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A cosmetologist in her late 50s in the USA posted recently about her skin transformation over 7 years and the true cost of it and it got me thinking. Much of the beauty and aesthetic industry is on an race to the bottom: they hire junior doctors and nurses to perform injectables purchased wholesale at bargain basement prices, with minimal training and minimal followup. consultations are cursory and complimentary and designed to convert on the day to people walking in expecting to pay hundreds to order a treatment off a menu irrespective of whether they’d be suited to that treatment. In many cases, this is fine, there is definitely a market for this, and for those who don’t need much done, and want a quick pick-me-up, this is an absolutely ok model with lower risk treatments and no real problems to address. This, however, is not the case for many as early as our late 20s and more typically our 30s and beyond. By the time we get to our late 40s and early 50s, many, if not most women, if they’ve not had anything done till then, will begin to be reasonably bothered by what they see in the mirror, prompting online searches, a foray into online groups for advice, following influencers to see what their skincare routine is and even seeking a complimentary opinion from one of the clinics mentioned above, for guidance on how to fix what bothers them. Many may decide not to pursue anything, and we have women who talk about this such as Mia Freedman on her notox stance . On the opposite end we have beauty influencers such as Caroline Hirons known for speaking out against clean beauty and who is also a lot more open about spending on skincare as well as toxin and fillers. And who has drawn the line at plastic surgery for herself. In your 20s, as a general rule, much of skincare, including injectables and skin therapies, tends to be relaxation and enhancement if there are no skin disorders such as acne. You may have lips that are thinner than you’d like, and 1-2 mls of filler is a quick and simple fix to address this. In your 30s, these changes begin to become more pronounced: sun damage adds up lines and wrinkles become more apparent, especially if skincare has been minimal to date volume loss in the face leads to hollows, shadows and even sagging which can be distressing and invite unsolicited comments from others. These changes, once present, will only worsen in our 40s, 50s and beyond as the perimenopausal and menopausal years set in alongside the relentless ageing process which is inevitable irrespective of what we undergo by way of skincare, in-clinic procedures and even surgery. Depending on when you choose to begin your journey to ageing well, IF you choose to do so, the costs will begin to add up quite quickly at least initially, especially if there is a significant degree of effort needed to first halt or even reverse some processes eg acne with scarring; pigmentation including sungamage; etched in lines and wrinkles at rest; volume loss; loss of skin plumpness. These concerns all require an approach that I call a Full Face Rejuvenation or an FFR and can be initially costly in terms of both your time commitment and money. There is quite simply, no easy or cheap way around this if you want to do it well. Would you expect to straighten your teeth for less than $7000-10000 and expect a good job for less than 12 months’ commitment? Would you expect to pay less than say, $15000 for breast implants or a rhinoplasty and expect it all to settle within weeks rather than months? Would you expect to pay less than $30000 for a tummy tuck or a facelift and be driving the next week? The more work there is to be done, the more time, effort, consistency and money it will take and anyone who tells you otherwise is, quite simply, lying to you and selling you marketing Koolaid. It’s dishonest and it is taking advantage of vulnerable people. Sometimes I hear of people being told “You need 6-8mls of filler but if you can only budget for 1ml, let’s start with that and add to it over time.” My concern that I take issue with this is: 1 ml will almost always do nothing to show you any significant progress that will motivate you to save for more and to come back if you need 6-8 times that amount someone who has a budget for only 1ml is unlikely to be able to find the money for 6-8 times that amount in quick supply and may experience distress or financial angst as a result there is a high chance of dissatisfaction and loss to followup and in the process, they’ve spent hundreds of dollars to achieve nothing, which could have been spent elsewhere on something else that might have brought joy FFR takes a degree of accountability - it is you that needs to decide if you will show up and commit and be consistent. The work in clinic is 20% of the entire process, if that. The remaining 80% is dependent on you and if you cannot or will not commit, then it is often easier and kinder for me to say no. The woman who posted her own progress over 7 years in the USA, spent USD44,000 over the 7 years to achieve her results and for her, it has been totally worth it. This is what my own patients who have similarly spent significant sums of money, often in their 30s and 40s and hit maintenance which is far more manageable, tell me. As with all discretionary spending, it is entirely up to each individual what they wish to prioritise that makes them happy. No judgement here either way. For some
