HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR TREATMENT
On this page you'll find everything you need to help you understand how things work both before your treatment and on the day. It's vitally important to treat injectables as a medical service - they are not beauty treatments. There is always some downtime with treatments and rarely, complications can occur. To help anticipate any issues and to minimise any risks, please take your time to read through this page.
Your booking and payments:
All bookings are $250 and this is paid online or in clinic when you book in. If you proceed with a treatment on the day, the $250 is deducted from the total.
If you choose to have a consultation only (no treatment on the day), a treatment is not advised (perhaps due to medical reasons) or you do not want to go ahead for whatever reason, the $250 acts as a consultation fee and is not refundable or transferable to another day.
For no-shows or late arrivals where we don't have time to perform your treatment, the $250 is also not refundable.
(To read more detail about how Dr Jake's fees work, what to do if you are running late or are sick, cancelling an appointment, refunds and treatment reviews, please click here)
Bringing people with you to the clinic:
Aesthetic consultations and treatments should be done privately without your partner, children, family members or friends. Cosmetic consultations are very personal conversations and coming alone avoids any unintended pressure to do (or not do) a treatment. You'll have an in depth discussion with Dr Jake about your medical history, your features and your goals so this should be done without anyone else in the room.
Whilst we understand that it's not easy to juggle child care, our clinics have a strict child-free policy. Our clinics have limited space and our staff's cannot be responsible for minding children. We aim to provide a quiet environment where all of our patients can relax and we hope that you can enjoy a brief moment for some 'me' time. So please respect this policy so that our staff can focus their attention solely on you.
How to prepare for your treatment:
Please come to the clinic without any makeup, foundation, mascara, fake tan, tinted creams, sunscreen, serums or similar. If you are coming from work or similar, please just plan ahead by bringing makeup remover with you and then remove it in the toilet prior to seeing Dr Jake.
From a very practical perspective, it's not possible to assess your features and skin quality if you wear makeup. Photos will always be taken and Dr Jake needs to accurately assess your face and skin. Taking makeup off thoroughly is always time consuming and it eats into your consultation and treatment time.
But far importantly, one of the feared and yet easy to avoid complications of injectable treatments is an infection. If bacteria are carried into the skin along with an injectable product, a serious infection can occur that may need months worth of antibiotics +/- incision & drainage surgery and can lead to permanent scarring or disability. You can dramatically reduce this risk by simply not wearing makeup or skin products to your appointment. Your face will always be cleaned thoroughly before any treatments but it is far less risky to arrive already prepared - just like you would prepare for any other medical or dental appointment.
You will also need to do some simple diary planning around filler treatments as the same advice applies for after your treatment - you must not wear any makeup or skin care products for 12 hours after a filler treatment. (Therefore it's fine the next day to apply it before work, etc)
Keeping you safe for a filler appointment:
The following information is specific for fillers & bio-remodelling treatments, it does not apply for anti-wrinkle treatments.
If you're not feeling right, are unwell or suffering from anything including a cough, cold, flu, a flare up of an auto-immune condition or allergy (hay fever, sinusitis, etc), you must delay any planned filler appointments. When your immune system is triggered by an illness or similar, the risks of complications including infections, prolonged swelling, tenderness or unpredictable lumpiness of the filler increases. If you are ill within a week or so of filler it's best to rearrange things and you can edit your booking yourself online by clicking here.
If you wake up on the day feeling unwell, please email the clinic with the details of what's happened. Reception will then contact you to try and reschedule you - you will not lose your $250 booking fee in this circumstance and we'll aim to move you to the next available slot.
The same advice goes for dental or any other invasive procedure like surgery - especially problematic for filler treatments include fillings, crowns, implants or any invasive treatments. Please complete these appointments prior to having fillers with at least a 2 week gap and ensuring that you are well and fully healed. This is to avoid the possibility of bacteria entering the bloodstream, 'seeding' the filler and creating a chronic infection.
Bruising, swelling and downtime:
It's worth emphasising that bruises and swelling cannot be avoided by any injector. Injectable treatments involve needles and injections into the soft tissues and so they always result in some degree of downtime.
If you have an important social event, work meeting, wedding or just simply aren't comfortable with people knowing that you’ve had injectables, it's strongly recommended that you plan your treatments whilst taking the expected downtime into account. This is especially true if you are new to these treatments and have no idea what to expect.
To try and reduce your risk of bruising, Dr Jake recommends avoiding the following at least five days before you undergo injectables:
-alcohol
-aspirin
-anti-inflammatory medicines (neurofen, ibuprofen, etc)
-fish or krill oils
-garlic/ginger supplements
Injectables & pregnancy:
If you're female and any of the following situations apply to you, you will not be able to have an injectable treatment:
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you're actively trying for a baby (or not using contraception and could fall pregnant)
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you're pregnant
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you're preparing for or undergoing IVF
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you're breastfeeding
We simply don't know the effect of injectable medicines in these circumstances as there have been no large scale studies to assess the safety of these. Please do not book a consultation if you are in one of these scenarios as you will not be treated and you will forfeit your consultation fee if you have to be cancelled on the day.
