With more people seeking treatment with anti wrinkle injections everyday, whether to choose a clinic that charges ‘per unit’ (per unit of product injected) or ‘per area’ (per area of the face treated) for anti wrinkle injections becomes a pertinent question! As a clinic that performs a lot of anti wrinkle injections on a daily basis it’s a question we get asked a lot and we felt it was worth exploring.

At Vamp Cosmetic Clinic we charge our clients based on the exact amount of product injected and do not charge ‘per area’. By structuring our treatment and pricing this way we are able to be completely transparent about cost and the exact amount (dose) of product being injected into each of our clients. However, many cosmetic clinics in Newcastle and Sydney will charge their clients ‘per area’ of the face treated, this is often further divided into ‘major’ and ‘minor’ areas of the face. For example, commonly a clinic may charge $399 to have 2 major areas and 1 minor area treated. A major area is usually a larger area of the face requiring more product like forehead lines or frown lines. A minor area may be the top lip or ‘crows feet’ (wrinkles around the outside of the eyes).

So which pricing model is better for the consumer?..

Let me start by saying, we get it, by charging ‘per area’ the consumer knows the exact cost of the treatment before they enter the clinic. Most people like to know the cost of a product or service before they buy it. There’s nothing worse than walking into a shop that has no price tags! Most of us would walk straight out again. However, many clinics (including ours) that charge ‘per unit’ will discuss the cost of  treatment before going ahead so the consumer has a clear idea of how much the treatment will cost in advance.

So what’s the difference between the two pricing models?

The upside of being charged ‘per area’ with anti wrinkle injections;

  • You know exactly how much you are paying each and every time you go into the clinic – making it easier to budget for treatments, particularly if (like most people) you are maintaining anti wrinkle treatments every 3-4 months

The downside of being charged ‘per area’ with anti wrinkle injections;

  • You may not require the amount of product you’re being charged for – for example, if you’re paying $399 (about 100 units of product) but you only require $200 worth of product (50 units of product) you are paying for product that you don’t need and that was never injected! If you go for a pay ‘per area’ price model make sure you know how much product is being injected. It’s the only way of knowing you’re getting what you paid for.
  • Often clinics that charge per area have ‘capped pricing’ where, if you read the fine print, treatment of 2 large areas + 1 minor area for $399 is only applicable if the amount of product required does not exceed 100 units. Those clients requiring more (clients with deeper static and/or dynamic lines which is very common) are often charged a premium for any additional product required. Often, the  cost of additional product is only revealed after the treatment is done leaving you open to paying more than you were quoted
  • Ask yourself, if everyone is being charged the same price is the treating Doctor or Nurse injecting the same amount of product into every client? If the clinic is not willing to share how much product was injected this is a real possibility and if this is the case, the treating health professional is not assessing each client individually and may be over treating some clients (too much of the drug is being injected to treat the area) and under treating others
  • The ‘charge per area’ business model – it makes sense from a business point of view to charge ‘per area’. This pricing model and associated marketing is structured where most clients seeking this type of predictable pricing  will probably require less product than they’re being charged for, so the actual charge ‘per unit’ to the client can be very high, higher than many other clinics that charge ‘per unit’

Our advice?

We firmly believe the pay ‘per unit’ model is the fairest and safest way to treat consumers seeking anti wrinkle injections; the doctor assesses each client individually and the recommended dose is injected. The client is charged for the exact dose of product that’s injected. If you choose a clinic that charges ‘per area’ for anti wrinkle injections make sure you choose a reputable clinic (one that is directly supervised by qualified doctors), make sure you know how much product is being injected, and ask if there is any ‘capped pricing’ on the quoted price BEFORE going ahead. If they’re not forthcoming with the answers perhaps it’s time to seek treatment elsewhere.