What a first aesthetic consultation should cover

What a first consultation is for

A first consultation should establish whether a proposed treatment is suitable for you before you agree to it. It is an assessment and decision-making process, not simply an opportunity to select an area of the face or body and move straight to a procedure. You should leave knowing the identity and role of the person who assessed you, the proposed treatment, material risks, realistic alternatives, what follow-up involves and what you would be asked to pay if you proceed.

The clinician or practitioner should gather information relevant to safety and suitability. What is relevant varies by treatment, but can include medical conditions, allergies, medicines, previous procedures, complications, pregnancy or breastfeeding status where relevant, and the reason you are considering treatment. A short conversation may be enough only where the clinical situation genuinely supports it. A rushed exchange that does not connect your health information to the proposed procedure leaves little basis for an informed decision.

A reader can usually settle most of these checks before leaving the house: an aesthetic clinic in Marylebone, for example, publishes its address at 4 Baker Street, its opening hours and its full treatment list, which is the minimum a prospective patient should be able to read before booking a consultation.

Published practical details do not prove that a consultation will be adequate. They do, however, give you a named premises, a treatment description and a starting point for questions. Keep the consultation separate from the decision to proceed. You can ask for information in writing, take it away and decide later.

Decision rule: do not agree to treatment until you can identify the assessor, the proposed treatment, the important risks and alternatives, the prescriber where needed, the written quotation and the date on which you will make your decision.

Who should assess you, and what to ask them

Start by asking who is conducting the consultation and what their role is in your care. The person taking photographs, discussing appearance or arranging appointments may not be the person making a clinical assessment. Those roles can be different, and a reader needs names rather than job titles alone.

If the assessor says they are a doctor, nurse, dentist, pharmacist or regulated allied health professional, ask for their full name and professional registration details. You can then use the relevant public register, such as the General Medical Council register, the Nursing and Midwifery Council register, the General Dental Council register, the General Pharmaceutical Council register or the Health and Care Professions Council register, where applicable. A register entry can establish whether a named person is on that register. It does not, by itself, demonstrate that every proposed procedure is suitable for you.

Ask a direct question: “Who is clinically responsible for deciding whether this treatment is appropriate for me?” Record the answer. If more than one person is involved, note what each will do. For example, one person may assess you, a different qualified prescriber may assess a prescription-only medicine, and another practitioner may administer it. You should not have to infer this from a booking confirmation.

The assessment should engage with your reasons and expectations. A practitioner need not promise a particular visual result, and should not do so. What matters is whether they explain what the treatment can and cannot reasonably address, whether an alternative includes doing nothing, and whether your health information changes the recommendation.

If you feel unable to ask questions, are being pressed to decide, or cannot establish who is responsible, stop at the consultation stage. That is a usable outcome of the consultation, not a failure to complete it.

What should be written down at the consultation

Records matter because they make it possible to see what was assessed, what was proposed and what you agreed to. You do not need to demand a particular template. You do need enough written information to distinguish a real clinical assessment from a generic sales discussion.

The record should identify you, the date, the people involved and the treatment under consideration. It should capture relevant medical information and any information you gave about previous treatment or adverse reactions. It should also record the practitioner’s assessment of suitability, including any reason to delay, decline or seek further medical advice.

A useful record also separates information from consent. Information may include the treatment name, the area intended for treatment, expected benefits, limitations, significant and common risks, aftercare, likely need for review and realistic alternatives. Consent is your decision after that information has been considered. A signature alone does not show what was explained or whether you had sufficient time to decide.

Ask what records will be made and whether you can have a copy of the consultation summary, quotation and consent information. If photographs are proposed, ask what they are for, whether they form part of your clinical record, who can access them and how they will be stored. Do not assume that a photograph is required simply because it is routine at a particular premises.

Write your own short note while the discussion is fresh. Include names, the treatment discussed, any claimed benefit, the risks mentioned, follow-up arrangements and unanswered questions. Your note is not a substitute for the provider’s record, but it gives you a dated account to compare with later documents.

How a prescription-only injectable should be handled

Some injectable medicines used in aesthetic practice are prescription-only medicines. This changes the questions you should ask. The relevant issue is not simply whether someone says a prescriber is connected to the premises. You need to know who the prescriber is, how they assessed you and how the medicine is being prescribed for you.

Ask for the prescriber’s full name, profession and registration details. If they are a doctor, nurse, dentist or pharmacist, use the appropriate public register to check that the named individual appears on it. Then ask whether the prescriber will assess you personally, whether that assessment has already happened, and whether they have access to the clinical information needed to prescribe safely.

