Treatment Pricing at Core Aesthetics

Treatment costs at Core Aesthetics are discussed individually at your consultation rather than published on this page. This reflects both regulatory requirements and a practical reality: the cost of a treatment plan depends on what that plan is trying to achieve, and that only becomes clear after an individual clinical assessment.

What this page offers is an explanation of why pricing is handled this way, a framework for understanding the different approaches to treatment, and therefore the different cost conversations you might have, and an overview of what the pricing discussion at consultation actually looks like.

Why Treatment Costs Are Not Published

Cosmetic injectable products, anti-wrinkle injectables and dermal fillers, are prescription medicines regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Under the TGA’s advertising framework, clinics are not permitted to advertise prescription medicine pricing alongside treatment descriptions in a way that constitutes promotion of those medicines. Publishing a price list on the same page as treatment descriptions crosses this line.

This is a legal requirement that applies equally to all registered health practitioners advertising cosmetic injectable services in Australia. It is not a policy choice unique to Core Aesthetics. You can read more about the regulatory context in our article on the AHPRA and TGA guidelines for cosmetic injectables.

There is also a practical argument for discussing pricing at consultation rather than in advance. A published price per unit or per syringe gives you a number without the context that determines cost: your specific anatomy, what a realistic treatment plan looks like for your face, how much product that plan requires, and what proportionate, natural results involve for your individual starting point. The consultation provides all of that before any cost is discussed or agreed.

Three Approaches to Treatment, and What Each Involves

The cost of a treatment plan at Core Aesthetics depends principally on what that plan is designed to achieve. Rather than thinking in terms of units of product or number of syringes, it is more useful to think about what kind of result you are working towards. Most people’s goals sit within one of three broad approaches, and each has a different scope, a different cost conversation, and a different relationship with time.

Subtle Refresh

The most conservative approach: addressing one or two priority concerns with minimal, natural looking results. This is the typical starting point for first time patients at Core Aesthetics, not because first time treatment uses less product than it should, but because a conservative initial approach allows the practitioner to assess your individual response before building on it. The goal is a refreshed appearance that people around you cannot quite identify, rather than a clearly visible change. The subtle refresh involves the fewest areas and typically the smallest product volume in a given session. It is the right starting point when you are not sure what you want, want time to evaluate before committing to a broader plan, or simply want minor softening of a specific concern.

Reset and Refine

A more coordinated approach for people addressing multiple areas together, or rebalancing after treatment elsewhere that has not produced the result they wanted. This approach involves a full face assessment and a treatment plan that considers how areas interact, treating each area in a way that looks proportionate within the context of the whole face rather than treating concerns in isolation. It typically involves more areas and more product than a subtle refresh, and the consultation is longer to allow the full planning conversation. The reset and refine approach is most appropriate when several areas have changed simultaneously, when there is an imbalance that a single area approach cannot resolve, or when you are returning after a period without treatment and want to address multiple areas in a single coordinated plan.

Long Term Maintenance

Rather than treating reactively, addressing changes after they have become noticeably established, some people prefer a preventive approach: maintaining consistent, conservative treatment over years to slow the formation of new lines and preserve the current starting point. This approach involves regular, predictable appointments at consistent intervals, with the treatment plan adjusted gradually as anatomy changes over time. The cost per session is often lower than a reactive correction session because the scope of each appointment is smaller, but the total investment is spread across an ongoing maintenance cycle rather than concentrated in fewer, larger sessions. The consultation for this approach involves a longer conversation about the realistic trajectory of your face over five to ten years and what consistent early maintenance achieves in practice compared to later reactive treatment.

What Determines the Cost of Your Treatment Plan

Within each of these approaches, the cost discussed at your consultation is determined by three factors:

The areas being treated: each area requires individual assessment, a specific injection technique, and a specific amount of product. More areas means more product, more time, and more clinical complexity.

The product volume required: this depends on your individual anatomy, the size and activity of the muscles being treated (for anti-wrinkle) or the degree of volume replacement needed (for filler). Two people presenting with the same concern may require different product volumes because their anatomy differs. One person’s cheek filler plan is not the same as another’s.

The clinical complexity of the plan: a straightforward single area first time treatment has different complexity to a coordinated multi area plan for someone with a history of prior treatment elsewhere, significant anatomical asymmetry, or a complex medical history. Clinical complexity affects the time and judgement involved.

Treatments Available at Core Aesthetics

The treatments available at Core Aesthetics, pricing for which is discussed individually at consultation, include:

anti-wrinkle treatment
Expression line treatment using a TGA-regulated prescription injectable product. Treatment areas include the forehead, frown lines, crow’s feet, masseter, lip flip, brow position, bunny lines, gummy smile, neck bands, and hyperhidrosis. The appropriate areas and the product volume required are individually assessed at consultation.
Learn about anti-wrinkle treatments

Dermal filler
Injectable filler for structural and volume restoration in the cheeks and mid face, jawline and chin, tear trough, nasolabial folds, temples, and lips. The amount of product required is determined by the clinical assessment of your individual anatomy and what your specific plan is designed to achieve. A conservative starting approach is used consistently at Core Aesthetics.
Learn about dermal filler

Hyperhidrosis treatment
Injectable treatment for excessive sweating in the underarm area. Suitability and treatment scope are assessed at consultation.
Learn about hyperhidrosis treatment

What the Pricing Conversation Looks Like at Consultation

During your consultation at Core Aesthetics, Corey Anderson (AHPRA registered nurse, NMW0001047575) will assess your facial anatomy, discuss your goals, and make a treatment recommendation. As part of that recommendation, the proposed treatment plan is explained clearly, including the cost, before any treatment proceeds.

