Patient Reviews
About Patient Reviews
We value all of our patients and their individual needs. At Bay Area Cosmetic Dermatology, we want you to make the most informed decision to achieve your cosmetic goals. Choosing the best procedure and physician for you is an extremely important decision, and we invite you to read about previous patients’ experiences and better understand the quality treatment you will receive from our board-certified dermatologists. Each of our medical professionals value your journey and want to ensure you feel as comfortable and confident about your decision as possible.
Reviews for San Francisco, CA Dermatologist Dr. Kathleen Welsh Melasma Procedures
"I can't say enough good things about Dr Welsh and Dr Huy. I have been seeing Dr Welsh for 20 years, since high school. She has saved my face a few times... Severe cystic acne, severe acne scarring all over my entire face, a dog attack that severely mangled my cheek... big stuff. Over the course of my life I have experienced that feeling of shame and insecurity because my face looked so messed up that I didn't want people to look at me. And every time, Dr Welsh put my face back together and then some. Which essentially gives you your life back, because you can face the world with confidence and really show up and be present in conversations, instead of tripping out over how how destroyed your face looks.Those are the extreme cases that Dr Welsh has helped me through. Always, she is compassionate, straight up, and comes up with a game plan and a timeline, and doesn't want to stop until whatever the issue is perfectly resolved. Pretty much everything you want when you put your face in someone's hands.Now I am in my late 30s so there are a new bag of things that that can be improved upon that pop up: wrinkles, face and lips losing its fullness, and discoloration (hyperpigmentation). And again, I don't trust anyone to mess with my face, EVER, unless its Dr Welsh or Dr Huy. Dr Welsh is a master at filler because she basically refuses to make you look unnatural. She will make you look refreshed and well-slept, but even if I beg for slightly fuller lips she looks at me and says, "No." That's what you want. Someone who says no. Dr Huy is amazing. At first I felt like I was cheating on Dr Welsh by seeing her as well but she is awesome and just as skilled. I highly recommend you try her, because they have similar approaches and equal skill set. I am so glad I gave her a chance because she is fantastic and she dealt with this discoloration and redness/rosacea problem that started a year ago. Again, she was sweet and supportive, gave me a game plan and a timeline. exactly what you want when you are stressing over something on your face. I love Dr Huy.Everyone who knows me knows that I call Bay Area Cosmetic Dermatology "my happy place". Such caring, such professionalism and and attention to detail, such a personalized care regimen that makes you feel like you are in the right hands and you can relax and there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am a die-hard supporter."
"I can't say enough good things about Dr Welsh and Dr Huy. I have been seeing Dr Welsh for 20 years, since high school. She has saved my face a few times... Severe cystic acne, severe acne scarring all over my entire face, a dog attack that severely mangled my cheek... big stuff. Over the course of my life I have experienced that feeling of shame and insecurity because my face looked so messed up that I didn't want people to look at me. And every time, Dr Welsh put my face back together and then some. Which essentially gives you your life back, because you can face the world with confidence and really show up and be present in conversations, instead of tripping out over how how destroyed your face looks. Those are the extreme cases that Dr Welsh has helped me through. Always, she is compassionate, straight up, and comes up with a game plan and a timeline, and doesn't want to stop until whatever the issue is perfectly resolved. Pretty much everything you want when you put your face in someone's hands. Now I am in my late 30s so there are a new bag of things that that can be improved upon that pop up: wrinkles, face and lips losing its fullness, and discoloration (hyperpigmentation). And again, I don't trust anyone to mess with my face, EVER, unless its Dr Welsh or Dr Huy. Dr Welsh is a master at filler because she basically refuses to make you look unnatural. She will make you look refreshed and well-slept, but even if I beg for slightly fuller lips she looks at me and says, "No." That's what you want. Someone who says no. Dr Huy is amazing. At first I felt like I was cheating on Dr Welsh by seeing her as well but she is awesome and just as skilled. I highly recommend you try her, because they have similar approaches and equal skill set. I am so glad I gave her a chance because she is fantastic and she dealt with this discoloration and redness/rosacea problem that started a year ago. Again, she was sweet and supportive, gave me a game plan and a timeline. exactly what you want when you are stressing over something on your face. I love Dr Huy. Everyone who knows me knows that I call Bay Area Cosmetic Dermatology "my happy place". Such caring, such professionalism and and attention to detail, such a personalized care regimen that makes you feel like you are in the right hands and you can relax and there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am a die-hard supporter."
