What are Patients Seeking From Injectables?

When it comes to injectables, what are patients actually seeking? That is the million-dollar question. Over the last two decades of practicing aesthetic medicine, I have observed my patients and learned a few things.

Firstly, they want to look younger and more attractive. Do they verbalize those words at the time of consultation or when they are sitting in my exam chair? Well, no, but that is exactly what they want.

Perhaps they are trying to keep up in the workforce with their millennial or Gen Z colleagues. Or there is a child’s wedding or a 65th birthday just around the corner. Or maybe there is not a specific reason other than when they look in the mirror, they see a slow and steady decline away from the face of youth they remember as “self” and feel as “me” and they yearn to see that version of themselves again. Yes, the aesthetic patient most definitely wants to look younger and more attractive.

In consultation, the patient may not verbalize these goals, but this exactly what they want. And the second item on the list? They want a qualified injector whom they trust to achieve this very goal. I have always said my best aesthetic patients are my existing medical patients. A sacred relationship already exists and the trust has been established between us. New aesthetic patients can have that as well, but it needs to develop at a more rapid pace.

The aesthetic patient assumes, and rightly so, the injector will give them a safe procedure in a professional environment. They assume the injector is well-versed in anatomy. They assume the injector understands and is well-trained on the procedure being offered. They assume the injector is properly educated and credentialed. They assume the product being injected has been manufactured by a trusted company and is approved by the Federal Drug Administration.

Informed consent should be obtained prior to every injection, and photographs should be taken as memories can be short. Patients quickly forget that one eyebrow has always rested higher than another or that particular facial line was always present and was never injected during the procedure in question. Plus, informed consent is an opportunity to educated patients, and review possible side effects, complications and desired outcomes.

How much money will this consult cost the patient? This is the primary question a patient has, and which must be answered before the consultation is complete. It is quite interesting to me that as an injector for two decades, patients do not request filler brands. Patients rely on a provider’s expertise for quantity of product injected, and this leads inevitably to cost.

If a patient has been diligent in the use of quality skincare and began the aesthetic journey of injectables earlier in life before the aging process was allowed to take hold, the quantity of filler will be less and the effect on the pocketbook more moderate. In contrast, the patient who takes a first foray into the aesthetic arena on the same day she blows out 80 candles on her birthday cake will likely pay a higher price for those injectable treatments. And that makes sense. She showed up late to the aesthetic party. But late is better than never. And there is always something for everyone.

Because as long as I am blowing out my birthday candles, I still want to look younger and more attractive. And that is also what I want for each and every aesthetic patient.

If you are interested in learning more about aesthetic techniques or are already an aesthetic provider, click on the link in my bio to be the first to about the exciting adventure I will begin in 2025!