.
Summary, bad service, burns, no referral fees, different technicians each appointment, no results and lied to by management all adds up to fraud! I saw this “American Laser Centers has recently changed ownership and we would like to ask you to please contact our newly expanded customer service department regarding your issue at [protected]. Allen” I called and emailed them at
[protected]@alcpartner.com www.americanlaser.com but they refused to provide a refund. So I will spend the time I would have take for appointments to pass out complaint summaries to American Laser Customers to see how they really feel about American Laser Centers. I cant just let them continue to rip people off.

I signed a contract with American Laser Centers in Raleigh, NC in November 2007 and continued faithfully until April of 2010. I followed all protocol and received over something like 23 treatments. They tried stronger lasers, double passing, different intervals and strengths yet nothing worked and I still have all my hair. They even gave me a couple free treatments of the VelaShape so I could see in their words that their treatments worked. It did not work and Julie had pressed so hard on my sciatic nerve that I had horrible pain for the next year and spent money going to the doctor for relief.
Back to the laser hair removal, they did burn me a couple times on my thigh and chin but luckily no scarring. I really wish I had read reviews before spending $2, 471.58 plus more in creams, time, etc. I did not think to check because many years earlier I had received six treatments 6 weeks apart from a dermatologist, on my chin and stayed hair free for over 5 years. The hair grew back after I had my second child. After my divorce, I went to American laser and Erin promised me I would be hair free in no time. She was high-pressure sales and I signed up during my free consultation.
I complained after the first treatments that I saw no results and they said I needed to keep coming that sometimes it took longer but not to worry because if it did not produce results I would get at least a partial refund. I kept going even though I did not think it was working and was frustrated with their unprofessionalism. In one of my earlier treatments, the then manager actually took a phone conference while she was treating me. They would make you wait in excess of an hour for appointments; no one ever knew what was going on, sometimes treated with other people in the room being half-naked. I started making my appointments first thing in the morning because even though they were late opening I would not wait an hour. One time I arrived for an appointment (they even wrote it on the card for me) and they “must not have saved it.” I was sent away and had to wait several weeks for another appointment. One technician would treat me with a certain level and the next one would tell me “Oh she shouldn’t have treated you with this it is not right for your skin type!”
I kept going because they said I had to have so many treatments at high levels or something. I sometimes would go without shaving so they could see the hair. They would take pictures and say they were documenting it for medical. After all this time wasted, I have one tiny spot on chin and I mean tiny that hair does not seem to grow from. The rest of the chin, lip, underarms, bikini, navel, and inside of thighs is just as hairy and grows just as fast. I shave my chin, lip every morning, and by five o’clock, you can feel the stubbles!
I spoke with Julie on or around May 8, 2010 and she said that she would give me another six months of treatment. I told Julie that I was fed up and it obviously was not working. I canceled my appointment for the 10th and said I wanted to start the refund process. I was a little delayed but finally brought her a disk filled with photos of the areas showing hair growth after one day, two days and so on. She said “couldn’t I just email them, she didn’t know what to do with the disk, ” and I replied that I wanted them to see the full poor results and emailing pictures would be foolish. I heard nothing from her until I emailed her at the end of September inquiring into the status. Her reply was “I will have an answer from medical for you by the end of the 2nd week in October. Please call or email me if you have any questions before.” I emailed her again on October 15th and October 26th inquiring to the status. She responded on October 26th stating, “It is still being reviewed, I will know Thursday or Friday of this week. I will call you.”
No phone call has been received and based on the reviews I will probably never hear from them! I plan to join the class action suit and will contact the BBB.
Why do they say they are reviewing it for a refund if they have no intention? Just the pure communication from their agents should be contractual. This company should be put out of business. They engage in deceptive practices encouraging you to keep being treated so your two years expires! I really wish I could have kissed my razor goodbye!
“Kiss your razor goodbye. Toss your tweezers. Lose the wax. With laser hair removal from American Laser Centers, every inch of your skin will be as smooth as you want it to be. In fact, our laser hair removal system is so effective that we back it with our 2-Year Appearance Plan.”

