The injectables marketplace is saturated and finding a practitioner can be hard.

Word of mouth recommendations are best, but if you’re discreetly seeking out a first-time experience, what should you look for?

Qualifications – to practice independently in injectables you have to be a registered nurse-prescriber, a dentist or a doctor. If you can’t prescribe you can’t manage potential complications. Antibiotics for an infection or hyaluronidase to dissolve filler. There is also the question of insurance if you are not permitted to prescribe.

Skills – How long has your non-surgical professional been practicing? There is a steep learning curve to injecting. As with anything, it is not a case of completing a course and flying off fully formed, you learn from experience with continued practice development over the years.

Environment – You want an environment that you feel comfortable in but one that is also appropriate, where hygiene (a sterile environment) and safety are accounted for.

Consultation – There should be a thorough consultation to take into account medical history, lifestyle and life-stage, with ample opportunity to ask any questions about products, procedures and outcome. This should also be the time when a transparent treatment plan can be plotted, detailing procedure(s), costs and maintenance.

Time – There are many components to injecting. For example, considering the nuances of individual anatomy balanced with desired aesthetic outcome. The choice of product relating to a patient’s skin and soft tissues, comfort and the artistic process of injecting itself.

Cost – If you are paying for the service described, it’s not achievable as a bargain. At the other end of the scale, if the cost is exorbitant, you may be limited in what you can afford and unable to achieve best outcome and maintenance.

Trust and relationship – There’s a significant amount of trust that goes into putting your face in somebody else’s hands. Once you have developed that trust, and your practitioner knows your face, your desired outcome and how you respond to treatments, it is worth sticking with them. Naturally everybody has a different style of treating and “clinic hopping” may result in an unsatisfactory outcome and an unclear record of treatment and product history.

If you are moving away it is well worth getting a word of mouth referral from your practitioner for a safe and satisfactory onward injectables journey.