"I can’t say enough good things about Dr Welsh and Dr Huy. I have been seeing Dr Welsh for 20 years, since high school. She has saved my face a few times... Severe cystic acne, severe acne scarring all over my entire face, a dog attack that severely mangled my cheek... big stuff. Over the course of my life I have experienced that feeling of shame and insecurity because my face looked so messed up that I didn’t want people to look at me. And every time, Dr Welsh put my face back together and then some. Which essentially gives you your life back, because you can face the world with confidence and really show up and be present in conversations, instead of tripping out over how how destroyed your face looks.Those are the extreme cases that Dr Welsh has helped me through. Always, she is compassionate, straight up, and comes up with a game plan and a timeline, and doesn’t want to stop until whatever the issue is perfectly resolved. Pretty much everything you want when you put your face in someone’s hands.Now I am in my late 30s so there are a new bag of things that that can be improved upon that pop up: wrinkles, face and lips losing its fullness, and discoloration (hyperpigmentation). And again, I don’t trust anyone to mess with my face, EVER, unless its Dr Welsh or Dr Huy. Dr Welsh is a master at filler because she basically refuses to make you look unnatural. She will make you look refreshed and well-slept, but even if I beg for slightly fuller lips she looks at me and says, "No." That’s what you want. Someone who says no. Dr Huy is amazing. At first I felt like I was cheating on Dr Welsh by seeing her as well but she is awesome and just as skilled. I highly recommend you try her, because they have similar approaches and equal skill set. I am so glad I gave her a chance because she is fantastic and she dealt with this discoloration and redness/rosacea problem that started a year ago. Again, she was sweet and supportive, gave me a game plan and a timeline. exactly what you want when you are stressing over something on your face. I love Dr Huy.Everyone who knows me knows that I call Bay Area Cosmetic Dermatology "my happy place". Such caring, such professionalism and and attention to detail, such a personalized care regimen that makes you feel like you are in the right hands and you can relax and there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am a die-hard supporter."
"I have been in to see Dr. Welsh three times and been thrilled each time with the result and/or prescription. I have been to other dermatologists and these ladies "get it" better than most. The first time I went in to inquire about how to improve the look of my aging skin and they started me on retnoids-which have been a game-changer. Women in their 30s and 40s shouldn't have to battle acne and wrinkles at the same time! I have been using them for three years now and could not be happier with the result. I went back in to have a light peel done to try and remove some melasma on my forehead and chin from years of sun abuse (I now wear sunscreen religiously, but had a misspent youth in tanning beds...). I also received some other in office treatments that did not disappoint. Dr. Welsh saw me for two of those appointments and her very capable staff saw to my needs the third time. I plan to make an appointment to return to see Dr. Welsh and her friendly and competent staff as I prepare for my upcoming wedding this summer to make sure I look my best. Reasonable pricing for this area and realistic results are what I expect and what these ladies have delivered each time I have been in. Highly recommend!!!"
