There is a version of preparing for a cosmetic consultation that involves a great deal of reading and arriving with a decision already made.
It tends to work against people. A consultation is an assessment, and an assessment works on information. Arriving with a conclusion means the appointment is spent negotiating it rather than establishing what is actually going on.
So this is a short list of what genuinely helps, and an equally short list of what to leave alone.
The thing that matters most: your medication list
Bring it written down. Not remembered, written.
That means prescription medicines, over-the-counter products, supplements, vitamins, anything herbal, and anything you started in the last few weeks. Include the things you would not think of as medication, because those are precisely the ones people omit.
This is not administrative. Medications and supplements affect suitability, and an assessment made on an incomplete list is an assessment made on the wrong information. The most common conversation a clinician has after the fact begins with someone saying they did not think it counted.
Allergies and relevant medical history sit in the same category. So does anything that affects how you heal.
Your treatment history
If you have had cosmetic treatment before, bring what you know: what was done, roughly when, and where.
You do not need product names or exact dates, and it does not matter if the records are somewhere else. What matters is that the assessment accounts for what has already happened to the area rather than treating it as untouched. Previous treatment changes what is being looked at.
If you are not sure whether something counts, mention it. Deciding what is relevant is the clinician’s job, not yours.
What you have actually noticed
This is the part worth thinking about beforehand, because it is harder to articulate on the spot than people expect.
Useful things to be able to say:
- What you have noticed, described in your own words rather than in treatment vocabulary
- Roughly when you first noticed it
- Whether it has changed since, and how
- What prompted you to book now specifically
- What, if anything, you have already tried
Notice that none of those require you to name a treatment. They describe a concern, which is what an assessment starts from.
A request is not a diagnosis. Saying what you want is useful information, and it is not the same thing as knowing what is appropriate.
If you have researched extensively and formed a view, say that too. It is genuinely helpful for a clinician to know what you have read and what expectations it has set, including where those expectations need adjusting.
What not to bother preparing
Your skin. There is nothing to do beforehand. Come as you normally are. If you wear makeup, be prepared for it to come off so the areas being discussed can actually be seen.
A treatment plan. That is the output of the appointment, not an input to it.
A rehearsed justification. You do not need one.
Questions worth bringing
Write these down, because appointments move faster than people expect and questions evaporate.
- What did you find when you assessed me?
- Is what I have described caused by what I think it is caused by?
- What are the options, including the ones outside this category?
- What would you expect to change, and what would stay the same?
- What are the limitations and risks?
- What would make you tell me this is not appropriate?
- What happens if I do nothing for now?
- What is the total cost of what you are proposing?
That fifth one is the most informative question on the list. The answer tells you whether you are speaking to someone assessing you or someone selling to you.
What the appointment itself covers
The assessment looks at facial proportion and structure, where volume has and has not changed, skin quality and elasticity over those areas, how the mid face and lower face relate to each other, your medical and treatment history, and whether what you are hoping for matches what is realistic.
The sequence does not vary: enquiry, in-person consultation, history, clinical assessment, discussion of options and their limitations, informed consent, and only then treatment where it is considered appropriate.
Nothing is booked or priced over the phone or by email. For treatments in this category that is not a policy choice — options here are prescription-only medicines, and Australian law prohibits advertising them to the public, which includes their cost. The consultation itself is not charged, and a $27.50 telehealth scripting fee applies where a prescription is involved. The volumising treatments page sets out the restriction in full.
Two things worth knowing before you come
A treatment may not follow the consultation. Treatment is a separate appointment unless it is confirmed on the day that proceeding is appropriate, so plan the day around an assessment.
Not every concern requires a treatment. If one is not considered appropriate, the reasons are explained and another approach or a referral may be recommended instead. That is a legitimate outcome, and a reasonable number of people book precisely to find out.
If what you are weighing up is what a realistic outcome even looks like, the guide on what natural results actually mean is a better read beforehand than another treatment page.
About this clinic
Enrich Aesthetics is a single-practitioner, nurse-led clinic at 22 French Rd, Wangi Wangi, on the western side of Lake Macquarie. The nurse who assesses you is the nurse who treats you, which means the history you give at the first appointment is held by the person you see at every one after it.
Kirsty Neagle is a Registered Nurse (Division 1) holding general registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, AHPRA registration NMW0001646562, verifiable on the public AHPRA register.
Appointments run 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, closing at 3pm on Thursdays. The clinic is appointment-only. There is parking in the driveway at the front of the clinic or on the street, and parking details are sent through with your appointment confirmation the day before. Clients travel in from Toronto, Rathmines, Carey Bay, Fassifern, Morisset, Warners Bay and Belmont.
The short version
Bring the medication and supplement list, written down and complete. Bring what you know about previous treatments. Be able to describe what you have noticed and when.
Leave the treatment selection to the assessment, and bring questions instead — particularly the one about what would make Kirsty say no.
Nothing is decided before you have been seen, and nothing obliges you to proceed.
This guide is general education. It is not medical advice, and it does not replace an in-person consultation.
