Terms and conditions for an aesthetics clinic

An aesthetics clinic needs terms that deal with the appointment cancelled two hours before, the client who bought a course of six and moved away after two, the filler that needs a top-up, and the person who says the result is not what the consultation promised. I draft customer terms for a clinic for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Medical aesthetics clinics, nurse and prescriber-led practices and practitioners offering botulinum toxin, dermal filler, skin boosters, peels, microneedling and skin treatments in England and Wales, trading as a sole trader or a limited company. Almost every client is a consumer, which decides how much of your terms will actually be enforceable. Clinics that also rent treatment rooms to other practitioners need separate wording for that.

What matters in an aesthetics clinic's terms

Consultation, medical history and clinical discretion

Your terms and your consent form do different jobs and you need both. The terms are the commercial contract: what the consultation fee covers, whether it is credited against treatment, that the practitioner may decline, modify or postpone treatment on clinical grounds without that being a breach, and that the client is responsible for giving a full and accurate medical history, including medication, pregnancy and treatments had elsewhere. A client who conceals a filler done by another clinic and then has a complication will argue you should have known. Make the disclosure obligation explicit and record that clinical consent is taken separately.

Deposits, no-shows and late cancellation

Appointment time is your stock and an empty chair cannot be resold at short notice, so a deposit and a notice period are reasonable. They have to be proportionate. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats a disproportionately high charge for a consumer's default as likely to be unfair, and treats keeping a prepayment on cancellation, where nothing is owed back in return, the same way. Charging the full treatment price for a missed appointment invites a challenge. A stated deposit, forfeited where the client cancels inside a clear notice window and drawn to their attention when they book, is far more defensible.

Courses, packages and prepaid treatments

Prepaid courses of skin treatments are where clinics come unstuck. The terms need to say what the package price buys, over what period sessions must be used, whether unused sessions transfer to another treatment or another person, and what happens if the client becomes pregnant, moves away or is advised by your practitioner to stop. A blanket 'no refunds on courses' term against a consumer is exposed. A clause that refunds unused sessions at your single-session price, so the client gives up the package discount rather than the money, is the version that usually survives scrutiny.

Results, reviews and correction

Marketing is contractual. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, information the consumer relies on before booking binds you, so before-and-after images, claims about how long a product lasts and words like 'permanent' can become promises. Your terms should confirm that treatment is provided with reasonable care and skill, that individual results vary and that no particular outcome is guaranteed, then set out the review policy: whether a review appointment is included, how soon after treatment, and when a correction such as further product or dissolving is chargeable. Liability for a service cannot be limited below the price, nor excluded for personal injury caused by negligence.

Online bookings and the fourteen-day right

Bookings taken through your website, by telephone or by message are distance contracts under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, and the client has fourteen days to cancel. Where the client wants an appointment inside that window, you need their express request to begin and their acknowledgement that the right is lost once the treatment has been fully performed. Without that, someone treated on day three can cancel on day ten and ask for their money back. Missing cancellation information extends the period by up to twelve months, which on a prepaid course matters.

Pricing, reviews, complaints and photographs

Prices shown to consumers must include mandatory charges, so a prescription or consultation fee added at the till is drip pricing under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which also bans invented or incentivised reviews. You cannot surcharge a consumer for paying by card under the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012. The Provision of Services Regulations 2009 require your insurance and professional body details to be available and complaints handled promptly, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 require you to point an unresolved complaint to a certified provider. Marketing use of clinical photographs needs its own opt-in consent.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Where do the terms actually need to be shown to the client?

Before the client pays anything, not on the treatment couch. In practice that means the terms sit in the online booking flow with a tick box, go out with the booking confirmation, and are signed alongside the consent paperwork on the day. A consumer bound to terms they had no real chance to read is the classic unfair term.

A client says her filler has not lasted as long as she expected and wants a refund. Where do I stand?

That depends almost entirely on what you told her before she booked. If your website or your practitioner quoted a duration, she is entitled to rely on it. If your terms record that longevity varies with product, area, metabolism and aftercare, and set out a review and top-up policy, you have a position worth defending.

Can I use client before-and-after photographs on social media?

Only with consent that is specific to marketing, separate from consent to treatment, and capable of being withdrawn. Identifiable images of a client's face are sensitive, and a client who later regrets the post will ask you to remove it. Your terms should record the consent; the wider data protection position I advise on separately.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Data protection agreements and privacy terms, £795
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Room rental agreement for a beauty salon or clinic

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.