Two clinics quote for the same treatment and the figures differ. Before concluding anything about either of them, it is worth establishing whether they are quoting for the same thing, because in this market they frequently are not. A price in aesthetics is a bundle, the contents of the bundle are a commercial choice, and almost none of the contents are standardised.
What the figure buys, in volume
The largest source of confusion is not a hidden extra. It is the unit.
Botulinum toxin is priced by area in some clinics and by unit in others. Area pricing is a package: a defined region of the face, treated with however much product the practitioner judges necessary. Unit pricing bills for the product actually used. Neither is wrong, and they are not comparable without knowing which is which, because a low area price with a conservative dose and a higher unit price with a fuller dose can produce the same total and a different result.
Filler is priced by syringe, and syringes are not all the same size. A price quoted for a treatment may be for a full millilitre or for half of one. Ask which, and ask what happens to the remainder if the practitioner uses part of a syringe, because clinic policies on that differ and it is a real cost either way.
Courses are the third version of the same problem. A per-session figure and a course figure are different prices for different commitments, and the question that matters is what happens if you stop after session two.
The review appointment
Injectable treatment is normally reviewed: commonly around two weeks for botulinum toxin, around four for filler. Whether that appointment is inside the price is one of the sharpest differences between clinics and one of the least often stated.
Related and equally variable is what happens at the review if an adjustment is needed. Some clinics include a top-up within a defined window. Some charge for it. Some include it only if the original dose is judged to have been insufficient, which is a judgement they make. This is worth settling before treatment because it is difficult to negotiate afterwards, and because a clinic's answer tells you how it thinks about the first appointment: as a finished transaction or as the start of a plan.
Correction, dissolving and complications
The item patients least expect to pay for is putting something right. Positions differ, and all of the following exist in the London market: correction included within a stated window, correction charged at full price, dissolving of a hyaluronic acid filler charged as a separate treatment, and complication management provided at no charge as a matter of policy.
There is no standard here, which is exactly why it belongs in the conversation before treatment rather than after it. The question is short: if this needs correcting, dissolving or managing, who pays. A clinic that cannot answer that quickly has not thought about it, and that is the more useful piece of information.
The line items, and the question that settles each
| Line item | Usually inside | Usually outside | Ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consultation | Sometimes, or redeemable | Sometimes charged separately | Is the fee redeemable, and against what |
| Product volume | Stated as area, units or syringes | Rarely stated in millilitres | How much product does this figure buy |
| Review appointment | Often for filler | Often for toxin | Is the two or four week review included |
| Adjustment or top-up | Sometimes within a window | Often charged | What is the top-up policy and its time limit |
| Correction or dissolving | Rarely | Usually | Who pays if this needs reversing |
| Complication management | Policy varies | Policy varies | What does it cost me if there is a problem |
| Aftercare products | Rarely | Usually | Is anything I have to buy afterwards required |
| Later sessions of a course | In a course price | In a per-session price | What is the total for the whole course |
| VAT | Should be stated | Should not be a surprise | Is the figure inclusive of VAT |
VAT, which is not the simple part people assume
Medical care provided by registered health professionals can be exempt from VAT where the primary purpose is protecting, maintaining or restoring health. Purely cosmetic work does not meet that purpose, and HM Revenue and Customs sets out the position for health professionals in its published guidance. The practical consequence for a patient is that the treatment of VAT can differ between two clinics offering similar-sounding services, and that a quoted figure should state whether it includes VAT.
This is not a reason to expect a discount or to ask a clinic to characterise a cosmetic treatment as medical. It is a reason to make sure you are comparing two inclusive figures rather than one of each.
Why price lists do not name the product
Patients often read a price list, see anti-wrinkle injections rather than a brand name, and assume the clinic is being evasive. It is not. Botulinum toxin products are prescription-only medicines, and advertising prescription-only medicines to the public is prohibited under UK medicines law. Advertising rules applied by the Advertising Standards Authority follow the same line.
So the absence of a brand on a public price list is compliance rather than concealment. The name of the product being used in your treatment is a different matter entirely: it belongs in your consultation, in your consent record and in your notes, and you are entitled to ask for it.
Deposits, cancellations and expiring offers
A price also comes with terms. Deposits, cancellation windows, expiry dates on courses and package conditions are contract terms, and consumer protection law applies to them as it does to any other service sold to the public. The Competition and Markets Authority publishes guidance on unfair contract terms and on how consumer law applies to businesses.
Two patterns are worth naming. A course that expires before it can reasonably be completed transfers risk to the patient in a way worth querying. And a price available only if you agree today compresses the time for reflection that professional guidance in cosmetic practice expects patients to be given. Neither is a pricing question so much as a question about how the clinic operates, and both are visible before anybody signs anything.
What this does not cover
This describes what a price is made of. It quotes no figures, names no clinic and assesses nobody, and it is not tax, legal or clinical advice. It covers the London non-surgical market, where these conventions are reasonably consistent, and it does not extend to surgery. What a given clinic includes is set by that clinic, and the only reliable way to find out is to ask before treatment. The wider structure behind the numbers is set out in what rent does to price, and the pattern by area in the district guides.