Evaluation Process

Patients who want to receive treatment for acne or other skin conditions can use Sesame’s services to find a provider in their area that can treat them via in-person appointment or online telehealth consultation. The availability of services depends on the number of participating healthcare professionals in your area.

Patients can search for skin care providers by location, type of care, specialty, or symptom. As an example, the following services were available when we searched for medical professionals specializing in skin care in New York:

• Video dermatology consult for new patients dealing with acne, eczema, rashes, or other types of skin conditions. Patients can choose from the available dermatologists in their area.
• In-person skin consult with a healthcare professional who can also help assess symptoms, review medical history, and prescribe if necessary. Consults can be scheduled with medical doctors, osteopaths, nurse practitioners, or other available professionals usually specializing in internal or family medicine. 
• Video skin consult with health care professionals for symptom and lifestyle assessments as well as review of medical history without having to visit a doctor’s office.

Product Quality

Sesame does not sell skin care products as other online acne treatment websites. Instead, Sesame allows patients to search for skincare specialists in their area to receive either a telechat or in-person consultation.

Price and Convenience

Sesame’s costs are clearly displayed on each healthcare provider’s profile. Since Sesame provides direct-to-patient care and does not work with insurance companies, patients pay the costs of the doctor’s visit upfront. 

Patients can feel at ease knowing that Sesame is very transparent about prices. The company does not charge for the use of its services and there are no hidden or surprise fees that can come out of nowhere.

When we searched for skin care treatments for New York, the price depended on the type of service being requested and on the medical provider that was being consulted. Of course, prices can be very different from city to city.

Video dermatology consults for new patients varied widely, with $50 being the most affordable and $396 the most expensive. In-person skin consults fluctuated between $138 and $193, while video skin consults were generally much more affordable with most available options in the $30-$50 range (though there were options as low as $26 and as high as $200).

Sesame does have a membership option for $7 a month that can be activated during checkout. It provides 25% off virtual or in-person primary care visits, a 10% discount on over 40 specialties, 5% off dental cleaning and visits, and 1 free lab or blood test per year. 

Educational Materials

Sesame’s website does not contain much in the way of educational materials. At most, the company provides information about the medical professionals who can treat you, including their specialty.