The parts of this that are not marketing

Assessment and consent

No treatment happens on a first visit without assessment. You will be asked about your medical history, medication, allergies, previous treatments and what you are hoping for, and you will be given time to read and ask about the consent form rather than signing it in a rush at the door.

Consent means understanding the risks, the alternatives — including doing nothing — and what the realistic result is. If you feel pressured at any point, by me or by anyone else, that is a reason to stop.

Risks you should know about

Common and expected: swelling, bruising, tenderness, small lumps that settle, temporary asymmetry while product settles.

Uncommon: infection, prolonged swelling, nodules, an unsatisfactory aesthetic result requiring correction, allergic reaction.

Rare but serious: vascular occlusion, where filler obstructs a blood vessel. Left untreated this can cause tissue death and, where the vessels supplying the eye are involved, visual loss. It is a medical emergency and it is why the training, the hyaluronidase on site and the direct contact number all matter. Recognised and treated quickly, outcomes are usually good.

For wrinkle-relaxing treatment: temporary brow or eyelid heaviness, headache, and asymmetry. These resolve as the treatment wears off.

How products are chosen

Product choice here is a clinical decision, not a commercial one. Every product used is assessed on four things: its regulatory status in the UK, the manufacturer behind it, the published evidence supporting it, and how it actually behaves once it is in the tissue.

In practice that means UKCA or CE-marked devices from manufacturers who publish their data, sourced through legitimate pharmacy and distributor channels rather than online marketplaces. Batch numbers and expiry dates are recorded against your treatment record, so if a product is ever recalled or you have a delayed reaction, exactly what was used and when can be established.

You are welcome to ask what is being used on you, why it was chosen, and what the alternatives are. If you have researched a different product, I will give you an honest comparison — including where another product would genuinely serve you better than the one I stock.

Prescribing

Wrinkle-relaxing injections use a prescription-only medicine. That requires a prescriber to have assessed you personally before it can be prescribed for you — a face-to-face consultation, not a name added to a list. Remote prescribing, where a prescriber signs off patients they have never met, is against professional guidance and it is more common in this industry than it should be.

Ask any clinic directly: who prescribes, and have they assessed me? It is a fair question and the answer tells you a great deal.

Emergency arrangements

Hyaluronidase is held on site for the emergency reversal of hyaluronic acid filler. I am trained in the recognition and management of vascular occlusion, hold current Immediate Life Support certification, and am a member of the Aesthetic Complications Expert Group, the UK body that publishes the protocols used when things go wrong.

Every patient is given a direct number before they leave. If a complication needs care beyond what I can provide, I will refer you and stay involved rather than hand you over. There is a published complaints procedure as well.

Infection control

Single-use needles and cannulae, aseptic technique, appropriate skin preparation and correct sharps disposal. These are not extras. I am an ANTT assessor — qualified to assess other clinicians' aseptic technique, not merely trained in it — and these are the standards I was held to in critical care. They do not change because the setting is a private clinic rather than a hospital.

Regulation, and what is coming

The Government is introducing a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England under section 180 of the Health and Care Act 2022. It will classify procedures by risk, require practitioners to be licensed by their local authority, and set standards for premises, training, indemnity and infection control.

I support it. A scheme that makes the questions on our credentials page unnecessary would be good for patients. Our licence will be published here once the scheme is live.