What I Spend on Beauty Treatments
What drives aesthetics pricing, why shopping on price alone is more costly, and how I think about my favorite categories
Nobody tells you, going in, what most beauty treatments cost — and candidly, a lot of the time that’s for good reason. Pricing a custom treatment outside of a consult is genuinely hard, and the clinics most focused on outcomes and provider training are often the least focused on prescriptive pricing. Shopping on price alone in aesthetics is one of the more costly mistakes you can make.
That said, the opacity can work against you if you don’t have a frame for it. Working inside this industry has given me one – and changed what categories I prioritize, what I pressure test before trying something new, and what I tackle at home vs. in-clinic.
The lowest hanging fruit, it turns out, is what you do at home. One of the SkinSpirit medical directors always goes back to the same analogy. If you were getting back into shape (your best skin ever), your skincare is the diet and the in-office treatments are the workout. You wouldn’t make a big investment in personal training and time at the gym if you didn’t plan to take care of yourself at home. The at-home skincare routines only take a few, great products that you commit to everyday:
A high quality antioxidant, like SkinBetter Alto Defense ($175) or Sente Defense C Serum ($165)
A retinol/oid for nighttime, like SkinBetter AlphaRet ($145) or prescription tretinoin
A nourishing moisturizer, like Skinceuticals Triple Lipid ($155), especially while using retinol
A simple, inexpensive cleanser like La Roche Posay Foaming Cleanser ($20)
SPF!!! I’m using this $38 option from Avene
Total = $530, replenished every 2-3 months
Neuromodulators
Neurotoxin pricing is legitimately hard to quote. It depends on the treatment areas included, individual anatomy, product selection and more – all determined between you and your provider.
This product is most commonly priced per unit, typically ranging between $12-16. My provider usually treats me with 30 units or so per visit, so the total treatment cost is in the $400 - 450 range.
If you’re looking to stretch your budget further, I would never sacrifice on injector or clinic quality. But I would ask about:
Botox banks (savings from committing to larger volumes that can be used across multiple treatments)
2nd & 3rd generation neurotoxins like Jeuveau, often offered at lower prices vs. Botox (the “Kleenex” of neurotoxins)
Total = $450, treated 3 times per year
Microneedling
I live and die by microneedling. You’ll find that most treatments are in the $400-600 range, depending if you opt for face-only or face, neck and chest. Your future self will thank you for doing the latter.
A few considerations on cost:
This treatment can be done by medical providers and aestheticians in most states. There’s less artistry involved vs. an injectable treatment, so I usually see the first-available at a safe, quality clinic. Some clinics price differently based on provider, so it’s worth a check.
This treatment is never one-and-done, so package savings are where it’s at for microneedling. Most clinics will offer 10-20% savings when you buy a pack of 3. Even if you’re not on a corrective protocol for things like scarring, it’s great to have a package for a maintenance routine. I aim for 4 treatments per year but end up going anywhere between 2 - 4 times.
I’d also budget for the occasional upgrade ($80-100). Microneedling is one of the best ways to deliver regenerative ingredients that are too large to penetrate the skin barrier when it’s not compromised. PDRN is the perfect example, which I’m adding to my next treatment.
Total = $600, 2-4 times per year
These cover my most-hit categories. If I were to add a 4th, it would be lasers for tone correction and collagen production. I’m currently finishing my last round of BBL/IPL, and am exploring the Vbeam next.