You are under no obligation to proceed with treatment following your consultation. The consultation is a clinical appointment for assessment and information, not a commitment. If you decide not to proceed at that time, want to take time to consider, or want to come back for a follow up conversation, that is completely fine. There are no surprises: the cost agreed at consultation is the cost that applies to your treatment appointment.

Core Aesthetics is at 12A Atherton Road, Oakleigh VIC 3166, open Tuesday to Saturday by appointment. Book your consultation here.

What Drives Treatment Costs at a Consultation Based Practice

Treatment costs at a consultation based injectable practice reflect a different set of inputs than at a high volume clinic. The two largest determinants of cost in aesthetic medicine are the cost of the product itself and the time allocated to each patient, both for the consultation and for the treatment. A practice that allocates substantial consultation time, uses clinical grade products from registered suppliers, and maintains a low volume model will have a cost structure that looks different from one that maximises throughput and minimises consultation time.

At Core Aesthetics, each appointment includes the full time needed to assess the current clinical picture, discuss the treatment plan, deliver the treatment carefully, and ensure the patient understands what to expect in the days following. That time is not reduced because a patient is returning for their second or third appointment, because the treatment is straightforward, or because the appointment is at a busy time. The consultation based structure applies consistently across all appointments. This is reflected in how costs are discussed, not as a price list attached to product volumes, but as part of a treatment plan that is individually designed and communicated at consultation.

The alternative model, where costs are primarily expressed as a price per syringe or per area, and where patients book and pay before a clinical assessment has been conducted, creates incentives that are not always aligned with the patient’s interests. A patient who has pre paid for a specific volume may find that the practitioner is less inclined to recommend a smaller amount, even if a smaller amount is what the clinical picture calls for. At Core Aesthetics, treatment quantities are determined by the assessment, not by what the patient has booked or what fits a fixed price structure. Patients seeking an understanding of how treatment planning works can read the gradual aesthetic planning guide and the conservative dosing overview. Results vary between individuals; a consultation is required to assess suitability and determine appropriate treatment.

Why Treatment Costs Are Discussed at Consultation

Discussing treatment costs at consultation rather than publishing a fixed price list is a clinical and ethical choice, not a commercial one. A published price list implies that the treatment quantity is known before the consultation, that a syringe of lip filler, for example, always costs a specific amount because a syringe is always the right approach. In clinical practice, this is not true. The appropriate volume for one patient may be very different from the appropriate volume for another patient with a nominally similar concern. Attaching a fixed price to a fixed volume creates pressure, on both the practitioner and the patient, to proceed with that volume regardless of what the assessment indicates.

Discussing costs after the assessment allows the treatment plan and the associated costs to be aligned with what is actually clinically indicated. A patient whose assessment indicates that a modest intervention is appropriate should not feel that they are paying for less than what is available. A patient who needs more comprehensive treatment over multiple appointments should understand the full scope of what is being planned and why. This conversation is more honest, more clinically appropriate, and more protective of the patient’s interests than a price list.

It also protects against the pattern of time limited pricing and package pressure that is common in high volume aesthetic medicine. Pricing offers that create urgency, where the implication is that treatment must be booked before a date or in a specific quantity to access a particular price, are not consistent with the consultation based model and are explicitly inconsistent with the TGA’s therapeutic goods advertising requirements. Core Aesthetics does not use this approach. All costs are discussed individually, in the context of a clinical consultation, with full transparency about what is included and why. For patients who want to understand how the treatment journey is structured, the injectable journey guide and consultation overview provide useful context. Corey Anderson, Registered Nurse, discusses all treatment costs personally at consultation.

What the Consultation Covers in the Context of Pricing

When you attend a consultation at Core Aesthetics, the conversation about treatment is inseparable from the conversation about cost. Rather than quoting a price before assessing you, Corey Anderson. Registered Nurse, uses the consultation to understand your concerns, anatomy, and history before any treatment recommendation is made.

This approach means that two people presenting with the same concern may receive different treatment plans at different costs, because their anatomy, skin quality, and clinical history are different. A plan built around your actual presentation is more likely to serve you well over time than a standardised package designed for an average patient who may not resemble you.

The consultation also gives you an opportunity to ask questions about what is being proposed and why. Understanding the rationale behind a recommendation, which muscle group is being targeted, which area of volume loss is being addressed, why a particular technique is preferred, helps you make an informed decision about whether to proceed.

Results vary between individuals, and the number of treatment sessions needed to achieve and maintain an outcome differs from person to person. This is discussed openly at consultation, along with realistic timeframes and what ongoing treatment might involve.

At Core Aesthetics, pricing is never used as a selling tool. There are no introductory rates, volume incentives, or time limited offers. The cost of a treatment reflects the time, skill, and materials involved, and because the clinic operates as a low volume, one practitioner practice, Corey is able to give each patient the kind of attention that wouldn’t be possible in a higher throughput environment. Learn more about how consultations work at Core Aesthetics and what to expect from your appointment.

Understanding How Anti-wrinkle Treatment Works at a Cellular Level

Anti-wrinkle treatment uses a prescription injectable that temporarily interrupts the signal between the nerve and the muscle. The active substance blocks the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction, the chemical messenger that triggers muscle contraction. Without this signal, the targeted muscle relaxes. The skin above it, no longer creased by repeated movement, gradually softens.

This effect is temporary because the body regenerates the nerve terminals that were blocked. Axonal sprouting, the regrowth of nerve endings, is the mechanism by which muscle activity slowly returns, typically over three to five months. The pace of recovery varies between individuals and between treatment areas.

Understanding this mechanism matters for treatment planning. Anti-wrinkle treatment works on muscles. It does not replace volume, improve skin texture, or address structural concerns. For lines that are visible at rest, not just during expression, a different assessment is needed, and filler or other approaches may be more appropriate.