Aesthetic Consultation Questions to Ask Before You Book
A good aesthetic consultation is a two-way conversation. You should leave knowing who will treat you, what product or device they will use and why, what realistic results look like, what can go wrong, and what the full cost will be. The questions below cover each of those, in the order they usually come up, so you can walk in prepared and walk out able to decide calmly.
TL;DR
Ask who will treat you, what their training is, and how often they perform your specific treatment.
Ask to see the product label and confirm it is authorized for sale in Canada.
Ask for the risks that matter for you, in plain words, before you sign anything.
Ask for the total cost, follow-up and maintenance schedule in writing.
Bring a full list of medications, supplements and past treatments, and a short list of your top concerns.
Table of Contents
What a consultation is for
A consultation is not a sales pitch and it is not a commitment. It is the step where a clinician learns your medical history, understands what you want to change, and tells you honestly whether a treatment can deliver it. You are also assessing them.
A useful consultation usually has four parts: a conversation about your goals, a review of your health history, an assessment of your face or skin, and a proposed plan with costs. If any of these is skipped, ask for it. A clinic that is confident in its care will not mind.
At Bloom Society, treatments are delivered by a Nurse Practitioner in a supportive setting, and we aim to give honest recommendations matched to each client’s goals and budget. That sometimes means a smaller plan than you expected, or a different treatment from the one you came in asking about.
What to bring to your consultation
Preparation makes the visit shorter and safer. Public health bodies across Canada give the same basic advice for any appointment: bring a list of every medicine and natural health product you take, including prescription and over-the-counter products. For aesthetics, that includes vitamins, supplements and topical prescriptions such as retinoids.
Bring:
Your medication and supplement list, with doses.
Your medical history: past illnesses, injuries, hospitalizations and surgeries, with dates or your age at the time.
Allergies, including to lidocaine, latex or previous injectables.
Previous aesthetic treatments: what, when, where, and how your skin responded. If you have had filler elsewhere, say so, even if it was years ago.
Your current skincare routine, or photos of the products.
A short list of concerns and goals, ranked. “I look tired in photos” is more useful than “I want to look younger.”
Photos of yourself from a few years ago, if you want to show what you feel has changed.
Health card and photo ID, as the clinic requests.
Write your questions down. It is easy to forget them once you are sitting in the room.
Questions about the practitioner
The person holding the needle or laser matters more than almost anything else. Health Canada advises that anyone considering an injectable cosmetic procedure should consult a medical professional with specific experience in such procedures.
Ask:
What is your professional designation? Nurse practitioner, physician, registered nurse, medical aesthetician: each has a different scope. Ask who performs the treatment and who supervises.
Are you authorized to do this treatment in Ontario? Regulated professionals are registered with a college. Patients can verify a practitioner’s status by checking with the regulatory college in their province or territory. Look up the name yourself rather than relying on a sign on the wall.
How often do you perform this exact treatment? Experience with lip filler does not automatically transfer to tear troughs or to a CO₂ laser.
Can I see before-and-after photos of your own clients? Ask for photos of treated patients with similar concerns, not brand marketing images.
What do you do if something goes wrong? For filler, a clear answer includes having a plan and the right emergency products on hand. Our guide to vetting your injector for tear trough filler walks through the red flags in detail.
If you are considering Botox around the eyes, why injector skill matters for crow’s feet lists the specific questions worth asking.
Questions about your goals and realistic results
The best clinicians ask more than they tell in the first ten minutes. Expect questions about what bothers you, when you first noticed it, and what you have already tried. Then ask:
Is this treatment the right tool for my concern? Sometimes the answer is a different treatment, a combination, or skin preparation first.
What will change, and what will not? Ask them to describe the result in words and, ideally, show it on someone similar to you.
How many sessions will I need, and when will I see the result? Neurotoxin, filler, laser resurfacing and pigment treatments all follow different timelines.
What would you not treat, and why? A clinician who can tell you what they would decline is easier to trust.
