What actually happens in a consultation at The Lee

People write to me from Amersham, Chesham and Great Missenden asking what the first hour is. It is not a sales presentation and it is not a patch test of a £750 face. You come to Emmanuel Hall, Swan Bottom, The Lee. Pumpkin and Bandit will yap. Then we sit down and I ask what you actually mind when you catch yourself in the mirror, or what feels flat in the week.

What I want to know

• Which bit you notice. Lids, jaw, neck, hands, arms, or a tiredness that sleep is not fixing.
• What you have already had. A peel, a laser, a plasma pen, filler, a course of something from a high street.
• Cold sores, keloid scars, recent isotretinoin, pregnancy, and anything your GP has you on.
• Whether you have a tan, and whether your diary can take 3 to 10 days of looking unlike yourself.

Then I look at the skin in ordinary daylight, not a ring light. I will tell you if NeoGen is the right tool, or if Cell Story is kinder because you still have to be seen, or if Dermalux is the sensible first hour, or if NAD+ from £100 is the conversation and the skin can wait. If none of them is right, I say that. There is no membership to join.

What you leave with

A plan in plain words. Which area, which energy, what day five is likely to look like, and a price that starts from the figures on this site: eyes and hands from £350, neck from £450, face and arms from £750. Packages are quoted then, not invented on a webpage. If we are going ahead with NeoGen you leave with an eLIVEate Me AllSkin Med skin prep kit. You do not leave with ten new serums.

Monday to Friday I am here from 9 until 6. Saturday is by appointment. If you are late, the hour may be shorter, because the next woman is not a number on a board. Email clinic@eliveate.me or call 07554 773396.