At the risk of showing my age … when I was a kid, cosmetic procedures were mostly about having a boob job, facelift or liposuction. These highly invasive procedures carry a lot of associated risks, and there are enough good as well as bad tales available to encourage anybody to think twice before booking in a sitting for silicone implants. Nowadays, though, the lines have become a lot more blurry! Instead of having a facelift, we get anti-wrinkle injections or have laser wrinkle reduction. Instead of getting collagen injections, we have much longer lasting dermal fillers. And instead of having our face sandblasted or peeled away with near-industrial strength acids, we have very safe laser acne treatments. However, we still need to be careful to ensure that your expectations match your reality after a new cosmetic procedure, so today we look at 7 smart questions that you can ask yourself and your wrinkle reduction or laser hair removal clinic before you book in the big appointment.

Questions to ask yourself

How does the pricing relate to other places I have seen?
There’s a reason that some products and services are cheap while others are expensive … and when it comes to having things like laser hair removal, dermal fillers and other procedures done, ultra-low everyday prices usually indicate substandard training or products being used. You can still save a lot of money (with little risk) by paying attention to the promotions and specials at reputable clinics.

Does it sound too good to be true?
Too many people find out the hard way about things that sound too good to be true…

Am I taking a balanced view?
Of course, it is easy to become overly fearful and reluctant to try anything for fear of adverse consequences. One thing to remember is that we have very involved, evidence-based and balanced government departments and agencies here in Australia, and if something was widely known to cause harm to even a significant minority of patients it would not be allowed to occur.

Questions to ask your cosmetic clinic

What is your experience in performing this procedure?
Online courses, watching someone else perform the procedure, and having read the laser hair removal machine’s owners manual don’t count!

What sort of results can I expect?
You should be able to see a range of Before and After photos from people who’ve had the same procedure as you at the same clinic. The photos should show faces and bodies without cosmetics, in a neutral position, and both with similar lighting.

Is it safe?
Your laser hair removal, acne treatment or wrinkle reduction clinic should be able to give you an accurate picture of the risks and rewards of a particular procedure. Be wary of those that say there are no side effects whatsoever, and the procedure is completely safe!

Questions to ask your doctor

Will this procedure interact with any of my medical conditions or medications adversely?
Your cosmetic clinic will also screen you for known interactions between their products/procedures and common medical conditions or medications. For example, people taking Roaccutane cannot have laser acne treatment. However, your doctor will have all your records and knows you inside out – they are an excellent source of personalized information.

The non-invasive revolution in cosmetic procedures taking place over the past ten years has had so many benefits for clients. However, along with lowered pain, downtime and risk there has also been a proliferation of badly trained people performing cosmetic procedures. Dud cosmetic practitioners give the professional clinics a bad name, and can cause clients who could really benefit from cosmetic procedures to turn away from them completely. If you’re looking into getting even a safe, non-invasive procedure like dermal fillers, anti-wrinkle injections, laser hair removal or laser acne treatment done, here’s how you can sort out the fantastic from the frightful.

Do they ask questions?

Cosmetic procedures like dermal fillers, laser acne treatment and laser hair removal might be safer, and more widely applicable, than ever. However they aren’t for everyone! Beware of any cosmetic clinic that fails to ask you any medical history questions or to make any initial examination of your problem area.

Are there options?

There are actually quite a few different cosmetic procedures that can help get rid of acne; there are different ways to tighten up the skin and remove wrinkles, and there are different ways to treat scarring as well as pigmentation. A cosmetic clinic should use the information they gained from your thorough consultation to create a personalized solution for you – there are so many different treatments nowadays that there is no need to settle for a one-size-fits-all service.

Pay attention to personal recommendations

It can be difficult to find personal information about the worth of a particular acne treatment or laser hair removal clinic. Testimonials from ‘previous clients’ provided on site could quite easily be completely fabricated. Personal recommendations are worth their weight in gold, and if you don’t have any, see the next point …

Look at the before and after photos

Before and after photos are a great way to get an idea of how your acne, wrinkles, freckles, hair growth etc will change over the course of treatment. The best Before and After photos will have non-identifying case-related information attached, like ’18 year old male with previously severe levels of acne, after undergoing 5 treatments with the 1450nM Candela Smoothbeam laser’. This info might not be available publicly, but your cosmetic practitioner should be able to let you know a bit more about the photos at an initial consultation. If the photos seem too good to be true (but there are no other red flags), why not book a trial session first, rather than paying for your full round of treatment upfront?

Look for specific expertise

Unless you’re dealing with an exceptionally large company, your cosmetic practitioner should show some degree of specialization in their work. For example, administering anti-wrinkle injections is different to aromatherapy … both might make you feel good, in a small practice specialization is the mark of expertise, and therefore of sound knowledge and results.

Know your product

The machinery or the product is just as important in the success of your treatments as the people administering it. There is quite a lot of information available about particular brands of lasers, different brands of dermal filler and different types of scar treatments. Find out what you can – knowing your product will help you judge your potential results.