Cheryl L Effron, MD

I’ve been going to Dr. Effron on and off for the past 3 years. In June of 2013 I started losing hair by the handful. By August, I had lost 50% of my hair and after another derm left dents in my scalp from steroid injections I was referred to Effron by Dr. Berry (who is also awesome btw). I was put on a 3 month regimen that consisted of vitamins, shampoo and topical solutions. I was nervous after reading reviews about how she pushed products but honestly everything she recommended worked for me and my hair finally stopped falling out and started to grow back! I’ve heard people say she doesn’t have the best bedside manner but she’s always been nice to me and willing to answer any questions I have.
Side note: it is always SO cold in that building so bring a jacket :)

I have been a patient of Dr. Effron for several years and have had several treatments done over those years, but I want everyone to know about my last procedure that I had done this past Tuesday. I LOVE my fuller, plumper lips! Dr. Effron introduced me to Restylane Silk and I am so very happy with the results.
I must admit I was a little scared the first night because of the swelling, but by the next morning my fears were gone.
I highly recommend this product if you are wanting to get rid of those gross lines that start appearing around your lips in your 40’s.
Thanks again Dr. Effron you are great!

This office did an excellent job. I am very satisfied with the service provided by Dr. Effron.

Service is really bad here, you have to wait at least an hour to see the doctor even with an appointment. Doctor is OK but doesn’t listen and only talks, front ladies are horrible. They have bad attitude, I have stopped visiting them as overall experience has not been great.

I have been seeing Dr. Effron for over four years and have always had a great experience. I have gone to both offices– Huntington Beach and Anaheim Hills. Dr. Effron has never tried to up sell me. She is a very knowledgeable dr and I like her bedside manner. She is not there to be your friend, she is there to discuss your skin and tell you what your options are. Yes she does have her own line of products but she has always gave recommendations of store brands as well. I however use her brand of sunscreen and love it! I would highly recommend her.

I have been seeing Dr. Effron for years and she and her staff have been great! I first started seeing her for melasma years ago and now just use her face pads as needed. At 55, I need all the help I can get and Dr. Effron keeps me looking youthful but in a refreshed, natural way.
Thanks Dr. Effron!

I have seen Dr Effron for many years. I have been to both her offices. The staff was professional and friendly at both locations. Her knowledge and in depth insight are very welcoming. She has treated my family for years as well. I have sent others there with my good recommendation, and they have loved her as well. It’s nice to have an office/​doctor that knows what they are doing and you feel well taken care of. Our experience there has been wonderful. Once you find a good Doctor, hold on to them!

How would you feel if you showed up to your appointment and were denied service because you were eightteen minutes late? That’s exactly what happened to me today.
As I attempted to sign in, I was abruptly informed that I would not be able to see the doctor since I was almost a half hour late. Surprised, I quickly looked at my watch and informed them that I was actually only 18 minutes late. I informed him that I was a customer of over 25 years and asked that they please let Dr. Efron know I was here and see if she could work anything out. They declined stating they had strict orders not to interrupt her.
How hard would it have been to notify patients of this policy change prior to them showing up? Whats the grace period? One minute? Ten minutes? Must be 18 minutes!
What I find so ironic and quite the double standard is it normally takes 30 to 60 minutes AFTER my scheduled appointment to see Dr. Efron and even sometimes longer.
The most upsetting thing for me is the staff didn’t even have the consideration to ask what we were being seen for. What if it was something that needed immediate attention? Probably grounds for a great lawsuit if that ever does happen to anybody else!
Totally disappointed and frustrated!

This was for the Huntington Beach location, and I can’t comment on the Anaheim location, she probably has different staff there and better ran. If your time is worth anything then you will not like this office, you will come in early have your paperwork done and wait — in an empty waiting room. Then deal with a snotty front desk and act like it is an honor to be here. Sorry, I left work early and it cost me money to be here on time and early I was, trying to be professional and courteous to my Dr. with respect to honoring my appointment time. So, they will not have me back as a patient I can respect them but they can’t respect me or my time, and cost me money?
As far as the Dr. I guess she was fine. She told me my tattoo bumps were from ink contamination and my bumps were a virus and I had warts. This is pretty bizarre, but ok fine FML and moving on. Then she prescribed for me a cream to make them go away, which was ready for this $ 531 a box with my insurance… yeah I know right Murica! So, I went and ordered it from Canada and paid $ 95 with shipping, and I get to use this for 6 weeks and see another dermatologist after I am done.
For me one time and done, you decide what you want to do, but if your time is worth anything I would pass and find an office that respects the efforts you make.
EDIT:
Turns out she was COMPLETELY wrong in her diagnosis and (expensive) treatment. So, we have come full circle and she isn’t worth anymore than her joke of a staff she has for the front office. Thankfully another real dermatologist took care of the problem and I am good to go now.