Is there anything in my health history that changes the plan? Health Canada notes that fillers should be avoided or postponed with a history of severe allergies with anaphylactic shock, inflamed or infected skin, bleeding disorders, or a tendency toward keloids. Mention these early, and anything else that seems relevant to you.
A natural result is usually a matter of restraint and placement, not volume. If you are weighing products, filler technique matters more than the brand name, so ask about the plan for where and how much, not just what is in the syringe.
Questions about the product, device and safety
This is where many patients feel awkward asking, and where the question matters most.
Which product or device will you use, and why that one for me?
Can I see the label? Health Canada tells patients to ask for the product label and check that it has been authorized for sale, shown by an eight-digit DIN, NPN or DIN-HM. This is a normal request. A professional should be happy to show it.
Where does the clinic source its products? Authorized supply channels matter.
Does the product contain lidocaine, and what numbing will you use? Tell them about any allergy.
Is this treatment reversible? Some hyaluronic acid fillers can be dissolved, but it is not a clean reset. Read what patients must know about dissolving filler before relying on that safety net.
If a treatment involves sedation, ask what kind and who monitors you. In Ontario, procedures involving general, regional or parenteral sedation at out-of-hospital premises are subject to CPSO quality assessments. Most non-surgical aesthetic treatments do not involve this level of sedation, but it is fair to ask.
Questions about risks, side effects and recovery
Health Canada is direct: all medical procedures carry inherent risks, and patients decide what level of risk is acceptable to them. You can only do that if the risks are explained in terms you understand.
Ask:
What are the common, short-term effects? Redness, swelling, tenderness and bruising are the usual answers for injectables. Ask how long each lasts for your treatment.
What are the rare but serious risks? Ask for them even if it is uncomfortable.
What would make you call me, and what would make me go to emergency? For Botox Cosmetic, Health Canada lists muscle weakness and difficulty swallowing, speaking or breathing as symptoms where you should seek immediate medical care.
How long is the downtime, and can I plan around it? Think about work, events and travel. Laser resurfacing and peels need a very different plan from a lunchtime injectable visit.
What are the pre- and post-treatment instructions? You should get them in writing. Ours are on our pre- and post-procedure guidelines page.
How often can I safely repeat this? For example, Botox Cosmetic must be administered by a qualified provider no more often than every two months, according to the Canadian product monograph.
For a closer look at one common worry, our article on Botox side effects and nurse practitioner safety explains what to expect and how a skilled injector reduces risk.
Questions about cost, follow-up and maintenance
Aesthetic treatments are not covered by provincial health insurance, so the price is yours to understand fully before you agree. Ask:
What is the total cost for this plan? That includes the treatment, any product units or syringes, numbing, and any required preparation.
How is the price calculated? Per unit, per syringe, per area, per session or as a package?
What does follow-up include? Is a review visit or a touch-up included, and is there a charge?
What does maintenance look like over a year? Many results are temporary, so ask what keeping them costs, not only the first visit.
What is the policy if I am not happy? Clear answers matter more than promises.
If a clinic offers a package or block fee, the physician standard in Ontario is a useful benchmark for what fair looks like: it should be in writing, with a clear list of what is and is not covered, and a one-week period to change your mind. The same college says fees for uninsured services must be reasonable and that flexibility can be considered if you raise a financial burden. Those rules apply to physicians, but asking for the same clarity from any provider is reasonable.
Don’t feel pressure to book on the spot. A fair clinic lets you go home and think.
Published prices at Bloom Society
For transparency, here are the treatments where we publish a price:
Treatment | Price |
Hollywood Carbon Laser Facial | $300 |
Pigment & Sun Spot Treatments | $150 |
Melasma-Supportive Treatments | $150 |
Skin Brightening & Tone Correction | $150 |
Tattoo Removal & Tattoo Fading | from $99 |
Beginner Botulinum Toxin and Dermal Filler course | $500 CAD |
For injectables, fillers, threads and other treatments, the right plan depends on your face and goals, so we quote after your assessment.
