In aesthetics, it can be easy to fall into the habit of pointing out what can be "corrected" whether it be the lines, the shadows, the asymmetries. But what our patients need first is to be reminded of what already makes them beautiful.

Angie Repel, DNP APRN FNP-BC BSN RN, leads the way in our practice by always asking her patients what they love about their face, rather than what’s bothering them.

Before we ever lift a syringe, we should be lifting their confidence and making them feel comfortable. Start each consultation by celebrating their natural features. Acknowledge their eyes, their smile, their energy and whatever it is that radiates from them. And be honest. Patients know when you’re giving lip service.

This is also where I introduce the concept of perception drift which is the gradual shift in how a patient begins to see their own face. Left unchecked, this can lead to overtreatment, where even their family members no longer recognize them.

It often begins with something as simple as lip filler, then moves to additional treatments like midface, chin, jawline, and more tox. Slowly, the patient drifts further and further from their original baseline, and with each treatment, that new look becomes their new baseline.

As injectors, we have a responsibility to ground our work in integrity. That means consistently referring back to baseline photos so both you and your patient can see where they started.

It’s about enhancing what they have not morphing them into someone else or some trending aesthetic.