What actually happens at a consultation

A consultation at The Skin Clinic is a conversation, not a sales appointment. It is complimentary, it takes about half an hour, and you can leave without booking anything. That last part is worth saying plainly, because the reason most people give for putting off a first visit is that they are not sure what they are agreeing to.

Before you arrive

You will be asked for a health history: medications you take, conditions you are managing, procedures you have had, and anything you are allergic to. This is not paperwork for its own sake. Several of the treatments here are not appropriate for someone who is pregnant, breastfeeding, taking particular medications, or managing certain conditions, and the history is how your provider knows that before anything is planned rather than after.

Come with your face as it usually is, or come with makeup on. Either is fine. If you want your skin looked at closely, bare skin is easier to read.

The conversation

Your provider will ask what bothers you when you look in the mirror. It is a more useful question than a menu of treatments, because the answer is often not what you expected to say out loud. People come in asking about one thing and leave having talked mostly about another.

From there the conversation usually covers:

• What is realistic for your skin, your anatomy and your timeline.
• Which treatments are options, and which are not, and why.
• How many sessions something typically takes and how far apart they sit.
• What the recovery looks like day by day, including the parts nobody photographs.
• What it costs, in full, before anything is booked.

If something you have read about is not right for you, you will be told so. Results differ from person to person, and a provider who promises you a specific outcome is telling you something they cannot know.

What you leave with

A plan, in an order that makes sense. Some things are best done in a particular sequence, and some are best done in a particular season, which is why a plan made in the autumn often looks different from one made in the spring.

You do not have to book on the day. Plenty of people take the plan home, think about it, and come back weeks later. The plan does not expire and neither does the offer to answer questions by phone in the meantime.

Bring your questions

Write them down before you come. Half an hour goes quickly, and the questions people most regret not asking are usually the ones they were slightly embarrassed to ask. Ask them anyway. There is very little we have not been asked before.