I received a call from American Laser Centers telling me that I had won a FREE package. I went into the American Laser Centers in Orem UT to get a consulation to sign up for the program. That same day I decided to cancel the pogram, but I had already given them a $300 check for the down payment. The manager at the office said they wouldn't cash it and that they would return my money. I left thinking that it would be taken care of. Three weeks later, I notice that the check that they said they would not cash, was indeed cashed. I called them and went back to talk to them, but they just refered me to Corporate. Corporate was even more useless, they wouldn't return my calls or allow me to talk to a manager. Pretty much I'm still waiting for my refund. This is a scam. No one should ever go to American Laser Centers.

This company runs itself on a pyramid scheme and treats its customers with disrespect. Each employee from the nurse up receives a bonus when the customer purchases. It is very much like a used car lot and just like a used car lot the buyer should be wary. The manager and main nurse (at least in this Central Valley office) see no issue with changing client's appointments, and lying to them about it, to only give time for one area when more were scheduled. This is all done to fit in a new client so that treatment can proceed before the new client changes their mind and asks for a refund. Not that you would ever be allowed a refund by this corporation anyway. You may not be able to get rescheduled for months even when the manager or nurse made this schedule change. The manager also continually tells other staff to not worry about giving good treatments, as the client (you) will be coming in several times and it won't matter if you are "cheated" on your treatment. The manager and other staff talk about the clients behind their backs in a disrespectful, racist (especially if the client is Middle Eastern), and rude manner. If you buy from this company, you are locked into a two year contract and once that contract is signed the staff do not feel the need to give exceptional service until the next time you think about buying. If you are getting good treatments, it is more likely that those treatments will be successful. Unfortunately, the manager and staff at many of these clinics do not truly have your best intersts at heart. The manager at this clinic will tell you that her clinic is different from the others that are complained of on this site...it is not! BUYER BEWARE!

I signed up for a drawing at Denver PRIDE with American Laser Centers. I received a call a week later saying I had "won" 3rd place, a $300 gift certificate. I was thrilled, as I was interested in having the hair on my back professionally removed. Maggie (not her real name), the manager was supposed to have called me the day before about my appt. she called just a couple hours before.

I met her anyway at my appt. June 29th when she proceeded to interview/sell me on Laser hair removal. The price for a man's tee shirt back hair removal was $7000. That was for 6 sessions/2 years. In addition, there was an additional charge of $35/session for shaving my back. Needless to say I was shocked at the high price of laser hair removal.

I balked at such a high price, and said that was more than I had in mind, AND BTW didn't I WIN something?!

That's when she started working her MAGIC!

She started the discounting for the $300 I had won, an additional $100 (for what, I'm not sure)
Their monthly "special" (which btw expired the very next day, of course...) was the biggest discount of all, a BOGO!
A "moving -- move" discount, as they were in a new office --- lucky me, I thought!

Wow, was it my lucky day, with ALL of these discounts I was down to $2348!

I love a good deal and this sure sounded like one to me. Maggie went to CU ( so did my partner, and we live in Boulder) she graduated with a degree in Psychology...

She said she would be sure I got the "better" laser machine on all my appts. We became quick BFF's. Then she dropped the little detail about "shaving". If they had to shave my back, it was an additional $35/session. I was ready to walk out, when she said: " why don't I throw in some micro-derm abrasion treatments for you too?" And I'll discount the shaving for you too. All for a grand total of $2500 flat, no tax, that's it.

That was way more money that I thought I would ever spend, on "winning $300" But I spotted an out, in case my buyers remorse was too great.

I agreed, then she tried to get me to have my first Laser Hair Removal appt right then and there!

Thank goodness, I said NO!

The caveat on the contract reads: IF NO TREATMENTS ARE PERFORMED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, A REFUND WILL BE ISSUED AFTER MY WRITTEN REQUEST.

The next day, I did have second thoughts about my purchase. I called Maggie and told her I had to cancel for personal financial reasons. She said to mail her a request in writing or email it to her (a PDF signed) I did both.

EIGHT days later, Maggie called me back and said she had to have one of their forms completed by me and returned back to her.
That is when she told me it would take SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS for me to get my refund back!