I have been seeing Dr. Effron since I was 17 years old. I still see her 14 years later. I had bad acne at 17 and she got it completely cleared. Before seeing her, I had two other dermatologists tell me that my skin would never get better and I would have scarring for life.
That’s when I found Dr. Effron and she cleared it up.
I also was seeing her when I started losing my hair in my early 20’s. She got my on an oral and topical as well as recomended her shampoo and an Aveda hair product that makes my hair look thicker. I am now the only male in my family that has a full head of hair!
I see her every 4 months for a peel to keep my oily skin in check and my skin looking young and fresh. When people guess my age they always think I’m 10 years younger than I am. I believe Dr. Effron’s work, along with her suggestion that I stop tanning in the direct sun, are responsible for that.
I also love that she has her own products as well as selling products you can’t find at the store. Store products waste your money, are weak and never work. The products they sell always work and I see the results.
I have always told Dr. Effron she better NEVER retire cause I don’t know what I’m going to do without her! If you have any skin issues, see her and you will not be disappointed with the results! Love her!

NEVER WILL I GO BACK!!! DO NOT GO TO THIS DERMATOLOGIST!!!
She makes you think you need $ 100’s of dollars worth of products (all her own label products). They overcharge for everything! I’ve had cortisone shots on the past for keloids. My visit with her they charged me $ 40 for the shot. I’ve never once had to pay for a cortisone shot, my insurance covers it 100%. But they gave me the shot without telling me before hand that they do not bill insurance for cortisone shots. When you walk out of the room she convinces you need all these products. You get to the receptionist counter and they start pulling out all the products you need. My product total came to $ 175. My 9 year old son, who was seen for a mild case of dry skin, had a total product bill of $ 150!!! That is RIDICLOUS!!!
Then to top it off, they will ONLY validate your parking if you purchase her products. And, if you walk up just to buy product they will NOT validate your parking, even though I was spending over $ 100 in products. I was informed that in order to get validation you have to 1.) have an appointment with the Dr. and 2.) purchase her products. That was my final straw with this cheap, penny pinching, scam you for every $ you have Dr and office. I will never go back again!!!

She is such a BITCH! Came in for my minor psoriasis. (pre existing. just wanted a closer dr) All of the sudden she started doing all of this blood work on me. Called me the following week and told me I have Diabetes…
I was like WTF!!! this chick is crazy… SHE IS A DERMATOLOGIST!!! I came in for my skin and now shes trying to make up a bunch of shit when I feel completely fine
I took my blood results to another Dr. where they said I was fine. Dont know why shes trying to make me think more is wrong with me other than she wants me to come back more and more so she can have more cash in her pocket.
I havent needed a refill on my prescription for 2 years. Called to have it sent to the pharmacy and she told me I need to come in. (note: MINOR topical cream)
she knows this and is too much of a bitch to sign it over and wants me to come in there to spend MORE HARD EARNED MONEY!
SCAMMM!!! stay away from her she sucks and is not personable and does not care about you
if there were 0 stars she would get it. I do not recommend her
TRUST MEEEEE!!! for your own safety

