Get to Know You Consultation
Designed to Answer Your Questions Before Anything Else Happens
You have probably been researching for a while. Reading, comparing, saving before-and-after photos, trying to work out whether the dark spots along your cheekbones are melasma or sun damage, whether the breakouts at your jaw are hormonal, and whether any of it is fixable. Somewhere in that process most women hit the same wall, which is that everything they read is written to sell them something, and none of it is about their skin, their history, or their life.
The Get to Know You Consultation is the appointment where that changes. You sit down with a provider who looks at your skin specifically, listens to what you want, and tells you what will get you there. Some patients leave with a treatment plan. Some leave knowing that what they came in for is not the right answer, and what is. Both are good outcomes, and both are better than guessing.
At Radiance Aesthetics, your first consultation is complimentary, and there is never pressure to begin treatment during your first visit.
Our North Arlington office serves patients from across Bergen County and the surrounding communities, including Lyndhurst, Rutherford, Kearny, Belleville, Nutley, and Bloomfield.
Ready to Get Started?
Your consultation is complimentary for new patients, and it carries no obligation to treat.
What Happens During Your Consultation
Your consultation covers four things.
A conversation about what you want. Your provider will ask what brought you in, what you notice, what bothers you, and what you are hoping for. This part matters more than people expect. The clearer you are about the result you want, the more precisely your provider can plan for it.
A review of your health, including a good faith exam. Your medical history, medications and supplements, allergies, previous treatments, and anything relevant that has happened along the way. Your provider also performs a good faith exam, which is a medical evaluation establishing that a treatment is appropriate for you before it is performed. This is required before any medical aesthetic treatment, it is part of your consultation, and there is no separate charge for it. It is repeated annually rather than at every visit.
An assessment. Your provider examines the areas you want to address under good light, looking at skin quality, tone, texture, pigment, active breakouts, scarring, and how your face moves. Where it is useful, a skin analysis is included.
A plan and a price. You will leave knowing what is recommended, in what order, over what timeline, and what it will cost. Nothing is decided under pressure and nothing is scheduled until you are ready.
Skin Assessment
Pigment is the reason a great many patients come to Radiance Aesthetics, and pigment is the concern most often misjudged from a mirror.
Dark patches that look like one condition on the surface frequently turn out to be another underneath. Melasma, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation left behind by old breakouts, and accumulated sun damage can look similar to the eye and respond very differently to treatment. Some improve steadily with a peel series. Some worsen with the wrong choice of heat or light. Sorting out which one you are dealing with, before anything is performed, is the single most useful thing your first appointment does.
Your provider assesses your skin under controlled lighting, identifies where pigment sits in the skin, notes any active inflammation, and factors in how your skin has historically responded to injury, sun, and previous treatment. That assessment shapes the plan, the sequencing, and how conservatively your first treatment is set.
Skin assessment supports treatment planning. It is not a diagnostic test, and where findings suggest a dermatologic or medical concern, your provider will tell you and refer you appropriately.
How to Prepare for Your Visit
A little preparation makes the appointment considerably more useful.
Arrive without makeup if your visit involves your face. Your provider needs to see your skin as it actually is, including the things concealer is currently handling.
Bring your current skincare products, or photograph the labels. What you are already using shapes what your provider will recommend and what should change. Retinoids, exfoliating acids, and prescription lightening agents all affect how and when certain treatments can be performed.
Bring a list of your medications and supplements, including anything over the counter. Several common medications and supplements affect bruising, healing, pigment response, and candidacy.
Note your relevant history. Previous aesthetic treatments and roughly when, any allergies, any adverse reactions, any history of cold sores, keloid scarring, or darkening after a burn, cut, or breakout.
Think about your priorities. If several things bother you, know which one bothers you most. Plans are usually sequenced rather than done all at once, and knowing where to start is half the conversation.
Come with questions. Write them down beforehand. People consistently forget the thing they most wanted to ask.
What You Will Leave With
- A clear understanding of what is causing what you have noticed
- An honest assessment of which treatments would help and which would not
- A recommended plan, sequenced in the order that makes sense
- A realistic picture of results, timeline, and how long they last
- The full cost, including any course of treatments, before you commit
- Answers to the questions you came in with
- No pressure and no obligation
If You Want to Begin the Same Day
Some patients arrive ready, and where a treatment is appropriate and there is time available, it can often be performed during the same visit.
That said, there is never pressure to begin during your first visit. Some treatments need preparation beforehand. Some require you to stop a medication or a skincare ingredient first, and pigment-prone skin in particular is often better served by a short period of preparation than by starting immediately. Some decisions are simply better made after you have gone home and thought about them.
If you would like to begin the same day, say so when you book so time can be set aside. If you would rather take the plan away and think, that is entirely expected and nobody will push you.
Consultation Policies
Consultation fee.
Your first consultation is complimentary for new patients.
Cancellation and rescheduling.
Please let us know in advance if you need to cancel or move your appointment, so the time can be offered to someone else.
Late arrival.
If you arrive late, your appointment may need to be shortened or rescheduled so that patients booked after you are seen on time.
What to expect on booking.
You will be asked for some basic health information in advance. Completing it before you arrive means more of your appointment is spent on the conversation rather than on paperwork.