I told her that was just unacceptable business practice, and I wanted my money back right away. Nothing happened, then I received a call from the Regional Manager, who tried to get me to keep my purchase. Then when that did not work, she told me it had to go through their Legal Dept. and would take 6 - 8 weeks for me to get my money.

If this kind of business practice is legal, I would like to talk to my Representative in Congress Jared Polis about this. This is so unfair, and unethical to keep someone else's money like this.

I would warn everyone to stay away from American Laser Centers, they are the worse kind of business you want to be involved with.

I am ashamed to say that I am a former employee of American Laser Centers. Everything that the other employees are saying is true; when you work for this company you only get lunch breaks if a client cancels or reschedules their appointment, so if the daily schedule is full, too bad. They also refuse to pay overtime and will not allow you to call in sick, therefore if you do happen to get sick you have to find someone to cover your shift, otherwise you are coming in. Also everything is about sales, the managers force us to upsell to every person that comes through the door, and if you are not selling you get your hours cut and eventually fired.
I urge everyone to STAY AWAY from this company, whether you are looking for a job there or a service. There are other Laser Centers with better reputations out there.
Also, if you see any good comments about them on this site, they are written by the clinic managers who are trying to improve the company's reputation so they can lure in more victims and steal their money.

I purchased a large treatment package for laser hair removal for my legs, under arms, lip, chin and brazillian. I am halfway through the treatments and have seen some results. I don't know if the results are lasting or not. In March I was told that my treatments were almost up. I pulled my contract the them and they were wrong. The contract had 12 more treatments. They had another contract that I had not signed that was the "revised" contract. The manager said she would continue with my treatments per my signed contract. I had one more treatment after that conversation and the Birmingham, AL office closed. I have contacted the corporate office and was told that they could continue treatments but I would need to travel out of state. I was informed that since they could continue the treatments at another location out of state that they were still in compliance with the contract. No refund or transfer to a local company to continue treatments. I'm not sure what I need to do now. Any suggestions?

A few months before my wedding, I made the biggest mistake walking into the American Laser office in Houston, Tx.

I had been previously turned away twice for laser treatment at dermatology centers due to the dark color of my skin. I had been told my skin type did not qualify for treatment. BUT American Laser promised me that this was not true because of their state of the art laser equipment.

They showed me pictures of clients like myself and told me I would be very satisfied with the results. I signed the contract and noticed the "no treatment is guaranteed". The office "manager" explained that it was routine just as no medical surgery is ever guaranteed. Made sense to me. I received two treatments out of 5 with absolutely no results. I expressed my concerns but they reassured me that it was just the beginning. After the fourth unsuccessful treatment, I spoke to the "office manager" again and realized I had been scammed. I seeked a dermatologist who was alarmed that anyone would do laser and on my face. Once again, I was told my skin type (color) did not qualify for this treatment. The dermatologist explained to me that I was lucky my skin was not damaged.

I contacted the Medchoice, and filed a complaint. They investigated and came back with a copy of the contract i signed "no result is guaranteed". Just like that. I have great credit, I never skip out on my financial responsibilities, but this is one I refuse to pay. I realize that I should have done my research but after speaking to so many people in this industry, I refuse to be a victim and pay for a scam. These people need to be out of business!

They are unbelievably irresponsible and I feel completely uncomfortable ever going to an ALC location again.

I believed in the Laser Hair Removal treatment, I am a perfect candidate with dark hair and lighter skin. I went religiously for a year and a half and had to stall for a little while during the time I was using RetinaA due to the enhanced sensitivity to UV lights. I went to the Williamsville, NY (Buffalo, NY) location. The staff seemed great and really friendly. Then without warning, it closed.

It gets better... I then contact the corporate headquarters. There's no record of me. Nothing. My name doesn't even show up. I called three times this week and finally someone was able to find my in the computer. I jumped through a few hoops, was told I could get a refund since the next closest location is over an hour away. I get a call back less than a minute later, nope, sorry we can't give you a refund because this location was privately owned. I then asked for the owner's information. I was told that usually the owners give forwarding phone numbers, but not this one. He just disappeared. I then asked to speak to the regional management team (I was told previously they were going to issue my refund that I was not going to get now). I was denied. I told them I wanted to speak with the regional management team because they must know who the owner was. I was told that no one in the organization has that kind of information.