I visited Dr. Effron with my daughter over a year ago. We had several visits and each visit required more and more medication for my daughter’s acne. The instructions were difficult to follow and required 3 – 4 medications in the morning and then 3 – 4 different medications at night. The process was very confusing.
I found Dr. Effron to lack a bedside manor (for lack of a better term). She is quite condesending and negative. She doesn’t seem to re-​assure her patients as to anything they are doing right. All my daughter heard was everything she did wrong from the very first visit. What a self-​esteem crusher!
On our final visit, we were brought into a room and waited for over an hour for any contact at all. Nobody came in to tell us the doctor was behind in her schedule, no contact whatsoever. I finally packed up to leave, and Dr. Effron met us in the hallway and told me she would be with us in 5 minutes. Her excuse was that she had been performing a procedure and it ran over the alloted time. Still, it would have been nice to know she was running late. As we left, the office staff was super rude. She placed the blame squarely on my daughter and I for not understanding the doctor’s plight. She specifically stated that she ALWAYS tells patients that we should ALLOW 2 hours for each appointment in case the doctor is in the middle of a procedure. I let her know that no such notice was ever given to me, it sure makes a difference when you’ve taken time off work to attend an appointment.
I cancelled my next appointment and have not returned. I would never recommend this doctor or this (Huntington Beach) office due to a lack of customer service and a lack of rapor that you’d hope to have with your doctor.

HORRIBLE!!! And I can’t say it enough. Don’t even take the chance and think you’re reading a review of just one guy that complains too much. If you have such a closed mind, then I wish you luck with Effron.
This woman gave, I feel, to be an extremely inconclusive (brief) head to toe exam of me. She has a nasty, bitter, frumpy, ugly aura/​character about herself.
The worst part is even after having the patience to deal with this woman, I realized what her main priority was when she finished the exam. It was to sell her personal line of sunscreen and skin products. What a basket of crap this experience was.
Never again!
Ps. The only reason I gave her one star, is because it’s the least I could choose in order to submit my review!

At Dr. Effron’s office, cash is king and Dr. Effron is queen. She was condescending and product-​pushing. I felt like I was treated as a general skin case and potential money source rather than as a patient. After a lengthy wait in both the waiting room and patient room, Dr. Effron walked in and — without even introducing herself or letting me say why I was visiting (although I had written why on my chart) — immediately pronounced judgment on me for only wearing sunscreen when active and not every day. An odd way to start off, and her condescending demeanor never changed for the whole visit. Now, I was there to get a few blemishes checked to make sure they weren’t dangerous, and that’s it. But almost as fast as she judged me after walking in, she moved on to drafting up a comprehensive acne regimen for me, something I did not want or ask for. She told me to fill a prescription for a topical antibiotic, and I raised a simple concern about the possibility of antibiotic resistance from extended use. She didn’t like being questioned and quickly, dismissively brushed my concerns aside. It seems to me that she cares much more about making skin look good than about her patients’ concerns.
Case and point: After her rehearsed sunscreen and acne diatribe, she was ready to walk out the door without checking a single area of my skin that I asked her to check in my paperwork! I had serious concerns about whether I had skin cancer, but she paid no attention to them until I stopped her from leaving and reiterated why I made my appointment. She looked at my bump for about 2 seconds, took a measurement, and said it was a cyst that I’d be stuck with for life unless they cut it out. Hmm, that would’ve been something important to mention to me before leaving!
Don’t go to Dr. Effron if you want your doctor to be a partner in your health care. Go see her if you want your doctor to be a dictator in your health care. Also go see her if you have a lot of extra money that you don’t know what to do with. While waiting, I could hear her conversation with the patient in the adjacent room, and she became extremely friendly right after she coerced a patient into a skin procedure costing hundreds.

I came to Dr. Effron already wary of the reviews I’ve read on Unilocal and City Search. Let’s just say everyone reaffirmed what I experienced. I am from the healthcare field, so I am aware and educated in bedside mannerism, acne products and derms. Well, this doctor walks in, says hello, checks my forehead (I was in for some acne that was recurring and wouldn’t go away). She immediately said I have level 3 acne out of 4. Mind you, it’s on one side of my cheek. She grabbed her prescription pad, and began jotting meds down. Her assistant/​nurse prac. was taking notes as well. I needed a court reporter to keep up with her notes and she’s a lecturer (she really is), not a physician.
I told her I did not want oral medication and wanted to clear it with some facial cleanser and other products that are not too invasive. She says, «Your a bit out of touch with reality.» ARE YOU JOKING ME?! I’m coming in to see if we can reach a solution and you tell me, your patient who is seeking help, that I am out of touch with reality? Please. She also recommended a 70% glycolic peel. I’ve done a 30% peel and felt like that was more than enough. She also «prescribed» all the medications that she has created and have her name on them.
Anyways. Doesn’t seem like she needs my business, she mentioned that she owns all colors of the Louis Vuitton sneakers she was wearing (I complimented them lol). Also, the only nice person at this office was the receptionist. The nurse prac dropped the instructions sheet on my lap with the snarkiest attitude, who by the way, was wearing pounds of makeup and had acne herself. I will never go to here again and I will never fill the prescriptions and will never recommend this doctor.

