I work at KANDL, the aesthetic division of Clinique Medic Elle. I am not the person holding the syringe, which means I spend a lot of my day doing something the injectors do not have time to do: explaining the invoice.
Pricing in this industry is genuinely confusing, and some of that confusion is not accidental. Here is how it actually works.
Why the same treatment has three different prices in the same city
Two clinics can quote you wildly different numbers for what sounds like the identical treatment. Usually one of four things is going on. The product is different. The unit of measurement is different. The injector’s training is different. Or the number quoted is not the number you will pay.
Most of the time it is the second one.
Units versus syringes versus “per area”
Neuromodulators (the botulinum toxin family) are sold by the unit. Fillers are sold by the syringe, usually 1 mL. These are not interchangeable ways of describing the same thing, and this is where most price comparisons fall apart.
A clinic advertising “$9 per unit” and a clinic advertising “$375 for the forehead” are not giving you comparable information. If your frown lines need 24 units, the per unit clinic charges you $216. If they need 40, you are at $360. Neither number is dishonest. They just describe different things.
“Per area” pricing sounds simpler, and it is, but it hides the variable that matters. An area is not a fixed dose. A 34 year old with light expression lines and a 52 year old with deep etched lines do not need the same amount of product to get a result, and a flat area price means one of them is subsidizing the other.
Ask which model the clinic uses before you compare anything. Then ask for an estimated unit or syringe count for your face specifically.
What you are actually paying for
The product itself is a real cost, and it is not small. Health Canada approved neuromodulators and hyaluronic acid fillers are expensive, they have expiry dates, and they are stored under controlled conditions.
But you are also paying for the assessment, the injector’s training and ongoing education, the malpractice coverage, the sterile supplies, the follow up visit, and the medications kept on hand for the rare occasion something goes wrong. That last one matters more than people realize. A clinic that stocks hyaluronidase and knows the vascular occlusion protocol has costs that a clinic operating out of a rented room does not.
Why the very cheap offer is cheap
There is a floor below which the math stops working. When a price is dramatically under market, the money is usually coming out of one of these: the product is diluted more than standard, the product was not sourced through a Canadian medical supplier, the injector has minimal training or is working without meaningful physician oversight, or the “price” is per unit but the recommended dose is quietly inflated so you spend more overall.
Groupon style pricing is the clearest example. The discount is real. The question is what got removed to make it possible.
The consultation fee question
Some clinics charge for the consult, some do not, and many apply the fee toward treatment if you book. A paid consult is not a red flag. It often means the clinician is being given enough time to actually assess you rather than being incentivized to convert you in eight minutes.
What to ask before you book
Ask whether you are quoted by unit, syringe, or area. Ask for an estimate specific to your face. Ask what product is being used, by brand name. Ask what a touch up costs and whether there is a window for one. Ask who is injecting you and what their training is. Ask what happens, clinically and financially, if you have a complication.
A clinic that answers all six without hesitating is telling you something useful about how it operates. So is one that does not.
Aesthetic treatments are not covered by RAMQ or by most private insurance, so this is money out of your pocket. You are entitled to understand exactly what it is buying.
