A first visit to an aesthetic clinic almost always follows the same script: you arrive with a specific request—heard from a friend or picked up on social media—and leave with a prescription that costs more than you planned. Sometimes that is justified. Sometimes it isn’t, and you could have told the difference before you even booked.
This guide is not about cutting corners on your health. It is about not paying twice: first for a treatment that never addressed your problem, then for the one that does. The difference comes down to how you prepare for the first visit—and a few questions worth asking out loud.
Aesthetic medicine is medicine, not a beauty service
Everything else follows from this. Injections, device-based treatments, medium-depth peels—these are medical interventions with indications, contraindications, and possible complications. Which means the standards for where they are performed are medical standards, too.
- The clinic holds a medical license—shown on first request, not “somewhere in the accounting office”
- The doctor holds a medical degree and a relevant specialization, not a certificate from a weekend course
- The devices have registration documents, and products come in factory packaging that is opened in front of you
- You sign a contract and an informed-consent form before the treatment
- A patient record is opened for you: history, prescriptions, progress—not a note that says “came in, had an injection”
Another marker is the doctors themselves. Their names, education, and experience should be out in the open, not hidden behind a generic “our specialists”. At RE/FACE, appointments are held by Kristina Dzebisova, Ksenia Kasabieva, and Eliza Nikolaeva—all with full medical degrees.
Red flags to watch for
Warning signs are almost never about the price or the interior—they are about the logic of the conversation. Here are the situations where pausing is wiser than agreeing.
| What happens | Why it’s a bad sign |
|---|---|
| A prescription without an examination—from photos or over chat | Skin has to be assessed in person: examined, palpated, seen in proper lighting. Photos show neither tissue density, nor inflammation, nor the state of the skin barrier |
| “Today-only discount, decide right now” | A medical decision should never be made against a timer. Urgency here serves the sale, not the result |
| A specific result promised before any diagnostics | Until the doctor knows your skin, your history, and how your tissue responds, there is nothing to promise. A promise before an examination is advertising, not a prognosis |
| No contract or informed-consent form offered | Without documents you have no record of what was agreed—and no proof the treatment even took place |
| No questions about your health, medications, or allergies | Half of the contraindications in aesthetic medicine are not on the skin—they are in the medical history. If nobody asked about it, nobody accounted for it |
| Questions are discouraged: “just trust me, I know” | Trust is built on explanation, not offered in place of one |
How to prepare for the visit
A consultation is only as useful as the information the doctor has. Half of that information only you know—and it usually comes back to you in the car on the way home. So prepare in advance.
About your health, recall
- Chronic conditions, including autoimmune and endocrine disorders
- Every medication you take regularly or have taken recently, including retinoids and anticoagulants
- Allergies—to medications, anesthetics, product ingredients
- Any history of herpes: it matters before many treatments
- Pregnancy, planned pregnancy, breastfeeding
- Recent surgeries, facial injuries, implants, and threads
About your treatments, recall
- Everything done in the past year—injectables, devices, peels, even “just facials”
- Exactly when: fillers and botulinum toxin affect the timing of any new work
- What you liked and what you didn’t—subjective impressions are data too
- Any unusual reaction: prolonged swelling, bruising, inflammation
- Your at-home skincare—photograph the ingredient lists, or just bring the bottles
Questions worth asking your doctor
This is arguably the most practical part of the guide. The questions are simple, but they are what separates a considered prescription from a sale off the price list. A good doctor answers them calmly and specifically—for them, this is a normal part of the appointment.
- What exact problem are we solving—how would you put my concern in your own words
- Why this method and not another—what does it offer compared to the alternatives
- What will this treatment not do—what will remain unsolved
- What exactly will be used: the product, the device, the settings, the area
- What contraindications apply in my case, and what from my history have you taken into account
- What does recovery look like: what’s off-limits, for how many days, and how will it fit my schedule
- When should I expect results, and how long do they last
- What happens if there is no result, or the reaction is unusual—who do I contact, and how
- Will I need repeat sessions—how many, and at what intervals
- What depends on me between visits—skincare, sun protection, habits
A doctor who calmly explains what a treatment won’t do is usually more accurate about what it will.
How to read a treatment plan
After the consultation you receive a plan. Here is how to tell a considered protocol from a list of services.
A string of one-off services reads like an inventory: treatment, treatment, another treatment—with no explanation of why in that order. A protocol is built differently: it has sequence and logic. First, the skin’s condition is brought in order—barrier, hydration, inflammation. Then comes quality: tone, density, texture. And only then, if the concern remains, volume and expression lines.
The order is not a formality. The methods reinforce one another: on well-prepared skin, device-based and injectable treatments work noticeably better than on inflamed, dehydrated skin. So a protocol usually delivers more from the same set of treatments—and sometimes lets you get by with fewer of them.
What to expect from a first consultation
Realistic expectations are a way to save money, too. A first appointment rarely ends in a full transformation, and that is normal.
- A conversation about your concern—not “what shall we do to you” but “what is bothering you”
- A medical history: health, medications, allergies, past treatments
- A skin examination and assessment
- An explanation of what is happening with your skin, and why
- A near-term plan with priorities and a clear sequence
- An honest breakdown of what is achievable and what is not
If you leave the consultation understanding what is happening with your skin and why this particular plan was proposed, the visit has already paid for itself—even if you postponed the treatment. If you don’t understand, ask again—before you pay.
How it works at RE/FACE
We work in the logic of skin longevity: condition first, aesthetics second. The first step is always the same—diagnostics. The doctor assesses your skin type and condition, works through your concern and contraindications, and only then builds a protocol where every method has its place in a meaningful sequence.
Over five years of practice, the clinic has performed more than 100,000 treatments, 82% of patients come back, and our 2GIS rating is 5.0 across 271 reviews. We believe patients return precisely because we don’t prescribe off the price list and don’t promise results before an examination.
Common questions
Do I need a consultation if I already know what I want?
Yes—and in that case especially. A request like “I want biorevitalization” names a method, not a problem. The doctor checks whether the treatment you have in mind will actually solve your problem, whether you have any contraindications, and whether something else would work better. Sometimes, after the examination, it turns out that what you actually need costs less than what you came in for.
Can I have the treatment on the same day as the consultation?
Often, yes—if the doctor has examined you, taken your medical history, found no contraindications, and no preparation is required. The key is not speed but sequence: diagnostics first, then the decision. “Same day” isn’t the problem—“without an examination” is.
What if the proposed plan feels like too much?
Say so, plainly. A good doctor will break the plan down into priorities: what delivers the core result, what reinforces it, and what can wait. If instead of prioritizing you hear “it’s all or nothing, otherwise it won’t work”—that is a reason to pause and think it over.
Do I need lab tests before aesthetic treatments?
It depends on the treatment and on your health. Some procedures don’t require any; for others, the doctor may ask for tests or a specialist’s clearance. That decision is made at the appointment—there is no universal list of “tests for the aesthetician”.