Consent: what you should be told before you say yes
Consent is more than a signature. In Ontario, consent must be informed, voluntary and based on understanding the treatment, its benefits, material risks, alternatives and the consequences of declining. Express consent is required for invasive procedures and those carrying appreciable risk.
Two points from the Canadian Medical Protective Association are worth knowing. For cosmetic procedures that are not entirely necessary for physical health, courts may expect a higher standard of disclosure about risks and expected results. And disclosure extends to specific hazards a particular patient considers relevant, even if they are not typically considered material.
In practice, that means you are entitled to say: “This matters to me. Does it apply here?” If you are a performer, a speaker, someone who cannot be bruised for a wedding, or someone with a specific fear, say so, and ask for it to be addressed in the plan.
Before you sign, ask:
Can I read the consent form before treatment day?
What are the alternatives, including doing nothing?
Can I change my mind after consent, and up until when?
Our perspective: the consultation is part of the treatment
We think the consultation is where most of the quality of a result is decided. By the time a needle or laser is in hand, the important choices are already made: which treatment, how much, how often, and whether to start at all.
Our approach combines medical expertise with artistry. The medical side means a thorough history, evidence-based protocols and honest talk about risk. The artistic side means looking at your face as a whole, not chasing one line or one feature. In our experience, patients who arrive with specific questions get a better plan, because the conversation is more precise.
We would rather you leave with a modest, well-sequenced plan that fits your budget than a long list of add-ons. If a treatment is not right for your goals, we say so. If a smaller step would get you most of the way there, we say that too. That honesty is what we want clients to remember.
If you are new to injectables and want to learn before you decide, our beginner education program on botulinum toxin and dermal fillers exists for exactly that reason.
— Aida
Booking a consultation in Windsor–Essex
If you are in Windsor, Tecumseh, LaSalle, Amherstburg, Lakeshore or across the river in Detroit, you can bring this list straight to us. We offer injectables including neurotoxins, fillers, skin boosters and threads, laser treatments, facials and peels, and our treatment recommendations page explains how we match options to goals.
Bring your medication list, your history and your questions. We will go through them with you.
Book your consultation online and tell us what you would like to change. If you would rather learn the basics first, see our beginner botulinum toxin and filler program.
A one-page question checklist
Take this with you, on paper or on your phone.
About the practitioner
What is your designation, and are you authorized to do this in Ontario?
How often do you perform this exact treatment?
Can I see before-and-after photos of your own patients?
About the plan
Is this the right treatment for my concern?
What will change, and what will it not change?
How many sessions, and when will I see results?
About safety
Can I see the product label and its authorization number?
What are the common and rare risks?
Who do I call if something feels wrong?
About cost and consent
What is the full price, including follow-up and touch-ups?
What does maintenance cost over a year?
Can I take the consent form home and decide later?
FAQ
How long should an aesthetic consultation take?
Allow enough time for a real conversation, usually 20 to 45 minutes depending on how many concerns you have. A rushed consultation that goes straight to booking is a sign to slow down. Ask beforehand how long the appointment is.
Do I have to have treatment on the day of the consultation?
No. You can ask questions, review the plan and go home to decide. Some clinics offer same-day treatment if the consultation and treatment are booked together, but you should never feel obliged to proceed.
What should I not do before a consultation?
You do not need to prepare skin for a consultation the way you would for treatment. Arrive with your usual skincare, or none, so the clinician can assess your skin. Avoid guessing about medications: bring the list. Treatment-day instructions are given separately, and ours are on our pre- and post-procedure guidelines.
How can I check that a product is authorized in Canada?
Ask to see the label. Health Canada says authorized products carry an eight-digit DIN, NPN or DIN-HM. If the clinic cannot show it or avoids the question, treat that as a reason to pause.
Are the questions different for lasers and facials?
The core questions are the same: who treats me, what device or product, what risks, what total cost. For lasers, also ask about skin type suitability, downtime and sun avoidance. For facials and peels, ask about ingredients, skin sensitivity and how many sessions you will need.
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