How clinics and surgeons get onto our lists
How we choose and order aesthetic clinics, laser clinics, hair transplant clinics and cosmetic surgeons, why places cannot be bought and what to check.
A clinic that does lip filler all day is not necessarily the right place for laser hair removal on dark skin, and a well-known name tells you little about who will actually hold the needle. Every list on DocAesthetics is built around the same questions, whatever the treatment and whatever the city.
Is the treatment really part of its work?
We start with what each clinic actually does. Hairdressers, barbers, nail and lash bars, tanning salons, spas that only offer beauty treatments, training academies, pharmacies and suppliers are left out. On a treatment list, clinics that make that treatment a regular part of their work come before those that mention it at the bottom of a long menu.
A laser hair removal clinic needs machines of its own. A hair transplant clinic has to carry out the surgery itself, so UK offices that send patients to clinics abroad are not included. The cosmetic surgery lists are for surgeons, clinics and private hospitals that operate, not for clinics offering only non-surgical treatments. The doctor or nurse-led filter picks out clinics that say their injections are given by doctors, nurse prescribers or dentists, something worth confirming on the register before you go.
What patients say, over time
Next come the public comments patients leave about each clinic, open for anyone to check. We set them against how long the clinic has been treating people, so a handful of glowing reviews from its opening months counts for less than years of steady feedback.
How openly it explains its work
We also go through the clinic’s website and its official social accounts, looking for the names and professions of the people who treat you, the products and machines they use, how consultations and aftercare work, where the clinic is and what it charges. A clinic that sets this out before you walk in gives you something real to compare.
Independence
Where a clinic sits on a list is our own editorial decision. It rests on merit, and we revisit it every so often. Being listed costs nothing, and money cannot change the criteria. Once a clinic has been chosen, it may buy Pro, which adds photos and detail to its page, or Top, which moves it to one of the first places, and either one is clearly labelled.
Before you go ahead
If a practitioner says they are a doctor, nurse or dentist, find them on the GMC, NMC or GDC register, and expect a face-to-face consultation before any prescription medicine. Ask for the full price in writing, what aftercare it includes and what happens if you are unhappy with the result. If anything on our pages is out of date, tell us through the contact page.