Basically, they have no record of the gentleman who was running the location. My only option was to transfer to this other location over an hour away. I am extremely disappointed. I held up my end of the "contract" and now there is no one to make the owner or ALC responsible.

***If you attended this location, please post here, too! I've already filed with the BBB and am in the process of filing with the Attorney General. ****

I received 10 velasmooth/amerismooth treatments and not only was there zero improvement in my cellulite but i now have strange horizontal lines and indents that were never there before. I am sure the velasmooth machine caused it even tho AL refuses to admit it and of course no refund. I am absolutely devastated that i paid that kind of money just to make my thighs worse than ever. Has anyone else heard of anything like this? Any info would help. Thank you.

WARNING! Consumers really need to be aware that this company is one to stay away from. They go through technicians like water! Sadly, they don't treat or train their techs very well and do not provide them with all of the proper equipment to perform the treatments safely. I am absolutley shocked at the way customers are handled by this company. Consumers need to be aware that the cellulite reduction treatments are a very painful and very expensive joke! I see no improvement in my cellulite problems, and after reading other complaints, I can see that I am not alone in this regard.
Their customer service is absolutely horrible! After my clinic closed up shop, I am still trying to get a refund on the unused portion of my package! What an unscrupulous company!

I had problems with this company from the moment I first started going there. The managers were terrible. One told me that sometimes burns can happen and there is nothing they can do about it. The turnover rate is so high that I never had the same person doing my treatments. One manager told me that my legs were too tan to do the treatments so they would suspend my account until my legs were less tan. Well now that my "so called" warranty is over and they owe me at least 3 treatments on my legs and they will not perform them. I was told that supposedly the manager that told me that was wrong (of course she is no longer working there!) I still have hair on my legs and bikini area. It was a total waste of money! I know other people who have gone to other treatment places and have had great results. The techs at American Laser didn't know what they were doing half the time! Some were not using the correct settings on me which made going to that session a complete waste of time. One manager said no sun exposure 2 weeks before and now I was turned away because apparently no sun exposure for a month. I live in Arizona it makes it a little hard to wear pants in 100 degree weather. If they would have told me that sun exposure would void out my warranty I probably would not have paid to have this done. They are extremely unprofessional. They have no clue what is going on. The managers are as incompetent as the techs. I have seen no hair reduction at all on my upper legs because my hair is too thin. Of course they didn't tell me that when they were taking my money. BEWARE! This place is horrible and a complete waste of money. Imagine going there for 2 years, still having hair on my legs and bikini area and spending well over $5000 and being treated like crap by unprofessional staff and managers. The worse part is I have a burn on my bikini area and the only response I have gotten is that can happen. My husband went somewhere else after I started at American. They performed different tests to ensure his safety. After 6 treatments he has seen much better reduction than I have! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! AMERICAN LASER CENTER IS A COMPLETE RIP OFF AND MORE THAN LIKELY YOU WILL HAVE A NEW, UNTRAINED TECH PERFORMING LASER ON YOUR BODY. THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER GREAT OPTIONS IN TUCSON!

American Laser Center on Roper Mtn Rd in Greenville SC robbed me of $3, 000 and wasted my time for over 5 months. Office Manager Libby pretended to care and show great concern when presenting sales pitch but, in the end showed her true concern was only the sale - not the client and certainly not her word. She promised me results and guaranteed I would not leave unhappy with the service provided. I bought several Vela Shape treatments in a package when Libby convinced me she was giving me a 'great deal' of a price and a satisfaction guarantee. The treatments were supposed to be one hour in length but after several appointments that were 30 minutes or less I called. I was assured the problem would be resolved but, when I returned for my next visit - it lasted only 28 minutes. I again called and spoke to the very rude assistant mgr Talleson who again assured me the problem would be resolved. I felt cheated for all of the past visits where I had not received the service I paid for but, I was again assured by Libby that my treatments would not end until the results she promised in the beginning were received. Libby provided me a few extra treatments as payback for the short treatments I had received but, mostly because the results that were promised were not even close to being acheieved. After the additional treatments (that were not as promised) when the results were still not visable (even to Libby & all of the technicians) Libby again promised to continue working on the problem areas. I was then advised that the district manager would no longer allow Libby to provide these additional treatments to meet the results promised. Bogus excuse in my opinon! If Libby truly cared about clients, the promises she made or the results not achieved - she would refund me for the service I did not receive or work until the results promised were achieved. Two weeks after my last treatment and she has not even bothered to call. SAVE YOUR MONEY GREENVILLE!

