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Before you book

Risks and complications

Every cosmetic and skin treatment carries risk. Including the gentle ones. This page sets out what can go wrong with the treatments I offer, how often problems occur, and what recovery genuinely involves, so you can weigh it up before you sit in the chair rather than after.

Nothing here is advice about your own skin. Skin type, medical history, medication, hormones and sun habits all change how a person responds, and they change the risk profile too. What is appropriate for you can only be determined during a consultation. If you would like another view before you commit to anything, seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner. That is a sensible thing to do, and I will not be offended by it.

How I approach risk

Every treatment path here starts with an assessment. I go through your history, look at your skin, and tell you plainly what I think is realistic, including when I think a treatment is not the right answer yet. There is no expectation that you book anything on the day. Declining to treat is sometimes the safest decision I can make for you, and I will make it.

Risks that can occur with any skin treatment

  • The result may be more modest than you hoped, or may not be noticeable at all
  • You may need more sessions than first estimated, at additional cost
  • Redness, swelling, bruising or tenderness in the treated area
  • Infection, which can require medical treatment
  • An allergic or sensitivity reaction to a product used during treatment
  • Changes in skin pigment, darker or lighter, which can be long lasting
  • Scarring. Uncommon, but permanent when it happens
  • An uneven response, where one area responds differently to another

What raises your risk

Risk is higher if you have a history of keloid or raised scarring, are prone to pigmentation, have an active infection, cold sores or a breakout at the treatment site, take certain medications including isotretinoin or photosensitising medicines, or are pregnant or breastfeeding. Tell me about all of these at your consultation. Some of them mean I will postpone or decline a treatment. That decision protects you. It is never a judgement of you.

Risks by treatment

Skin needling

  • Common: redness that looks and feels like sunburn for 24 to 72 hours, pinpoint bleeding during treatment, skin that feels tight and dry afterwards
  • Less common: swelling for a day or two, bruising, a temporary flare of congestion or breakouts, milia (small white bumps)
  • Rare: infection, scarring, reactivation of cold sores, worsening of active acne if treated too early
  • Recovery: two to three days before make-up. Active skincare is paused for about a week

BB Glow

  • Common: redness and mild tightness for one to three days, pinpoint bleeding during treatment
  • Less common: swelling, a breakout flare, colour that settles unevenly or fades patchily over the following weeks
  • Rare: an allergic reaction to the tinted serum, infection, pigment change, reactivation of cold sores
  • Recovery: as for skin needling. The visible tint develops over days and its longevity varies considerably between people

Laser and light treatments (IPL and Infini)

  • Common: redness, warmth and mild swelling for one to three days. Treated pigment often darkens before it clears
  • Less common: peeling or flaking, temporary sensitivity, tenderness after radiofrequency needling, an uneven response needing further sessions
  • Rare: burns, blistering, scarring, pigment change that does not fully resolve, reactivation of cold sores near the mouth
  • Recovery: daily sunscreen is not optional after light based treatment. Sun exposure is the single biggest avoidable risk factor

PRP (platelet rich plasma) skin treatments

  • Common: bruising or tenderness at the blood draw site, swelling and redness in the treated area for one to three days
  • Less common: feeling light headed during or after the blood draw, more noticeable bruising
  • Rare: infection. Because PRP is prepared from your own blood, true allergic reaction is unlikely, but results vary and can be modest
  • Recovery: most people return to normal activity the next day. Certain blood conditions and medications rule this treatment out, which is checked before anything proceeds

Professional skin treatments and facials

  • Common: mild redness, warmth or tingling that settles within hours
  • Less common: temporary purging as congestion clears, sensitivity to skincare you normally tolerate
  • Rare: an allergic reaction to a product, post inflammatory pigmentation in deeper skin tones
  • Recovery: usually none. If a stronger formulation is used I will tell you what to expect before it goes near your skin

Supplemental IV therapy

  • Common: brief discomfort, bruising or tenderness where the cannula sits. Some infusions cause temporary flushing, coolness in the arm or a metallic taste while running
  • Less common: vein irritation, light headedness, fluid leaking into the surrounding tissue, nausea if an infusion runs quickly, which slowing the rate usually settles
  • Rare: infection at the cannula site, an allergic reaction to a preparation
  • Recovery: normal activity straight away. Some medical conditions and medications change what is safe to infuse, which is exactly why the screening questions exist

Prescription only treatments

Some of the concerns people bring to a consultation are treated with prescription only medicines. Australian law restricts what any clinic may publish about those medicines, so they are not named or described anywhere on this website. If a prescription treatment may be appropriate for you, the process involves an assessment before anything is prescribed, and the specific risks of that treatment are explained to you face to face as part of informed consent. You will be given time to consider them, and nothing in that conversation assumes you will go ahead. Additional legal protections apply to patients under 18 considering cosmetic procedures, including mandatory assessment and cooling off requirements.

After a treatment: when to get help

Contact me promptly if you notice any of the following after a treatment:

  • Pain that is increasing rather than settling
  • Spreading redness, heat, or discharge from the treated area
  • Fever
  • Blistering, or skin that turns white, grey or dusky
  • Any change in vision, or unusual pain around the eyes
  • Anything that does not feel right to you, whether or not it appears on this page

Enquiries through the contact page or by email tohello@modernaesthetic.com.au are answered by Shae directly. If symptoms are severe, do not wait for a reply. Go to your nearest emergency department or call 000.

Who treats you

Treatments are provided by Shae, a Registered Nurse (Division 1, general registration, Ahpra registration NMW0002473812). You can check the registration of any Australian health practitioner on the public register atahpra.gov.au.

Questions about any of this

Bring them to your consultation, or ask before you book. I would rather answer them now than have you wondering about them afterwards. Ask a question or book a consultation when you are ready.