Dr. Brandt: Straight from the celebrity facialist chair!

Ever wanted to meet with a celebrity dermatologist? Well so did we…let me recount my own personal experience with Dr. Brandt with P&W readers.

A few months ago I decided that given all the money I spend on skin care products, facials, what have you (and if you read my profile in the bio section you know its a lot!) that I was ready to pony up and get myself an appointment with one of the celebrity dermatologists. I debated which one.. Dr. Brant?, Perricone? Murad? Wexler? The list is long. Sephora seems to be introducing new doctor skin lines every month. After some deliberation I narrowed it down to Peter Thomas Roth and Dr. Brandt, primarily because their skin care lines were the ones I had used the most. I then decided to start with Dr. Brandt, given that his specialty is Botox and fillers…something I have just recently begun to experiment with.

Securing an appointment was much easier than I thought. It is difficult for me to make personal calls at work, so I contacted the New York office via email initially. Shockingly I received a response from his office promptly. I wish more doctors’ office would operate in this fashion.  I was informed that Dr. Brandt shares his time between his New York office and Miami office, and the next time he would be in the New York office with an available appointment time was about 10 weeks away. I was also advised to either take an appointment first thing in the morning or first thing after lunch to avoid a long wait. I booked…and then I waited…

Finally my appointment day arrived. After only about 20 minutes in the waiting room (shockingly fast for a doctor’s appointment in my opinion) I was whisked away to my first examination room. In this room I was to consult with a nurse on what my skin concerns were. I discussed with her that despite my age (33) I still tend to break out frequently, I have some redness, some dark spots from old acne scars, and I have anti-aging concerns. I revealed to them my current skin care regiment, products I currently use (prescription and non prescription) and that I had just begun to start using small amounts of Botox around my eyes to prevent crow’s feet. The nurse was extremely friendly and helpful. She also removed all my makeup and took several pictures of my face at different angles. The nurse, after taking extensive notes, said she would go brief Dr. Brandt and then I would meet with him.

At this point I was whisked to another examination room. And here is where I met with Dr. Brandt. He was dressed in what appeared to me was head to toe Dolce & Gabana but that was what I had expected. He introduced himself and immediately began reviewing all my skin concerns. He also asked me further questions on my skin history: what prescriptions had I used before? Is my skin better or worse when on birth control? How was it during different ages? Etc. He was patient, extremely friendly, and I did not feel rushed. I had anticipated that since I was not a high profile client or a very wealthy Upper East Side lady of leisure that my actual time with Dr. Brandt would be brief, but I was very wrong. After our discussion was over he suggested several treatments for me but not without asking me one very important question: how much do you feel comfortable spending? This I thought was very commendable. Rather than give me sticker shock at checkout the staff very politely inquired if I had a budget I would like to stay in for my visit. I answered that I did not and the treatments began.

First I sat in a heavy steam for about 20 minutes, after which time Dr. Brant himself came in and administered an Isolaze treatment. During the treatment he also injected any pimples I had, with what I don’t remember. Next, Dr. Brandt administered Botox injections. Several around my eyes (where my previous doctor had suggested I get them) and then in several new spots. They weren’t full injections like the ones administered around my eyes, but tiny pricks up and down where my hairline meets the sides of my face. Lastly, they sat me under a panel of light that I was told would help with redness.

Then, what I actually thought was likely the most helpful part of my visit, Dr. Brandt gave me a very exact instruction list of what products I should be using (prescription and non prescription), in what exact order I should be using them, and at what time of day I should be using them. Shockingly the products from his line that I had been using were not the ones he suggested I use! I guess all my years of trying to decipher labels at Sephora were a failure. I was given the option to purchase any of his products at his office, which I did.

Final bill without products: about $1500. Final bill including the 9 products I purchased: about $1900. I was told that his products, if used correctly should last me approximately 4 months. I was asked to come back in for a follow up in two months. I will recount that experience for all of you in my next post! If you have any questions on this post or on which products Dr. Brandt recommended (prescription or non prescription) just email us!