"Fraxel Re:store Worth It for Acne Scars and Melasma - I decided to do a series of Fraxel treatments about a year ago, and just had my fourth one today. I wanted to post because I feel the root cause of many negative reviews is going to a sub-par doctor or clinic that doesn't manage the risks as easily and exhaustively as they can be managed. My first recommendation is to go to a Dermatologist who is helping you with your overall skin problems/plan. I worked with my Dr. for about 1 year before my skin was "ready" to undergo the fraxel treatments. With each treatment I follow the same routine: start taking Valtrex 1 day prior to procedure in order to ward off cold sores take antibiotics that eliminate breakouts starting the day of treatment I am numbed for ~ 90 minutes and also take Vicodin and Valium. These three things combined really make the pain managable as it's only for about 25 minutes. (it is still uncomfortable though, so I don't know how folks do it w/o drugs!) My Dr. does "gentle waves" following the treatment, which helps with the healing and re-building of collegen. I also go back and do a quick gentle waves the next two days. In my estimation this shaves one day off the healing cycle when you're really red/swollen. I ice non stop the first two days, sleep sitting up, and continue icing on the third day, too. I drink TONS of water to help with the swelling (ever tried to get rid of bloating? Same premise) ~ 4x per day I apply NeoCutis restorative skin cream and obviously wash my face with mild soap (Obagi) and use 60 sunscreen (my derm office recommends Ti-Silc which works well) Overall the results have been amazing. I had major scarring on my face from repeated bouts with cystic acne growing up (I'm currently 39). After the first 3 treatments people kept mentioning how great my skin looked, but they couldn't quite "place the difference". One person even said it looked like a got a face lift! My melasma improved as well, to the point that the gal who gives me facials was BLOWN AWAY when she saw me 2 weeks after a fraxel. I had my fourth today, and will have one more. My Dr. recommends doing them about 2 - 3 months apart. After 5 I will let things heal completely, and maybe do a touch up 1x/year or something. I do my fraxels on a Wednesday morning and work from home the next two days. By Saturday evening I'm able to go out and no one can notice the difference. My healing cycle is very predictable: red and immediately swollen day of, but not too bad - moon face red/swollen days 2, 3 (but not sooo bad -- my eyes never swelled shut, etc. I'm just unsightly) By fourth day a bit bronzed and swelling is significantly better. I did one where I didn't do Gentle Waves and if that's the case then I'm at this stage on day 5) 4th day I am able to run errands and go to social events - dry/sand paper feel for about a week. After about 4 - 5 days I use my Clarisonic which I think helps with the healing process. If I do it on a Wed. by Monday I'm back in the office looking better than I did the previous week. After 2 weeks my skin feels normal again, and I'm able to get a full facial with peel 2 weeks later with no issues/discomfort. Again, I think the most important aspect of doing Fraxel is treating it as one component of an overall plan with a trusted Dermatologist. I wanted to share my experience as the postings on this site freaked me out so bad I almost didn't go through with Fraxel, and that would have been SUCH a shame. I hope this review is helpful and wish everyone the best in working to fix issues that affect them in a negative way."
"Fraxel Re:store Worth It for Acne Scars and Melasma - Conservative approach; excellent risk management/mitigation; approaches as part of overall skin program; understands how skin issues affect self esteem"
"I have melasma. Or should I say HAD! My bff recommended Dr. Welsh as she had this HUGE grey thing growing in her dermis some years ago and Welsh magic-wanded it. I am getting ready for my wedding and nada I have tried over the last few years has helped. I have done just about eerything you can do without a prescription. I'd gotten to the point of hating the mirror just because of my skin. That was a new experience for me because my entire life I was able to avoid skin problems. Never had issues, even in my teen years. Anyway, now tables turned and my skin had become horrendous - the dark mask was getting worse by the day it seemed. I thought laser was next so I went to see Dr. Welsh. She told me the real deal - laser wouldn't help (at least not permanently) melasma, especially as mine was hereditary. She put me on Obaji Nu Derm and in 4 weeks my life has changed. I mean REALLY. The spots have almost completely cleared up and my skin is even better than before. So happy with the correct assessment of my skin that I am also going back to Dr. Welsh's group for laser hair removal. So happy when something really works and someone really really knows their stuff. Thanks Dr. Welsh!Also:- Parking all over the place (lots, even occassionally street)- Very flexible appointments once you have had your first"
"I have melasma. Or should I say HAD! My bff recommended Dr. Welsh as she had this HUGE grey thing growing in her dermis some years ago and Welsh magic-wanded it. I am getting ready for my wedding and nada I have tried over the last few years has helped. I have done just about eerything you can do without a prescription. I'd gotten to the point of hating the mirror just because of my skin. That was a new experience for me because my entire life I was able to avoid skin problems. Never had issues, even in my teen years. Anyway, now tables turned and my skin had become horrendous - the dark mask was getting worse by the day it seemed. I thought laser was next so I went to see Dr. Welsh. She told me the real deal - laser wouldn't help (at least not permanently) melasma, especially as mine was hereditary. She put me on Obaji Nu Derm and in 4 weeks my life has changed. I mean REALLY. The spots have almost completely cleared up and my skin is even better than before. So happy with the correct assessment of my skin that I am also going back to Dr. Welsh's group for laser hair removal. So happy when something really works and someone really really knows their stuff. Thanks Dr. Welsh! Also: - Parking all over the place (lots, even occassionally street) - Very flexible appointments once you have had your first"