At RealSelf, we’re cultivating a community where members feel safe sharing deeply personal experiences, photos, reviews, and opinions without fear of judgment or harassment. You should also be able to trust that the information you find here has been posted without bias or a hidden agenda.

Our Code of Conduct outlines what we expect from you, and what you should expect from others. Still not sure about the rules? Check the RealSelf Terms of Service or ask us.

General Guidelines | Review Guidelines | Question Guidelines | Enforcement | Contact Us

General Guidelines

The RealSelf community includes consumers, providers and RealSelf staff. All community members are treated equally under these guidelines.

RealSelf does not discriminate based on positive or negative views, or on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability or status.

These are our community’s core tenets. 

Practice mutual respect. Our community is a supportive place. Treat others with respect, even when you don’t agree with them.

Be authentic and truthful. The purpose of our community is to create more transparency about people’s real experiences with cosmetic procedures, so they can make safer, more informed decisions. Your posts should reflect your genuine experiences and opinions. Photos and videos should show real before and after results and recovery experiences. Don’t post misinformation, rumors, fake content, or AI-generated content, including spam or other promotional content.

Everyone has an equal voice in our community. Duplicate accounts, ratings manipulation and other deceptive tactics are not tolerated.

Protecting your privacy

Your posts are visible to everyone. Carefully consider what personal details and photos you want to share.

Your username is shown next to your posts, so pick a name you like. (It can be anonymous.)

You have the option of receiving direct messages from other community members. This feature is turned on by default, but you can turn it off by visiting your profile and clicking “Preferences” > “Manage Preferences”

Respecting other people’s privacy

Our community is diverse, and our members have different levels of comfort with what they share online. Be respectful of people’s boundaries. Don’t share any information that doesn’t belong to you, including:

• Content copied from other profiles and sites

• Video and audio recordings

• Text messages or emails

• Real names, contact info and photos

• Social media profiles

Prohibited content and subjects

You’re welcome to share your opinion on a variety of topics, including providers and procedures. 

To maintain fairness and respect, we don’t allow the following types of posts on our platform:

• Personal attacks maliciously targeting an individual's character, appearance, or beliefs

• Threats or intimidation, whether physical or emotional

• Bullying with repeated aggressive behavior towards a particular person or group

Fair critique and opinions are welcomed, but keep your posts focused on specific behaviors and outcomes, not on name-calling or personal attacks.

Examples of fair critique: “Dr. B. was condescending and rude.”

Examples of personal attacks: Calling a doctor a butcher, hack, quack, scammer, or monster

Accusations and rumors

Refrain from spreading rumors or making accusations. Instead, take any personal or safety concerns to the appropriate channels. This ensures your concerns are heard quickly, and authorities can take appropriate action.

• Criminal accusations: If you've been a victim of a crime, please contact law enforcement. Making accusations of a crime, without going through legal channels, is a serious matter.

• Hearsay and third-party stories: Don’t repeat hearsay or share things you’ve heard from other people, online or in-person.

• Calling other people “fake.” Do you have concerns about the authenticity of an account or their content? Report it to our Trust & Safety team, so we can investigate and take appropriate action. Your identity will remain confidential.

  Steering discussions off-course

  Topics of discussion are set by the original poster. Conversations evolve, but we don’t allow posts that forcefully redirect a discussion, such as:

  • Sharing information without any connection to the post

  • Changing the subject without context

  • Posting your review on other community members’ reviews

  • Content unrelated to cosmetic procedures

  Sexual content

  Community members are free to discuss a variety of subjects related to procedures, including sexual topics. However, they must be on-topic and not contain:

  • Nudity unrelated to the topic

  • Unwanted sexual attention

  • Sexual harassment

  • Sexual offers or favors

  Other prohibited uses

  RealSelf is a place to research cosmetic procedures and connect with qualified providers. To maintain our site quality, we do not allow conversations that:

  • Post the same content multiple times

  • Use RealSelf to mobilize for group action

  • Request offline contact with other community members

  • Solicit for donation requests

  • Offer to buy or sell, including affiliate links

  • Promote a product or service you make, sell or are affiliated with, either personally or professionally

  • Include photos / videos that have been excessively edited or AI-generated

  • Include anything illegal

  Link policy

  You can link to other websites for informational purposes, not for personal or financial gain. We reserve the right to remove links that may harm our community, including misinformation, sexually explicit content and sites containing viruses / malware.

  Suicide or self-harm

  Your psychological and physical safety matter to us. In the U.S., please call or text 988 for help if you’re experiencing  thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

  For international assistance, refer to these international emergency and mental health support contacts.

  Review Guidelines

  Thank you for adding your voice to our community! In addition to the general guidelines above, please follow these rules when posting a review on RealSelf:

  Avoid conflicts of interest or bias

  We only accept reviews from genuine patients who don’t have any personal connection to the provider or brand they’re reviewing. We strictly prohibit providers from paying for reviews or writing reviews themselves. Any reviews that violate our guidelines will not be published and may result in further action being taken.

  What’s a conflict of interest?

  A conflict of interest happens when a reviewer's connection to a provider or brand might influence their opinion, making it unfairly positive or negative. For example:

  • Family or friends

  • Current or former employees

  • Marketing and reputation management companies

  Conflicts of interest can also be financial. We don’t publish reviews that have been incentivized by a third party, such as by offering a discount or free service in exchange for a review. RealSelf may offer incentives to our community, but disclosure will always be given.

  These rules apply even if the reviewer discloses their relationship to the provider or brand.

