Padda Institute – Center for Laser and Aesthetic Medicine

I’d give Emily an A+ for making me feel comfortable and knowing exactly what was going to happen. Very warm welcoming, and I always knew I’d feel comfortable there. I got laser hair removal for underarms and for the bikini area. For some reason I didn’t notice a huge difference in my underarms, unfortunately.
I’d give the laser a 1 out ot 5 just because it didn’t seem like it was strong enough. I don’t know how to tell what laser is more efficient or not, but this one definitely didn’t suit my personal needs. I used a groupon, but I wouldn’t come back for more treatments.

So let me start with the laser itself. This was my second laser hair removal experience and I actually saw results this time! I attributed this mainly to the type of laser they use here (a type of YAG, I believe) vs the IPL many other places use. So I think they have a great laser! I got my underarms and upper legs done. My previous treatment (at another place, using IPL) was just my underarms and it LITERALLY made no difference so it was kinda like starting fresh here.
Now let’s talk about the actual treatment. The technician that I got most of my visits (all except one visit, I think) wasn’t exactly thorough in the way she went over the area with the laser — when she moved from one spot to the next, she would skip a patch of skin… At first I was like maybe this is just in my head as I can’t actually see my leg while she’s working on it, I just feel the laser moving from one spot to the next. But when I started seeing results (which was only after 1 or 2 sessions!) and noticed how it was so patchy, I realized it wasn’t in my head. But I figured maybe it’ll even out over time. But alas, it did not! Now I have patchy legs :(.
It makes me very sad to think that my legs could’ve been so much closer to being completely hairless if the technician had actually put in the time she should have. All my treatments took less than 20 minutes (including underarms!) if that gives you any idea of how fast she went through. One of the other reviews mentions how it seems like the staff is stretched too thin — I completely agree. I think they try to limit their appointments to 30 minutes (and don’t even spend that whole time on the actual treatment itself) and end up rushing through them.
Oh and don’t expect a «warm and inviting» experience. This is more of a get in and get out kind of place and they don’t really seem to engage in niceties (I don’t even think the staff smiles when you come in lol). I personally don’t care about that (yeah, it’s nice but I care more about the actual service) and that had no bearing on my rating. Buuuuut, there is a difference between schmoozing and just having your customer feeling valued and I think that is lacking here. I always felt like I was burdening my technician with my appointment. That shouldn’t happen. Again, I think this is a factor of the lack of staff or too many appointments or something like that.
The physical area itself is fine. Nothing fancy but also nothing sketchy looking. I was always in the one treatment room opposite the bathroom. I’m not sure if they changed the sheets or pillow covers between customers (which, come to think of it, is pretty gross…) but there are a bunch of towels in a bin in case you want to wipe yourself completely clean of the gel (there will be some left over even after they wipe it off). I also wish they wiped the goggles between customers. There were foundation marks on the nose ridge before I even put it on :/​. Hmm… I had given this place 3 stars but I’ve realized that might be too much. Changing to two stars.

I loved my experience with this place. Very friendly staff, made me feel comfortable and explained everything I needed to know for my service (I purchased the Groupon for a large area, and I did upper legs). Thank you Padda Institute for the service!

Place is great. They were very thorough answered all my questions and gave me realistic expectations. Staff is very courteous as well. The laser was fast and painless. Very happy with this groupon purchase!

So, I purchased two groupon specials and I have to say I wish I would’ve spent my money somewhere else! Besides the fact that you can’t ever get an appt within a mo. in advance at Padda, after 5 treatments I’ve seen absolutely NO improvement.
I’m beyond disappointed to the point that I told them to keep there 6^th session! I travel 45 min to get to this place and on my 5^th and apparently my last appt. there was heavy rain so, I called to let them know I was running behind because of traffic (mind you they NEVER answer their phone). My appt was at 3:30 and I arrived at 3:45 and they were gone!!! Grant it I was late but I did call and if they weren’t going to wait then they could’ve had the decency to call their client to reschedule. Only way you can communicate with them is via email so, I sent them an email letting them know about their horrible service and all I get is a call from Erica stating we close at 4 and since you didn’t show up I left at 3:50pm. This was a lie, I showed up at 3:45 because I saw her get in her silver car and take off!!! And if you closed at 4pm why the hell did you leave, the damn treatment itself takes 2 min. if that!
Apparently, my money is not good enough for this place and I hope you use your money wisely and not waste it as I have.

