Ten questions to ask at any aesthetics consultation.

1. What is your NMC PIN, GMC number or GDC number?

A registered nurse will have an NMC PIN. A doctor will have a GMC number. A dentist will have a GDC number. All three are public, verifiable, and genuine professionals will give them freely. If a practitioner says “I don't need to give you that” or hesitates noticeably, walk away. There is no innocent reason for a regulated clinician to be cagey about their registration.

For context: Bernadette's NMC PIN is 05G1755E, verifiable on the public NMC register.

2. Who actually does the treatments here?

Some clinics market themselves as “nurse-led” or “doctor-led” while the actual treatments are performed by less-qualified injectors. Ask directly: who will be putting the needle in my face today, and what is their qualification? If the answer is anything other than the registered professional whose name is above the door, you are not in a nurse-led or doctor-led clinic in the way that phrase implies.

3. What level of qualification do you hold for aesthetic injectables?

Most UK aesthetic injectors hold a Level 4 or Level 5 qualification. Level 7 (MSc) is the highest. A short weekend course is not a meaningful qualification. The honest answer here will tell you a lot — and a practitioner with deeper training will be open about it because it is a competitive advantage.

4. Who is your medical indemnity insurer?

Every legitimate practitioner has indemnity insurance, and they should be able to name their insurer without thinking. The insurer matters because some providers do not cover certain procedures, and policy limits vary widely. If a practitioner cannot answer this clearly, they may be uninsured — which is a significant red flag both for safety and for what happens if something goes wrong.

5. Do you keep hyaluronidase on site?

If you are having hyaluronic acid filler, the practitioner must have hyaluronidase in the building, ready to use, in case of complication. Hyaluronidase dissolves HA filler in an emergency (vascular occlusion) and electively (you change your mind, or had bad work elsewhere). A clinic without it on site cannot manage the most serious filler complication safely. This is non-negotiable.

6. What would you do if you hit a vessel?

Vascular occlusion — accidentally injecting filler into an artery — is rare but serious. A practitioner should be able to walk you through their protocol clearly: stop, recognise the signs, hyaluronidase flooded into the area, hot compress, aspirin, follow-up. Fluency here tells you they have trained for it and thought about it. Vagueness tells you they haven't.

7. What is the brand of product you are using, and can I see the box?

The major UK-licensed brands for botulinum toxin are Botox (Allergan), Bocouture (Merz) and Azzalure (Galderma). For HA filler: Juvederm, Restylane, Teosyal, Belotero. For Profhilo: only IBSA. A practitioner should show you the box, the syringe with batch number, and let you photograph it if you want to. Some less reputable clinics use products from grey-market sources or substitute cheaper alternatives. If the practitioner is reluctant to show you what they are about to inject, do not let them.

8. How will you document my consent and my medical history?

Proper consultation includes a written medical history and a documented, signed consent form before any product is opened. A clinic that says “just sign here” without going through the form, or doesn't document at all, is operating below clinical standard. The consent form is not just legal protection for them — it is your record of the conversation, including discussed risks and agreed outcomes.

9. What is your follow-up like if I have a concern?

How do you contact the practitioner if something feels wrong at 11pm three days after treatment? “Email us” is not a good answer for a clinical concern. Direct phone access to the practitioner who treated you, ideally with a published number, is the standard you should expect. You should also be told what symptoms warrant a phone call versus what is normal recovery, and offered a complimentary review at two weeks.

10. Is there a treatment you would not do today?

This is the question that separates clinical practitioners from sales operations. A good answer is specific: “You came in asking for tear-trough filler, but I can see your concern is more about skin quality than volume — I would suggest Profhilo first.” Or: “You wanted 2ml in lips today, but we should start at 0.5ml and review.” Or simply: “I don't think you need treatment yet.” A practitioner who tells you what they would not do is a practitioner thinking clinically. A practitioner who agrees to whatever you ask for is a practitioner thinking commercially.

A short note on what consultation should feel like

A good consultation feels like a clinical conversation: unhurried, candid, two-way. The practitioner asks about your goals, your medical history, your previous treatments. They examine your face at rest and in expression. They explain what is causing the concern you are raising, what would address it, and what wouldn't. They give you space to think. They don't push you to book today, accept a deposit before you have decided, or imply that the offered price is time-limited.

If you leave the consultation feeling pressured, sold to, or like you didn't fully understand what was being recommended — that is the answer to whether you should book. Trust that feeling.