How to find your Aesthetics Practitioner

I would like to talk to you all about how to find the practitioner that is the right fit for you.

Choose me!......Only joking!

This is a serious and important topic  - how to make that decision; it is a BIG decision.

Who is the right practitioner for you?

Contemplation Phase

Let us break down this whole process. Right at the start of the journey we start thinking, perhaps we are interested in an aesthetic procedure and perhaps we are going to do something. I think nowadays, there are slightly different approaches and motivations for treatment. The younger age groups tend to be more driven by image and beautification and for them that decision making process can be probably slightly more straight forward. The younger generation are a bit more relaxed with all of this stuff having grown up with it.

I think for the more mature of us, it may be more of a considered decision.  For example, the makers of Juvederm fillers undertook a large research study a few years back to attempt to establish some of the perceived barriers to accessing treatment.

Their research identified that women can, on average, take around ten years to make a decision to have filler from the point of first consideration. So quite a long contemplation phase, if you like, from the idea first popping into your head to actually having a treatment.

On that point, I honestly do not think that there is anything wrong with taking your time on making these decisions. I always say that part of ensuring your whole experience feels as comfortable as possible involves taking your time in the decision making. For some people, that contemplation phase is longer than others and if that makes you feel better when you have your treatment, makes you feel less nervous, you feel more comfortable, then go with it.

My only caveat to that would be this. If you feel that you know you are definitely planning a treatment but you feel that you want to wait five or ten years in order to make sure you get the most out of it (trust me I have heard this several times in the past). This scenario makes no sense. Non surgical treatments all have a preventative element to them, so once you know you are going to have a procedure then the sooner the better.

If you know you are having treatment do it now do not wait! If you are uncertain then the time is not right – keep thinking & contemplating

Most people in the contemplation phase will start with looking on the Internet. It may be Google, perhaps Facebook, Instagram. If you have got the kind of friends that you are able to discuss withions with, recommendations are always great. You know that your friends are similar to you there,  you are likely to like the same experience as them, that is why you are friends. However as you may have already discovered, in the world of injectables, people can still be a bit secretive about it

As I mentioned,  I get the feeling that younger people are more able to own it, which I like. It would be good if we could all take a leaf from their more relaxed book . We should spend less time worrying about what other people think, or we would never bloody do anything, would we?

Who?

Next up is thinking about who you may like to carry out your treatments.

People want different things. Some people want a doctor to do their treatments, some would like a nurse

Some people, unfortunately do not seem to mind if it would be the local plumber!!! Definitely not OK!

When asked about who carries out our treatments, we always answer as fully as we can and we also inform our clients that we are a registered medical clinic (see ‘credentials’ section).

Reviews, testimonials, these are a good second best to personal recommendation’s. I know that there are fake reviews, fake testimonials, but I always feel that it is fairly obvious when they are fake. These can give you a sense of the clinic and the practitioner(s).

Credentials

There are several regulatory bodies for the  aesthetics industry in the U.K – the tricky part is that none of these are compulsory. This means that because a clinic does not have registration does not mean that they are ‘illegal’ in any sense. However, for you it can be a helpful indicator of a clinic that is taking its due diligence responsibly.

Here, at LPA we are registered with Save Face and also with the Care Quality Commission.

First Impressions

You have selected a clinic or perhaps a couple that you might be interested in. The next step is to give them a call. Of course, you can email or even WhatsApp some establishments but a phone call will start the process of elimination for you.

How helpful are they? How friendly are they? How do they make you feel? A good Front of House is likely to reflect a good team and a good approach to customer care.

Finally, time to book a consultation. The consultation is your opportunity to familiarise yourself with the location, the premises and the people who work there.

Try to write down any important questions you may have so that you do not forget to ask them.

An experienced professional practitioner should have the skills to put you at your ease and should be happy to answer all questions, explore all concerns. I believe that gut feeling does matter when it comes to medical matters, so you should feel a rapport a sense of confidence.

Plan

The best way forward once happy, is to plan. Book your treatment for a day and time that is going to see you in a good frame of mind. Avoid jamming a treatment into a hectic day where you are rushing from one thing to the next. Avoid booking close to any red carpet or special event and bear in mind that bruising and swelling are very normal following many injectable treatments.

Listen

In addition to ensuring you ask your pertinent questions, it is equally important that you consider your practitioners answers.

A common misconception is around volume required to achieve results. I call it the 1ml Rut. In other words, many people are understandably apprehensive  when it comes to filler treatment and are very keen to err on the side of caution.

The 1ml Rut

You go somewhere for a consultation, and in your head you are thinking, "I'm just going to have a ml of filler." You have this abstract amount because how you really have no idea how much it takes to achieve  what you want. You have your consultation, and your practitioner says to you, "Actually, realistically, you're going to need four mls."

So, what do you do with that information? Well, A) go away and think about it. B) if they are telling you that you need four mls to achieve whatever it is, that is simply because that is what you need.

At that point, if you decide that you are going to just have 1 ml, I would say this; if you are going to have 1ml instead of  4mls, that is absolutely fine, as long as you are doing it just to check out the experience,  check out the process. If you are doing it thinking that if 1ml looks good, you will get more later on, here is the problem.

Let us suppose you decide you are going to get your hair cut short,  you go to the hairdresser and you ask for a 1mm trim thinking if that looks good, you will go for the short cut.

Taking 1mm off the end of your hair will give you no better insight to the end result. It will give you insight into the experience of having your hair cut at the hairdresser but nothing more than that.

You understand the analogy? Having 1ml of a 4ml treatment plan may not give you insight into the end result, only the process.

Advice

Follow advice. Make your journey smoother, less anxious; you will be given pre and post treatment advice, it is your job to follow it.

Resource

Use your practitioner as a resource. A good practitioner should allow you to contact them, or at least for advice and concerns both pre and post treatment.

After treatment if you have any concerns, let your practitioner know. This is not the NHS, you do not need to wait 2 weeks before you ‘bother’ someone.

To summarise:

• Research
• Consultation
• Plan
• Be realistic
• Use your practitioner as a resource