This question is a regular via email and DMs on social media. Sometimes people also send us selfies to help with the quotes. Prospective patients may be asking about specific treatment options such as injectables - anti wrinkle treatments and dermal fillers - or skincare or fat dissolving treatments. The short answer is, it depends. As an AHPRA registered professional, I cannot conduct consultations via DMs and even emails until we have established a therapeutic relationship with you that must be documented. Even after we have met in person, much as you’d expect with other doctors, it is not possible to provide ongoing regular advice via emails or text messages. AHPRA specifically requires us to maintain an appropriate doctor-patient boundary that is meant to safeguard you, and us. This is why unless it is a quick yes or no answer or we have planned a followup, most replies will result in brief advice and “please book another appointment if you wish to discuss this further”. As to the rest - how much is it likely to cost and how much should I budget? The answer to this, truly, is “it depends”. What factors might play a role? 1. Your age The younger you are, the less ageing related changes and the less outlay needed to begin to address the concern at hand. Whether that is acne, or pigmentation or volume loss in the face or even lines and wrinkles. 2. Your basic genetics Not all of us will age the same. Our ethnicity as well as lifestyle factors and other medical history (or lack thereof) will play a significant role in how we age, as will our basic bone structure. 3. LIfestyle factors By now we all know, I hope, that chronic sun exposure, even if unintended, can have a lasting impact on how your skin will age, including lines and wrinkles, pigmentation, faster collagen depletion and volume loss. The WHO estimates that as much as 90% of skin ageing is due to UV exposure. Add in factors such as smoking and these will add up quickly to more work needed just to begin to undo some of the damage. The Initial Consultation The initial consultation is where we meet and begin to address some of these and other factors, in conjunction with your concerns. We take a medical history of not only your health, but any illness, medications as well as prior aesthetic work which may have an impact on future work. We take baseline pictures of your face at different angles and then we assess your concerns together - what they represent, and how and IF we can address them. We discuss what can be improved non surgically, what needs surgery if you can budget for it and what cannot. At this stage, I can give you a pretty good idea of what your concerns mean, and how I can help, the timeframe needed and degree of investment required, both of time, frequency and money so you can decide whether you want to proceed or not. Due to my training I tend to approach everything as a continuum - what can we do now, in the medium term and then longterm and how they can all build on each other to give you the best possible result if you stay the course. My goal, always, is a longterm therapeutic relationship with my patients because we know that gives best results. At our initial consultation, I can also more acccurately guide you as to “how much” in terms of quantities as well as costs and timeframe. As a guide: anti wrinkle treatments, if begun in your late 20s to early 30s when you begin to see faint lines present at rest, may need slightly lower doses compared to starting at a later age, when lines are very visible even at rest and will take continuous treatment with higher doses to begin to fade. If you stop, lines and wrinkles will gradually reappear over time. with dermal fillers to replace volume loss, every face is different but as a guide, a minimum of 2 mls in your 20s, 3 mls in your 30s and so on. If you have a slim build, you are likely to need much more. If you look gaunt already, you will need more than this. with biostimulator fillers, and most skin therapies, there is an initial series of treatments in close succession for best results eg a session every month for 3 months, then maintenance every 6-12 months. skincare is ongoing and lifelong, beginning with the best and cheapest option of all, daily sunscreen. If you stop, your skin will gradually revert to your pre treatment state. When we meet, I am assessing your face not only in still photos but also in animation because this is where many people go wrong - they may look great in selfies but “wrong” when animating if overfilled or overtreated. All this planning and execution takes time, attention to detail and education. It also needs a realistic discussion about your willingness to commit and to budget because you will not get best results if you are likely to struggle to remain consistent. For this reason and many more as well as the medicolegal concerns, my opinion is that it is always a good idea to invest in an initial consultation with an open mind to understand what your concerns mean, and how they can be helped, and then to decide if you want to invest in the treatment options so as to avoid shortchanging yourself. Our price guide is regularly updated, but should give you some idea of how much you can expect to spend - the more concerns you have, the more significant the cost initially. I always say to patients it is like buying a car - there is a big upfront cost, then servicing is more manageable to keep it all running smoothly. No two faces are the same or have the same
Monday: | CLOSED |
Tuesday: | By arrangement |
Wednesday: | 08:00 - 16:00 |
Thursday: | 08:00 - 16:00 |
Friday: | 08:00- 16:00 |
Saturday: | 09:00 – 13:00 (1/month) |
Skin Essentials will reopen the week beginning 11th October 2021.
Per NSW government regulations, only double vaccinated patients will be served when we reopen and we will be checking vaccination certificates for all patients upon booking. This requirement may change as of December 1st, and we will advise you accordingly.
Please email us (contact@skinessentials.com.au) or text us (0413174654) your vaccination certificate as soon after booking as you can. We will not be able to see anyone for treatments or confirm appointments without this.
In the interest of full disclosure, transparency and patient safety, all patient facing staff will be fully vaccinated by the time of reopening. Please read our reopening FAQ for more information.