Skin Care Nightmares: Buyer Beware!

Los Angeles - Everybody wants beautiful skin, and it's easier than ever to buy skin care products online. Watch out, though, because you can do real damage if you're not careful.

We spoke to doctors who see that damage every day... and patients with the scars to prove it.

Christine Devine has the story in the video report.

Story Script:

A.J. WAS SUFFERING INSIDE AND OUT.

A.J.
"I was angry and depressed."

HORMONAL ACNE TURNED HER INTO A RECLUSE.

A.J.
"I wouldn't go places, where I knew there would be a lot of people, because I knew that everyone would look at me and judge me based on my skin condition."

Dr. Susan Evans
"She had been told on more than one occasion that it would never go away and that she had just to live with it."

SO A.J. TRIED ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING SHE COULD GET HER HANDS ON.. AND ENDED UP SPENDING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON TREATMENTS THAT DIDN'T WORK BEFORE TURNING TO THIS DOCTOR FOR HELP.

Dr. Susan Evans
"It's quite complex , and I wouldn't trust this to an amateur."

AJ'S DERMATOLOGIST WARNS THAT PEOPLE WITH SKIN PROBLEMS DON'T JUST WASTE MONEY... THEY TOO OFTEN GET HURT OR EVEN SCARRED.

Dr. Susan Evans
"If you don't know the right chemical peel for your skin type, you can potentially get something, for instance, over the internet, that's too strong for your skin. So when you use it it goes too deeply so it leaves hyperpigmention or scarring.... it leaves something very undesirable, and it ends up being more trouble sometimes than what you started with."

Dr. Daniel Taheri
"They tend to do more harm than good for their skin."

DR. DANIEL TAHERI THIS DOCTOR SAYS LASERS, IN PARTICULAR, ARE NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL.... AND HERE HE SHOWS MULTIPLE MACHINES FOR MULTIPLE PURPOSES.

Dr. Daniel Taheri
"You really gotta do your research and you really gotta see someone who's experienced in lasers."

THIS WOMAN TURNED TO DOCTOR TAHERI AFTER A CHEMICAL PEEL LEFT HER SCABBED.

Summer
"I felt foolish, and I felt upset that I was talked into it."

HE CORRECTED HER SKIN OVER TIME BY USING GENTLE TECHNIQUES.

Dr. Daniel Taheri
"You gotta know what you're treating, what kind of skin type you're treating, what previous treatments the patients had and what the patient is actually treating."

HE SAYS IT'S UP TO SKIN CARE SPECIALISTS TO EDUCATE THEIR PATIENTS.

Dr. Daniel Taheri
"We get patients who come in requesting the most aggressive peel because they think that'll get them the best results and that's not always the case."

THIS WOMAN SPENT SIX GRAND WITH A FACIALIST TO CLEAR UP HER SKIN, AND SHE SAYS ALL IT CLEARED OUT WAS HER BANK ACCOUNT.

Michelle Daricek
"My skin wasn't getting better after months of treatment.... nothing amounted to anything."

SHE SOUGHT MEDICAL TREATMENT.... HERE SHE GETS A T-C-A PEEL UNDER A DOCTOR'S SUPERVISION.

Dr. Raffy Karamanoukian
"The key to all of these treatments is proper diagnosis... We just needed to get her on the right regime."

AND WHEN IT COMES TO THIS TYPE OF PEEL.... HE SAYS, DON'T TRY IT AT HOME.

Dr. Raffy Karamanoukian
"Chemical peels are dangerous if they're not done by a medical practitioner."

AFTER DOCTOR EVANS CLEARED UP HER SKIN, A.J. IS NO LONGER HIDING FROM THE WORLD.

A.J.
"Thank God I finally found you."

EACH WOMAN WE INTERVIEWED SAYS THEIR BIGGEST MISTAKE WAS WAITING TOO LONG TO SEE A QUALIFIED DOCTOR WITH GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS.

Summer
"More than anything, make sure it's a doctor that you trust, that you can really interview and ask a million questions."

A.J.
"You need to see before and after pictures.... Anyone can say that they're gonna help you, but if you don't have any proof you shouldn't go with them."

DERMATOLOGISTS TELL US IT'S BUYER BEWARE WHEN BUYING ONLINE CHEMICAL PEELS.

THEY SAY THESE PRODUCTS DON'T HAVE THE SAME RIGOROUS APPROVAL STANDARDS THAT ARE REQUIRED ON PRODUCTS USED BY DOCTORS.

More information:

Dr. Susan Evans
436 N. Bedford Dr., Suite #300
Beverly Hills California 90210
(310) 550-5893
drevans.com

Dr. Daniel Taheri
10884 Santa Monica Blvd., 3rd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 446-4400
lalasercenter.com

Dr. Raffy Karamanoukian
1301 20th Street, Suite 240
Santa Monica, CA 90404
(310) 998-5533
karemd.com