What we ask you, before you ask us anything.
Most people arrive with a list of questions and never get through half of it. That is because we spend the first part of the consultation asking you questions, and by the end we have usually covered most of your list. This guide explains what happens at an aesthetic consultation, from our side of the desk.
What happens at an aesthetic consultation?
An aesthetic consultation is a conversation and an assessment. You tell us what you have noticed and what you would like to change. We go through your medical history and any previous treatments, and examine the area that concerns you. We then explain which options may suit you, with their risks, alternatives and aftercare, and you leave with a written overview of the options and fees. Sometimes the right advice is to wait, or not to have treatment at all.
The rest of this post explains each part, and what you can ask us along the way.
What does the practitioner assess during your consultation?
For the first part of a consultation, you do most of the talking. While you do, we are listening and looking closely.
We look at your face when it is relaxed and when you are talking and smiling. A line that only shows when you smile is different from one that is there all the time, and each needs a different approach. We also notice how light falls across your cheeks and where shadows sit. That tells us whether the change you have noticed is in the skin, in the tissue under it, or in the bone underneath.
This matters more than it sounds, because the lower face rarely ages for just one reason. Skin loses its firmness. The fat under the skin shrinks and slips lower. The bone underneath slowly thins. Some muscles start to show more. Two people can describe the same change in the same words and have completely different reasons behind it. A treatment that works well for one might do very little for the other, and that person would leave disappointed even though nothing went wrong with the treatment.
We also ask more about your health than most people expect: any medication you take, past surgery, past injections and who did them, conditions that affect your immune system, how well you heal, whether you smoke, and whether you are planning a pregnancy. Some answers rule a treatment out. Some change when we would do it rather than what we would do. Most change nothing at all, but we would rather know than guess.
And we listen for anything you mention twice. People tend to come back to the thing that really bothers them, often without realising it.
What questions will you be asked at an aesthetic consultation?
What made you book now?
Something made you go from thinking about this to actually booking, and knowing what it was usually helps. Wanting to look rested for a wedding in eight weeks and wanting to look rested in a year’s time are the same goal, but they need different plans. One leaves plenty of time to heal and the other does not.
Where do you notice it, and when?
In the mirror, in photos, on video calls, in the evening? Your answer tells us far more than a general description can. If you only notice it on camera, it may be down to lighting and angles rather than your face itself, and that is worth knowing before anyone suggests treatment.
What have you had done before, and who did it?
Past treatment changes what we are working with under the skin, and sometimes that changes what makes sense to do next. If you are not sure what you had, we would rather hear that than a guess.
What would you not want changed?
This one shapes the plan more than any other question we ask. Most people have a feature they have made peace with, or one they really like. A plan that ignores it is a plan made for somebody else. If you tell us your smile is what people know you by, we plan everything around keeping it.
What would a good result look like, a year from now?
We ask about the result you want, not the treatment. Some people arrive with a procedure already in mind because they have read about it. When they describe what they are really hoping for, it sometimes turns out that something smaller would get them there. Occasionally it is the other way round, and the treatment they have named would not give them what they are describing. Either way, we would rather find that out in the consultation room than afterwards.
What should you ask before agreeing to treatment?
Bring these. They are fair questions and any clinic should be comfortable answering them.
- What did the assessment find, and how did that lead to your recommendation?
- What did you consider and rule out for me, and why?
- If I do nothing for the next year, what happens?
- What will recovery be like, day by day, for the first two weeks?
- What follow-up is included, and who do I contact if I have concerns afterwards?
The last one often tells you the most, and it is the easiest to forget.
It is also worth checking who you are seeing before you book. Doctors are registered with the Medical Council and nurses with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI). Our guide on how to choose an aesthetic practitioner in Ireland explains how to check.
How to prepare, and what it costs
A few practical points, so nothing on the day is a surprise.
- What to bring. A list of any medication you take, and the names of previous treatments with roughly when you had them and who carried them out. When you arrive, you will fill in a medical history form and questionnaire, which takes a few minutes.
- The consultation itself. It is private and confidential. For some concerns, we will ask you to change into a gown so the area can be assessed properly.
- Fees. A doctor consultation is €150 and an aesthetic nurse consultation is €50. Both can be put towards treatments carried out within three months. Card details are needed to secure the appointment, and we ask for 24 hours’ notice to cancel or move it. Full details are on our clinic fees and policy page.
- Afterwards. You leave with a written overview of your treatment options and fees, so you can take time to think it over and contact us with any follow-up questions.
- Same-day treatment. At a first consultation, treatment on the same day is usually not possible. If treatment is right for you, it is booked afterwards, once you have had time to consider it.
Why might treatment be postponed or advised against?
A consultation can end without a treatment plan, and a fair number of ours do.
Sometimes the answer is not yet. Your weight might still be changing, your skin might still be settling after another treatment, you might be planning a pregnancy, or an event might be too close to leave time to heal. In each case the treatment may be right but the timing is not. Waiting a few months costs very little compared with having treatment at the wrong time.
Sometimes the answer is no. We may not be able to see the change someone describes, or the result they hope for may be more than any treatment we offer could give. Now and then, something other than aesthetic treatment would help more, and telling someone that plainly is part of the job. We will not sell anyone a watered-down version of what they came for.
Our doctors have done this work long enough to know that saying no is rarely the decision we regret.
So if you come to see us, bring your list of questions. We will get through it, but we will start by asking about you.
About the author
Dr Peter Prendergast is the founder and medical director of Venus Medical in Dundrum, Dublin, which he established in 2005. He graduated in medicine and surgery from University College Cork in 1999 and is a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He founded the European College of Aesthetic Medicine and Surgery in 2008 and is the author of two textbooks, Aesthetic Medicine: Art and Techniques (2011) and High Definition Body Sculpting (Springer, 2014).
