Preparing for an aesthetic consultation
What to prepare before the appointment, what to ask in the room, and the shortcuts that should make you leave.
Read the guideEvery guide in this section
How to check an aesthetic practitioner's credentials before you book
Four public registers, ten minutes and a name. What each one proves, what none of them prove, and how to read a qualification list.
Read the guideWhat cosmetic treatments cost in the UK, and why the price varies so much
Typical 2026 ranges for the treatments people actually book, what sits inside the price, and why the cheapest quote often costs the most.
Read the guideHow to read before and after photographs
Lighting, angle, expression and timing can produce a transformation without any treatment at all. How to tell a result from a photograph.
Read the guideWhat to stop before injectable treatments
Which medicines, supplements and habits to pause, how long before, and the ones you must never stop without your prescriber.
Read the guideThe other sections
Nineteen guides across four sections, all written from the patient's side of the desk.
Treatments
What each treatment does, what it cannot do, and how the common options compare on the face.
Open sectionSafety and Recovery
Regulation, downtime, aftercare and the warning signs that mean you stop and ring the clinic.
Open sectionInside the Clinic
How UK aesthetic practices are built, staffed and run, and why that shapes what patients experience.
Open section
The Journal
Patient-side reporting, once in a while
We email when UK regulation or professional guidance changes, and when a guide is revised in a way that would change what a reader does.
Occasional emails when regulation changes, guidance moves or a guide is updated. No treatment offers, because we do not carry any. Your address is used for this list alone, it is never sold or passed on, and you can unsubscribe from any email. See our privacy page.