  RealSelf reserves the right, in our sole discretion, to make a judgment on whether any relationship is considered a conflict / bias.

  If you have any doubt whether your relationship with a provider or brand constitutes a potential conflict of interest, please reach out to us. We’re happy to advise you.

  Share your personal experience

  Share your personal experience only. Don’t share hearsay or other people’s stories. Ask them to write their own review instead.

  What is hearsay?

  Hearsay is something you’ve heard from someone else, but you weren’t there yourself.

  “I heard that another patient of Dr. P. had the same side effects.”

  What are third-party experiences?

  Third-party experiences are when you speak on behalf of other people, such as your friend, partner or family member.

  “My friend and I went together and we both loved our results. From start to finish, we were impressed.”

  For parents

  We recognize the important role parents play in making healthcare decisions for their children. Your stories help other parents make confident decisions.

  RealSelf allows reviews from parents, under these strict guidelines:

  • Share your experience, in your own voice

  • Your reviews must be about your child (under 18)

  • Don’t post any personally identifiable information (photos, names)

  • Absolutely no nudity

  Be unique

  Your review is your space to share your experience. Add to it any time by posting an update and updating your Worth It Rating. Our community loves to see how you’re doing!

  You can review more than one procedure and more than one provider, but each review must be unique. We’ll merge reviews that are about the same thing.

  You may, however, discuss specific topics related to your previously reviewed procedure in our community forums. For example, if you experience a side effect during your recovery or an unexpected benefit of your procedure, and want to know if others have also experienced it too, forums are a great place to start that discussion.

  Question Guidelines

  Doctor Q&A is for pre-procedure questions only

  Pre-op: Ask for provider opinions on the best treatment options, or ask questions that will help you prepare for a procedure.

  Revisions: Give yourself time to heal. Wait a minimum of 6 months after surgery, or 3 months after a nonsurgical procedure, to ask our doctor community about revisions.

  Post-op: Consult your provider for questions about complications, healing, side effects, infections, recovery, post-op protocols and other questions about your post-op experience. Your provider and staff are there to help you through it.

  Need help talking to your provider? Here are some tips for communicating with your provider’s office.

  Have you stopped seeing your provider? Use our Doctor Finder to locate a new provider in your area, or email us and we’ll help you find a provider.

  Enforcement

  RealSelf reserves the right, in our sole discretion, to make a judgment on whether account activities violate our guidelines, and what actions to take if we feel those activities are in violation.

  Millions of people come to RealSelf each year to share their experiences and opinions, and to connect with others who have similar interests. Our guidelines exist to keep the community safe, on-topic, and free of spam or hidden bias.

  Here’s what happens in the event our guidelines aren’t followed:

  Warnings

  For minor issues, we’ll notify you via email. Our goal is to inform you of the concern and help you participate in the community again.

  Serious issues will result in you immediately being blocked from using RealSelf. You will not receive a warning in these cases.

  Revoking access

  For serious or repeated offenses, we may revoke access to your account. Content and features requiring an account, such as direct messages and saved content, will no longer be accessible. You will not be permitted to open a new account, even if you use a different email address.

  Finally, we reserve the right to modify these guidelines at any time without notice.

  How to contact RealSelf

  Thanks for making it to the bottom of the page! We’re here to help with any questions you have.

  Check out our Help Center for answers to the most common questions.

  Still not sure? Use our contact form to email us. We answer all emails within 1 business day.

  Health Care Provider Code of Conduct

  In addition to the Code of Conduct above, these additional guidelines apply to Health Care Providers on RealSelf:

  Maintain Professionalism

  Health Care Providers are expected to maintain professionalism at all times on RealSelf. Do not bully or post disparaging comments about community members, other Health Care Providers, or RealSelf.

  Comply with HIPAA

  Do not post any content that violates HIPAA or other applicable health-privacy laws. Consider the privacy and safety of all community members before posting.

  Follow Our Photo & Video Guidelines

  All uploaded photos and videos must adhere to these guidelines.

  Conflicts of Interest

  Endorsements

  Clearly explain any conflicts of interest, including products, brands and research funded by third parties. For example, if you are receiving money from a brand whose product you endorse, clearly define this relationship in all relevant posts.

  Reviews

  You may not solicit or receive reviews from anyone with a personal or professional bias. This includes past and present employees, colleagues and family members. You also may not use third-party services to collect and post reviews on behalf of community members.

  Ask your doctor advisor about using Patient Engage to help you obtain reviews from consumers who have received a treatment or procedure from your practice.

  Ethics

  The mission of RealSelf is to help consumers make confident decisions about elective cosmetic procedures. False reviews, “helpful vote” abuse and other dishonest gaming practices erode trust and will not be tolerated.

  Disciplinary Action

  Health Care Providers who violate RealSelf HCP Terms of Service, Health Care Provider Code of Conduct, the Code of Conduct or the Photo & Video Guidelines may have their profiles suspended, limited or removed, temporarily or permanently, in RealSelf’s sole discretion.

  Non-Competitive Inquiry

  An audit will be initiated in the event that one or more geographically non-competitive peer negatively reports a Health Care Provider's posts or behavior on RealSelf.

  RealSelf may also conduct periodic audits of a Health Care Provider’s profile in order to ensure compliance.

  Want to Dispute a Review on RealSelf?

  We only remove reviews that violate our Terms of Service. We do not remove reviews on request. If you want a certain review removed because you believe it violates our Terms, please submit your dispute in writing via our online dispute form.