Who the Consultation Is For
- Anyone considering a treatment for the first time
- Patients who have had treatments elsewhere and want a fresh assessment
- Women dealing with dark spots, melasma, or uneven tone who have tried products without much change
- Adults still breaking out well past the age they expected to
- Patients weighing several options and wanting an honest comparison
- Anyone who has been told what they need without being examined
- People who want a baseline before deciding anything at all
You do not need to know what you want before you come in. Working that out is what the appointment is for.
Why Choose Radiance Aesthetics?
Radiance Aesthetics is led by Dr. Sharon Lawrence, a board-certified surgeon with advanced training in aesthetic techniques.
Her route into aesthetics was personal before it was professional. She spent years dealing with hyperpigmentation and adult acne herself, working through the same product cycles and the same conflicting advice her patients arrive having tried. That experience is why this practice is built around pigment, acne, and aging skin rather than around whatever is trending, and why the consultation is structured to identify what is actually happening in your skin before anything is recommended.
A consultation here is a clinical appointment. Your health history is reviewed the way a health history should be reviewed, medication interactions are checked, and treatments that are not appropriate for you are ruled out rather than sold to you.
We are not going to tell you what you need before we have looked at you. We are going to examine you properly, tell you what we actually think, and let you decide.
Our Standard of Care
These commitments run through everything at Radiance Aesthetics.
Evaluation before treatment.
No treatment is recommended before your provider has assessed you and reviewed your history.
Honest candidacy.
If you are not a candidate for something, you will be told, along with what else may help.
Transparent risk discussion.
You will hear what a treatment involves, including its risks, before you agree to it.
Conservative progression.
Treatment starts conservatively and builds. It is far easier to add than to undo, and in skin prone to pigment it is far safer.
Realistic expectations.
You will be given an accurate picture of results rather than an optimistic one.
Clear pricing.
You will know the cost of a full plan before you begin any part of it.
Let's Talk About the Result You Want
You have been thinking about this for a while. You have an idea of what you want, even if you have not put it into words, and you have questions you have not been able to get straight answers to.
Bring all of it. The vague version is fine. Your provider will help you work out what is actually bothering you, what is causing it, and what would genuinely change it.
Your first consultation is complimentary, there is no obligation to treat, and you will leave knowing what is achievable, how long it will take, and what it will cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Get to Know You Consultation?
It is your first appointment at Radiance Aesthetics, where a provider examines the areas you want to address, reviews your medical history, discusses what you are hoping to achieve, and gives you an honest recommendation, a plan, and a price. It is a clinical appointment rather than a sales appointment.
Is the consultation free?
Yes. Your first consultation is complimentary for new patients.
How long does it take?
Most consultations run between 15 and 45 minutes, depending on how much you want to cover and how many areas you are asking about.
Do I need a medical exam before treatment?
Yes. A good faith exam is a medical evaluation performed by a licensed provider to establish that a treatment is appropriate for you, and it is required before any medical aesthetic treatment. It is performed as part of your consultation, so there is no additional appointment and no separate charge. It is repeated once a year, so returning patients do not need a new exam at every visit. Your provider may also repeat it sooner if your health or your treatment plan changes significantly.
Do I have to decide anything at the appointment?
No. There is never pressure to begin treatment during your first visit. You will leave with a plan and a price and can take as long as you like.
Can I have treatment the same day?
Often, where a treatment is appropriate and time is available. Tell us when you book so time can be set aside. Some treatments require preparation beforehand and cannot be done same day.
What if I am not a candidate for what I came in for?
Your provider will tell you plainly, explain why, and discuss what would actually help. This happens regularly and it is one of the more useful outcomes of a consultation. You are not obliged to pursue the alternative, and you will not be charged for finding out.
What should I bring?
A list of your medications and supplements, your current skincare products or photographs of the labels, notes on any previous treatments and allergies, and your questions. Arrive without makeup if your visit involves your face.
I have dark spots. Can you tell me what is causing them?
Your provider will assess where the pigment sits, what your history suggests, and how your skin has responded to injury and sun in the past. Melasma, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and sun damage can look alike and respond differently, so identifying which one you are dealing with comes before any treatment is chosen. Where a finding suggests a dermatologic concern, you will be referred for appropriate evaluation.
I am still getting acne in my thirties and forties. Is that unusual?
It is far more common than most patients assume, and it is one of the concerns this practice was built around. Adult acne often behaves differently from teenage acne and frequently leaves pigment behind, which is why the plan usually addresses both the breakouts and the marks they leave.
What if I do not know what I want?
That is common and completely fine. Describe what bothers you in whatever words you have, and your provider will work out what is causing it and what the options are.
Do you accept insurance?
Radiance Aesthetics is a fee-for-service practice and does not accept insurance.
Medical Disclaimer
The information on this page is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It does not replace consultation with a qualified healthcare provider.
Skin assessment is used to support treatment planning. It is not a diagnostic test. Where findings suggest a dermatologic or medical concern, you will be referred for appropriate evaluation.
Recommendations made during a consultation are specific to the individual patient following evaluation. Treatments discussed carry their own risks and candidacy requirements, which will be reviewed with you before you agree to any of them. Individual results vary and no specific outcome can be guaranteed.
Radiance Aesthetics is a fee-for-service practice and does not accept insurance.