Do not book appointments here-​while she may be smart, the entire experience is awful and not worth your time-​there are many smart dematologists.
Where do I begin? We have gone to see her over several years (multiple people in my family)…primarily b/​c she was close to our home. We have had everything bad happen there: Waiting 1 hour + past your appt time to get in, watching her scold her staff in front of you, being told to use HER lotions/​cremes in lieu of being a bit mroe agressive in treating skin issues (which when you add it up cost just as much),
Additionally, we took my daughter there based on a recommendation from the pediatrician’s staff: they warned us, «While she is in the same area, you need to know her staff is rude and she is herself». True, true, true.
Like I said, it is not worth it to go there-​the treatment seems to always include her line of products, without great results – you end up waiting FOREVER, if you need an appt, well, you’ll need to wait 6 weeks if you are lucky, and you might even get to watch a fight break out when you are there b/​w her stafff and herself if not you and her staff. AVOID.
We are finally taking our own advice and going to drive a bit further for our dermatological needs.

When I mentioned to my primary doc that I was getting laser hair removal at one of those med spa places, and she winced as if someone had just told her what Jack in the Box tacos are really made of, I decided it was high time I check out a dermatologist.
A quick scan through Unilocal,my insurance book, and a reference from my doc and I found myself at Dr. Effron’s office a week later. Her staff was friendly, the office was warm and inviting and my wait wasn’t too long at all.
Another review complained of Dr. Effron being too curt/​aggressive, I dunno — maybe because I’m the same way, but there’s nothing I appreciate more than straight to the point. Aside from the laser hair consult, I had a few other skin issues I wanted to ask about.
I asked, and she started talking up a storm, and in my head I was thinking «Oh no. I haven’t taken notes since college. Do I still remember how? Do I have a pen? Wait. I should start listening. I’m not going to remember ANY of this.» So, I came out of my head and asked, «Um, can I write this down, hang on a sec.» Turns out, I didn’t have to, the nurse/​assistant (sorry, not sure which) was writing down everything very legibly and thoroughly for me to take home and begin my new skin regimen.
Sure, like every dermatologist in the world, she’s got her own line of stuff that is quite pricey and of course she heartily recommends. I did buy one moisturizer, and I’ve gotta say, it IS pretty amazing. The plus side is, she didn’t try to upsell a ton on Botox or Restylane or all that other stuff dermatologists try to push on you.
She even called my primary doc, to talk about a possible diagnosis for some hormonal issue. Yeah, yeah, TMI — but it’s a doctor review, what do you expect? Anyhow, she only does the laser hair removal procedures in the Anaheim Hills office, plus I decided to hold off on that till I’ve got a bit more spare change in my pocket, but I’m a fan.

Let me say this about Dr. Effron: she works with Olympians. To get their skin prepped for competition and visibility on the world stage, they come to her. If that in combination with the other strong reviews here can’t inspire confidence in her skills, I’m not sure what can. She’s exceptionally results-​oriented and passionate about achieving an outstanding end result.
Is she busy? Yep. Is her staff used to the way she works? Yep. But she’s very astute and succinct in her manner– 2010 marks her 30^th year in practice. I’ve had only good experiences under her guidance. She’s a lady who knows her stuff– you have to respect that!

Absolutely amazing dermatologist. My daughter has pretty severe psoriasis and we were very picky about who we saw. From the moment we met Dr. Effron, we knew she was the perfect doctor for our daughter.
Dr. Effron has a wonderful bedside manner, a kind heart, and an IQ and EQ that transcends any other doctor I have seen.
It is rare these days to find someone who loves what they do. After some research, I learned that Dr. Effron volunteers her time to help patients around the world who are in need of treatment. Dr. E is certainly someone who loves what she does!
I recommend Dr. Effron highly and without qualification. Well worth the drive from the South Bay to be seen by the best dermatologist in the country.