Our consultations are perfect for you!
Hello to you all from The Aesthetic Treatment Rooms on this lovely sunny Sunday. With the prospect of this never ending lockdown lifting I thought this was an excellent opportunity to put a little bit more information out to you all about our consultation process.
Rachel and I know this is such an important part of your treatment with us and I want to let you know why. In the past I have had patients question the need for a consultation as they are so keen to book in for treatment. Believe me, I understand how keen you are to get in and get treated. I’m the same!
5 reasons I feel this process is so important:
To ensure both you and I are on the same page about what you want to achieve. When we have time solely dedicated to talking about YOU it means I can really focus on what your desired outcome is. We can talk about this in as much detail as we need to. You can tell me exactly what you expect and I can explain to you what I am able to achieve. The important thing is that both of these match up to avoid any disappointment.
We can discuss your budget. I think it is so important that you are fully informed about how much your treatment will cost. This means you can budget for the results you wish to achieve, you may wish to stagger your treatment over several weeks/months to make this affordable, or you are able to decline treatment if you feel it is too costly for you before treatment is started for you.
I can look at your medical history form in detail. Occasionally there are medical reasons why you may not be able to have the treatment you desire as either medication or medical conditions (such as Roaccutane, certain cancer treatments, immunosuppressants) means you won’t be able to be treated safely. Sometimes we are able to work around these issues by strategic timing or by liaising with your GP. There are also several topical ointments/lotions, such as: retinol, AHA/BHA cleansers, that may need to be temporarily stopped for 1-2 weeks before and after treatment. There have also been queries over whether the Coronavirus vaccination can cause swelling around existing or new dermal fillers, after investigating this further I think it is advisable to leave 2-4 weeks before/after the vaccination before you have any dermal fillers to avoid these complications where possible.
To discuss pre and post operative advice. If you haven’t had a certain treatment before (or sometimes if you have and you may have forgotten) it’s important for you to know what you will be required to do prior to a treatment and what you can expect (i.e. bruising/swelling/downtime) following a treatment. For instance, if you suffer from cold sores or you bruise easily: did you know that you can use an antiviral medication prior to lip fillers to avoid an outbreak caused by the trauma of the needle? If you bruise very easily then you can take arnica a few days before your treatment to minimise this? We can discuss all of this at your consultation to make your treatment go as smoothly as possible.
I want to make sure you have a cooling off period. This is perfect for:
Time where you are able to think about all the options that have been given to you and to make the best choice for yourself.
You have time to think of any questions and get answers to those questions
You should not feel pressured to have treatments, not from me, not from your friends, family or partner.
To ensure that you are not having cosmetic treatment on a whim and you have fully thought through all the possible consequences of this.
This is also a requirement of the General Medical Council when providing cosmetic treatments, especially those including prescription only medication (BotoxTM and AzzalureTM) that the patient is given a 7 day cooling off period to consider all of the reasons already mentioned.
How much do consultations cost?
Our consultations are free!! We take a £25 deposit to secure your time slot and this is left as a credit on your account towards any treatment you choose to have. The deposit is fully refundable should you decide to decline treatment or if you decide to cancel with a minimum of 24 hours notice. Unfortunately, the deposit would be lost if the appointment is cancelled or rearranged with less than 24 hours notice.
When will you be open again?
I am keeping my fingers crossed that our doors will open on 12th April 2021 as part of Stage 2 of the national lockdown lifting and I am looking forward to being able to welcome you all back into The Aesthetic Treatment Rooms. Until that time: take care of your skin, use sunscreen and let’s get ready for the reopening of the world!
Dr Helen