The prescriber has professional responsibility for the prescribing decision. A patient-specific prescription should follow an assessment of the individual patient, rather than being treated as a stock approval for an unnamed group of people. The person administering the medicine may be different from the prescriber, but that does not remove the need for clear accountability, appropriate directions and competence within their role.

Ask what will be recorded about the product, including its name, batch details where relevant, expiry information where relevant, the amount administered and the location of administration. Ask who you contact if you have a problem after treatment and whether the prescriber is part of that pathway.

Do not treat a remote message, a vague reference to “our doctor”, or an assurance that paperwork will be completed later as an answer to these questions. If the proposed medicine is prescription-only, the identity and assessment of the prescriber are core facts to establish before treatment.

What a written quotation should itemise

A quotation should allow you to understand exactly what you are being asked to agree to. It should be given in writing before you commit, and it should be specific enough to compare against the treatment discussed in the consultation. A total alone is not enough when it is unclear what treatment, product, review or cancellation terms sit behind it.

Ask for the proposed treatment name, the area or areas to be treated, and the number of sessions or stages included, if a course is proposed. It should state what is included in the stated total, such as the consultation, procedure, product where relevant, follow-up and any planned review. It should distinguish a recommendation for one session from an estimate that assumes additional sessions.

The document should also state the terms for any deposit, cancellation, rearrangement, expiry of an offer and refund. If a package or course is proposed, ask whether each appointment is optional and what happens if you decide not to continue after the first stage. Do not rely on verbal assurances that are absent from the written document.

Where treatment depends on an assessment at a later date, the quotation should say that clearly. It should not make a clinical outcome sound guaranteed. It is reasonable to ask for time to read the document and compare it with your notes from the consultation.

A quotation is not consent. It records proposed commercial terms. Consent concerns your decision to undergo a particular procedure after receiving sufficient information. Keep both documents, check that the treatment description matches, and query any difference before signing or paying a deposit.

The gap between consultation and treatment

There is no single UK-wide clinical rule that creates a fixed cooling-off interval for every non-surgical aesthetic treatment. The appropriate time to decide depends on the procedure, the medicine involved, your circumstances and whether new information emerges. A provider should not present a particular interval as a universal legal answer without explaining its basis.

Consumer cancellation rights can arise in some distance or off-premises contracts under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Their application depends on how the contract was made and the service arrangements. Those rules are not a substitute for clinical consent, and they do not mean that treatment should proceed merely because a cancellation period has passed or been waived.

For a prescription-only injectable, the prescribing assessment must be meaningful and should not be reduced to a last-minute administrative step. For any procedure, you should have enough time to absorb risks, ask follow-up questions and decide without pressure. If the consultation introduces a material new risk, a change in the planned procedure or a new prescriber, it is sensible to pause and consider the change rather than treating earlier consent as automatic.

Ask two separate questions: “When will I be asked to consent to the treatment?” and “What are my cancellation terms if I decide not to proceed?” Write down both answers. If same-day treatment is offered, you can still decline it and request time away from the premises.

Decision rule: treat urgency as a reason to pause unless there is a clear clinical reason for prompt treatment and you understand it. Elective aesthetic treatment should not depend on a decision made because an appointment slot is about to end.

The Verification Note: nine checks before agreement

Use this note after the consultation and before signing consent, paying a deposit or accepting treatment. It is designed to be copied into a document or screenshot. Enter the date you checked each item, not the date someone told you that it existed. A blank, unclear or contradictory answer is a reason to pause rather than fill the gap with an assumption.

Copyable check: I will not agree to treatment until all nine checks have a dated source or I have chosen to pause.

Limits of this guide

This guide concerns elective, non-surgical aesthetic consultations in the UK before treatment is agreed. It does not tell you whether a particular treatment will work, whether it is clinically right for you, or which practitioner or premises to choose. It cannot replace medical advice tailored to your medical history.

It does not create a fixed waiting period, determine whether a particular contract can be cancelled, or resolve disputes about a deposit. Consumer rights can depend on the facts of the contract and how it was made. Clinical regulation and premises regulation also vary across the UK and by the services provided.

Some treatments may involve additional requirements, including medicines legislation, age restrictions, diagnostic assessment or referral. If you have a medical condition, take regular medicines, have had a previous complication or are uncertain about a proposed treatment, raise that information directly during the assessment and consider seeking independent medical advice before proceeding.

The practical purpose is narrower: to help you create a dated record of the people, documents and decisions that should be clear before money moves or treatment begins.