Your First Injectable Consultation | Arlo Medical Calgary

Quick answer: A first injectable consultation at Arlo Medical takes about an hour and is complimentary. It covers your medical history, what is bothering you, an assessment of your face at rest and in movement, and a discussion of which options suit you, including the option of doing nothing. You will be given pricing before anything is agreed. You are not required to be treated on the day, and a consultation that ends in a recommendation to wait, to see a physician, or to do nothing at all is a legitimate outcome.

The treatments are well documented. What tends to stop people is smaller and more practical: what happens when you actually walk in, what you will be asked, and whether you will be talked into something.

Here is the shape of it.

It Is an Assessment, Not a Sales Appointment

The purpose of a consultation is to work out whether anything we offer suits what is bothering you. Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes it is not yet. Sometimes it is that the right person to see is a physician rather than us.

That is not a disclaimer. It is the actual job. An injector who recommends treatment at every consultation is not assessing anything.

If you would like a broader view of what separates a considered clinic from a busy one, we wrote about how to choose a medical spa separately.

‍

The five stages of a first injectable consultation, ending with the option not to proceed. — The five stages of a first injectable consultation.

Who You Will Be Seeing

You will be seen by one of our two injectors. Phil Wong, our founder, is a pharmacist with Additional Prescribing Authority, which is a recognised prescribing scope in Alberta. Alice Tran is a registered nurse injector.

We do not have physicians on staff, and there are situations where a physician is the right person to see. If your concern turns out to be a medical one rather than a cosmetic one, we will tell you and point you in the right direction. That happens more often than people expect, and it is a normal outcome rather than a failed appointment.

‍

What You Will Be Asked

The history questions are the part people find surprising, because they range wider than seems necessary. They are not administrative. They shape what is appropriate.

Expect to be asked about:

Any previous treatments, including where, when, and what product, if you know it. Filler still present in the tissue changes what is sensible now. "I had something a few years ago and I do not know what" is a genuinely useful answer.
Medical conditions and medications, including anything that affects bleeding or healing.
Allergies and any previous reaction to a treatment, however minor it seemed.
A history of cold sores, which matters for anything near the mouth.
What you actually want, which is the hardest question in the room.

That last one deserves its own note.

Bring the Problem, Not the Prescription

The most useful thing you can say is what bothers you when you look in the mirror. "I look tired even when I am not." "My jawline has softened." "This line bothers me in photographs."

The least useful thing is naming a product you have decided you need. Sometimes it is the right one. Often the thing that would actually help is different from the thing that got named on social media.

Photographs are welcome as a starting point for a conversation. They do not transfer directly, because faces differ in structure, and a result that suits one face will not necessarily suit another.

The Assessment Itself

You will be looked at both at rest and in movement. Faces behave differently when they are animated, and a lot of what people dislike only appears when they talk, smile, or squint. Assessing a still face misses that entirely.

Expect photographs. They are for comparison later, they are not shared, and they are genuinely the only reliable way to judge a result afterward, because memory of your own face is unreliable within about a fortnight.

Depending on what you raise, the discussion may cover dermal fillers for volume, Sculptra where a gradual collagen-stimulating approach fits better, NeoGen PSR for skin texture and tone, Plexr Plus for non-surgical tightening, or Dysport and Botox, which are prescription treatments and require assessment before they can be prescribed.

It may also cover skincare, or sun protection, or simply waiting.

Cost, and When It Comes Up

Consultations at Arlo are complimentary, and pricing is discussed before anything is agreed. You should leave knowing what a course would cost, not just what one session costs, because several treatments only make sense as a series.

If you feel pressure to decide on the day, that is information about the clinic. A considered plan survives a week of thinking about it.

You Do Not Have to Be Treated That Day

Some people are treated at the first appointment. Many are not, and both are normal.

Reasons to wait are common and reasonable: an event too close for comfortable recovery, a supplement or medication worth discussing with your prescriber first, or simply wanting to think. If you do go ahead, our guides to preparing beforehand and aftercare afterward cover the practical side.

What a Good Consultation Feels Like

You should leave able to explain, in your own words, what was recommended and why. If you cannot, the consultation did not do its job, regardless of how pleasant it was.

You should also have heard at least one limitation. Every treatment has things it does not do. An hour that contains no caveats has left something out.

Ready to ask some questions? Book a consultation with one of our injectors. There is no obligation to book treatment, and a recommendation to wait or to see someone else is a perfectly normal outcome. Results vary from person to person, and suitability is assessed individually.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a consultation free?

Yes. Consultations at Arlo Medical are complimentary, and you will be given pricing before anything is agreed. There is no obligation to book treatment on the day or at all.

How long does a first consultation take?

About an hour. That covers your medical history, what is bothering you, an assessment of your face at rest and in movement, photographs for later comparison, and a discussion of the options including cost.

Will I be treated at the first appointment?

Sometimes, but often not, and both are normal. Reasons to wait include an event too close for comfortable recovery, medication or supplements worth discussing with your prescriber first, or simply wanting time to think it over.

Who will I see at the appointment?

One of our two injectors: Phil Wong, our founder, who is a pharmacist with Additional Prescribing Authority, or Alice Tran, a registered nurse injector. We do not have physicians on staff, and if your concern turns out to be medical rather than cosmetic we will tell you and suggest seeing a physician.

What should I bring to a consultation?

Details of any previous treatments, a list of medications and supplements, and a clear sense of what bothers you when you look in the mirror. Photographs are useful as a conversation starter, though results do not transfer directly between faces.