So this place has a special on their hair removal so I decided to give it a try. I will say I have been at least three times and they are always fairly nice. It is sometimes hard to get an appointment because they seem to always run a special.
The laser hair removal procedure is pretty straight forward. They put a cool gel on the area and then they bring out the lasers. I have never had scarring and I have had noticeable improvements. It’s a little painful on sensitive areas like your bikini line but almost all hair removal is painful.

If I could rate half stars I’d go 2.5. I had laser hair removal from the waist down.
My issue is not with the treatment itself but with the facility and the way it is run. I too bought the groupon and have received all of my sessions except 1 thus far. I’m happy with the results of the treatment itself and added on extra sessions in addition to the groupon. Further, I’m Italian so I have dark coarse hair which can be harder to get rid of and I’m still happy overall. I still have to shave here & there sometimes but it isn’t at all the same as before receiving the treatment.
Also, I’ll say that I’m kind of a pansy. My tattoos and piercings hurt less than this and I know I’m a pain for them to treat. They generally are pretty graceful about it.
That said, I live on the IL side of the river and had a lot of trouble finding the place, even with my GPS so I had to call a few times and ended up being about 5 minutes late. The person on the phone was so rude I considered asking for my money back and not even going, but they have a $ 300 cancellation fee. After they were finally able to get me to the place, all went smoothly.
The two people I’ve spoken with, Emily and one other girl, are often friendly. The sessions themselves are quick.
Scheduling is a nightmare. You will almost never get a person when you first call and the automated service prompts you to leave a message. They then call you back. They’re generally good about it but usually my schedule is hectic and I often end up not being able to take the call due to other commitments and so we end up playing phone tag. It would be most beneficial if they had a separate person doing the phones while Emily and the other person are doing treatments. I feel like those girls are spread too thin.

I bought a Groupon deal to this laser center, and at my first session I knew the experience would be horrible. They left me waiting for 50 minutes then told me the specialist had left for the day. During the 8 treatments I did NOT notice any reduction of hair. They spend 4 minutes on each section… barely enough to warm up the skin! All in all, my hair is exactly the same! NO CHANGE WHATSOEVER! Complete waste of money.

The thing with laser hair removal is that it works differently on everyone. People with light hair are going to have less results than someone with dark hair. Also, you have to laser each follicle multiple times and it’s not exactly a quick process. You have to stay committed to the treatment process and repeatedly visit the office. It had been my first visit so I don’t have much to say about my experience, but will keep you posted as I am paid up for five more treatments.
What I can tell you is that the office is clean, nicely decorated, and has a soothing spa like feel. The staff is nice, efficient and knowledgeable. I am looking forward to my next visit.

Clean, well decorated, airy med spa feeling. Maybe they were remodeling at the time of the first review, but it looks very nice now. Rooms were clean and felt cozy, not clinical. Laser was practically painless and took less than 2 minutes to complete the area being treated. The staff member was professional, albeit a little curt. She did warm up after a few moments of chatting, but they should remember customer service includes being friendly as well as polite. All in all, I will probably buy another groupon here in the future.

I recently bought a Groupon for laser hair removal and I’ll admit that I was apprehensive. They sold close to 2000 Groupons, so I foolishly assumed I would never get in. I was able to get an appointment in the same week. The front desk staff was helpful and attentive. The hair removal itself was just shy of painless and my technician was very nice and answered all of my many questions (I’m a big of a dork who wanted to know all about the actual laser). My only iffy-​ness came from the fact that the room I was in looked a little jankey. I don’t know if they remodeled or repainted recently but it was just a little off with paint peeling and areas of drywall showing through. But it wasn’t dirty at all. So, I’ll gladly return for my laser treatments, but I don’t think I would return for anything that would involve needles or scalpels.