Every face is unique.
Whether you're new to treatments or have had injectables elsewhere before, it's vital to have a thorough and in depth consultation with Dr Jake.
Here your medical history, previous aesthetic treatments and motivations for treatment will be explored in depth. Clinical photos will be taken and a treatment plan will be made, bespoke for you prior to proceeding to a treatment.
Why can't I book specific area like 'cheek' or 'tear trough' fillers?
Dr Jake doesn't expect his patients to know what they might need and so it's far easier having a generic 'filler' booking option. In your consultation, he will work with you to determine what's needed to maximise your existing features. The best facial aesthetics treatments usually involve a combination and balancing of several different features together so that the results look anatomical, proportioned and natural.
Dr Jake rarely treats isolated areas of the face on their own because this approach is usually too simplistic and the treated areas may not blend in with the surrounding anatomy. (The classic example of this being lip fillers that don't suit the rest of the face)
A sensible treatment plan will be made during your consultation and you'll be quoted prior to committing to a treatment.
What will be discussed in my consultation?
When assessing your face, there are numerous and predictable sites of facial ageing that may require treatment. Dr Jake will first have an depth consultation with you to get to know you. Every patient is different and so understanding your goals, your personality, your job, your outlook and of course your budget are key steps to planning a sensible treatment.
Clinical photographs and facial examination will then be done to help distil down your aesthetic priorities and design a logical plan.
Every face is different but your age will often dictate what steps are needed.
1) 'Foundation treatments' - just like when you renovate a building, ageing faces often first need to have their 'foundations' improved. This provides better stability and resilience to future aging whilst also having an aesthetic impact. Foundation treatments often involve the mid face (the cheek area) to restore facial volume, improve signs of tiredness and support the lower face.
2) 'Contour treatments' - here the lower face is often treated including the chin +/- the jawline to improve ageing signs like the jowls. Upper facial contouring is also possible and here the temples, forehead and eyebrows may be considered as areas to improve the overall look of your face if required.
3) 'Refinement treatments' - here smaller details like the lips, tear troughs or naso-labial lines may benefit from improvement. However treating these areas without respecting the foundations and contours first can look out of place, disproportioned or even 'fake'. (Lip fillers are a good example of this)
For these three steps, Dr Jake will be looking at many different features including:
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your facial shape
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your overall symmetry
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your facial proportions
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your profile view (from the side)
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your forehead shape
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the muscles of facial expression in both the upper and lower face
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your eyes, eyelids & eyebrows
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your facial volume & the main areas of hollowing
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your nose, it's shape, the tip and the overall contour
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the lips including their volume, definition, projection & shape
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the area surrounding your mouth including skin quality, fine lines & support for the lips
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your smile, teeth, dental hygiene and biting/chewing movements
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your ear lobe volume
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your skin including texture, hydration & pigmentation
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your bone structure including the temples, cheeks, chin & jawline
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the transitions between your face, the double chin area, neck & chest
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your hands including the skin quality and volume
Treatment planning
Every patient is different but a step-wise approach is most common, often starting with anti-wrinkle treatments and then fillers. Patients often worry about their budget and Dr Jake fully respects that you might decide to go slowly and work towards bigger treatments.
Once you understand your treatments options and have decided that you want to go ahead, you'll be taken through a consent form that explains the intended effect, anticipated downtime and risks of the procedure.
Treatments on the day
Simple treatments like anti-wrinkle injections or small volumes of fillers (1-3ml) are typically able to be done. Occasionally there's a good reason to delay treatment such as for medical reasons or you simply need time to think things over. In this scenario you'll be rebooked in on a convenient date that suits you but your deposits is not refundable.
What happens after your treatment?
You'll be reminded what you can and can't do after your procedure and Dr Jake will give you his contact details if you ever need him out of hours.
Anti-wrinkle treatments are recommended every 3-4 months for the best results and the most consistent look. Dr Jake will recommend re-booking your next appointment before you leave the clinic so that you know you have a guaranteed booking and that it's in sync with your previous treatment.
Fillers are usually needed much less frequently but you'll be guided when your next session might be needed. If you have multiple filler sessions planned, these will also be booked before you leave the clinic.
What happens if I want to be reviewed?
Reviews after your treatment are complimentary. Reviews are optional but are an opportunity for you to let Dr Jake know how things went and discuss any concerns. You can book a review on the day of your treatment before you leave the clinic or you can book online once you are home. If you can't find a convenient space online, please call the clinic and we'll try to fit you in as best as we can.
ANTI-WRINKLE REVIEWS (15 MINS)
This booking is for patients who think that they might need a minor revision or additional product.
Anti-wrinkle treatments take a full two weeks to settle in fully so reviews are best done at 2-3 weeks.
Any additional product used will be charged per unit as normal.
FILLER REVIEWS (30 MINS)
This booking option is for patients who would like to discuss their treatment results or a concern that they have. Bruising, swelling and tenderness and part and parcel of filler treatments. This can take a few days to several weeks to settle.
Any additional fillers used will be charged for per ml as usual.