First session: the interview first, the protocol after
Twenty minutes of intake decide the protocol, the timetable and the price.
· Hajar Atila, registered nurse
The first appointment is given over entirely to examination. Twenty minutes of discussion, an examination of the skin, a written protocol — and off you go. Many people find that strange on the telephone. Here is what happens during those twenty minutes, and why they exist.
What you are asked, and why
- Your current treatments, including anything that looks like one from a distance: creams, food supplements, contraception. A retinoid, an anticoagulant, a recent isotretinoin change what is possible — sometimes for months.
- Your skin history.Cold sores, keloids, eczema, rosacea, an allergy to a local anaesthetic. Each one is a contraindication to something specific.
- Your sun exposure, past and planned. A holiday in ten days' time moves the whole timetable.
- What you have already tried, and the result you got. It is often the most useful piece of information in the interview.
The examination
The skin is looked at under directed light and with the analyser, area by area: hydration, sebum, pigmentation, state of the barrier. It is a baseline measurement, and its main use is for comparison in three months.
What you take away
A written protocol: what is indicated, in what order, how many sessions, at what rhythm, and the total amount. The protocol is written down, and the right moment to start is in it.
Why the examination takes up the whole first day
Three reasons. Because the skin's tolerance is checked beforehand. Because a treatment carried out without an intake can run into a contraindication that two questions would have found. And because a protocol decided in a hurry is almost always the wrong one.
Come without make-up, if you can
We remove make-up on site if needed; coming without it saves time and makes the examination more accurate.
When you need to see a doctor first
A lesion that changes, bleeds or lingers; severe or painful acne; permanent redness of the face; rapid hair loss. In those cases the intake ends with a referral, and that is the right outcome: nursing training is there first of all to recognise the moment to hand over.
Something here that applies to you? The first appointment lasts twenty minutes and is there to look, not to sell.
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