Aesthetics · ExplainedAnti-Wrinkle Injections: Your First Appointment, Honestly

Start with what it is not

Anti-wrinkle injections relax the small muscles that fold the skin when you frown, raise your brows or smile. They are a muscle treatment. Nothing is added, no volume is created, and lines that sit in the skin when your face is completely still are a different problem needing a different answer.

That distinction is the single most common misunderstanding we correct at consultation, and it is why some people leave having booked Profhilo or microneedling instead.

The prescription appointment — and why

The medicine is prescription-only. In the UK that means it cannot legally be supplied without a face-to-face consultation with a qualified prescriber. Ours is independent of the clinic, the appointment is £50, takes about ten minutes, and is needed before a first treatment only.

Any clinic offering this without that step is cutting a corner that exists for your protection. It is worth asking the question wherever you go, and the answer tells you a lot.

What the day involves

About thirty minutes. Rachel assesses your face at rest and in movement — the movement part matters more than people expect, because dosing follows how your muscles actually behave, not a standard map. A very fine needle is used and most people describe a brief scratch.

You can drive, work and get on with your day straight afterwards. Avoid heavy exercise, hot yoga, saunas and facials for twenty-four hours, and try not to rub the treated areas.

The waiting bit

Nothing happens immediately. Movement starts to soften around day three and settles fully by day fourteen. Clients who message us on day four convinced it has not worked are, almost without exception, fine by day ten.

The review is at two weeks because that is when the result actually exists.

We offer that review free. If an area needs a little more it is adjusted then — which is the correct way round, rather than over-treating on day one and having nothing to do about it for three months.

How long it lasts

Three to four months for most people. The interval often lengthens with regular treatment as the muscles get used to working less. £180 for one area, £220 for two, £250 for three.

When we say no

More often than you would think. Deep static lines that are there when your face is still will not respond, and treating them this way produces a frozen forehead and the same lines. Volume loss, laxity and crepey texture need something else entirely.

We also decline during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and we will push back on a heavier result than we think suits your face. If you want that, we are probably not the right clinic, and it is better for both of us to establish it at consultation.

Starting early

Younger clients ask about prevention. It is a reasonable approach where there is visible movement and a static line beginning to form. It is a poor one where there is not — and we would rather discuss that honestly than sell it.

Beyond the standard three

Forehead, frown and crow's feet are the usual three. Jaw slimming for clenching and grinding, a brow lift, a lip flip, a gummy smile and the Nefertiti lift use the same medicine placed differently and are covered on our advanced areas page. Those need more precision and are consulted separately.