I went to Mequon, WI location. Run away from this place as fast as you can!
I purchased 10 micro procedures. After 1st one I had to go to see dermatologist & pay for his services + meds. I called ALC & asked for a refund - guess what? they don't care! They refused to give me my money back. They told me that perhaps it was not done properly last time, it was cold outside & bluh, bluh...So, I tried treatment # 2 - same exact results, and I ended up at the Derma doctor again. I told ALC I will not be doing any treatments. After about 4-5 months of discussions, they offered to give me bikini hair removal for the remainder of my micro services & I was stupid enough to agree to it. There was no paperwork completed for this & I have not signed anything! After 2 bikini treatments, I got a letter that now I have to pay $50 per service, I called ALC, and what is really interesting - manager does not have a voce mail there ...Can you believe that? so, I tried & tried for several times - finally I got to talk to Ms. Amy, she said she needs to review my chart, and she was doing so for 2 weeks. I finally got sick of it & I called customer service, they logged a complain & she called me back.

When I asked to see my personal file, she told me that she needs to talk to her regional manager & see if its OK. I reassured her that its my right as a Patient to see my file...she does not know how long it takes to get this file to me - does she know anything? why is she being paid?

I will fight, I will not stop! I will get my file & I will go to court! if you would like to call me, here is the contact: [protected]

Also, I completed laser on my face, 2 years of treatments are over & I see no result...waste of money!

I signed up for services in May 2009. At the time I signed up, the techs and the manager, Jessica Stavena in the clearlake, Houston, TX office said the credit plan they were signing me up for has flexible payment plans where you can pay as low as $20 a month if you needed to... Thinking about how I was tight on money, I figured this was perfect for me! I can pay $20 dollars a month on those months where I don't have much money.. So I send my first payment, and by the second month, I find out that is not the case.. I got hit with huge fees, and now they took my promotional credit plan that offered no interest for 12 months.. So now my $2000 package is costing me $2800! To make things worse, I have been sent to a credit collection agency who is threatening to charge for legal fees if I don't pay up! This is not fair, this is not what i signed up for! I have left messages with the techs to have the manager call me to get this fixed, and I have yet to hear back from anyone! This was a complete scam just to get their sales bonuses, I'm sure! It has been a complete nightmare! I will never recommend this place to anyone!

With regard to hair removal I think this place is a joke. I have been in 2 different states and signed up for hair removal on bikini area and underarms. It has been over 1 and 1/2 years and I still need a razor. I feel completely ripped off, the "saleswomen" said I was a perfect candidate, fair skin, dark hair just normal amt of hair. I thought it would be worth it if I didnt have to shave anymore but that is never going to happen I complain almost everytime I am there, they will continue to do the treatments until I see results, but what a pain and they say that it probably will not remove all the hair...well then why would I spend $3500 and still need to buy and use a razor everyday. NO REFUNDS so I live with my mistake and never buy another service from this shady operation. I will add that I do have a friend who got laser hair removal at a dermatologist office and it did work. she could not believe that I had the lack of results I did but I just cant afford to try another place. I should have gone to her person.

High pressure and after several phone calls and wheels and deals... I finally gave in for hair removal and skin tightening... Omg, I wished I had never done it. Never have had such high pressure, I feel like they are hounding me every time I go in there and I have not had any reduction and the equipment they use is not safe and it is old. Please do not go to american laser center. They have 2 offices. One in st. Charles and the worst one in chesterfield. Ran by the mafia I do believe in michigan... It is a scam company.
I am so sorry I spent over $1500... And am out of all it and no hair reduction and burnt!