How Many Radiofrequency Sessions for the Face, and Why the Answer Varies So Much
One clinic says one session, another says eight. It isn't generosity: it's two families of devices, with two different logics.
You typed "best medical aesthetics clinic Laval". You landed on ten sites that all call themselves the best, and none of them tells you on what grounds. So let's start with the only thing someone other than us has said: Clinique DC received the 2027 Consumer Choice Award in the "Best aesthetics clinic in Laval" category, given by an organization outside the clinic, by city and by category.
An award doesn't replace your judgment. "The best" isn't declared, it's checked: here are the five things to look at before trusting a clinic with your face, and for each one, what you can verify about us, in names, facts and photos. At the end, you decide.
What "best" means, in medical aesthetics
A medical aesthetics clinic does two jobs under one roof: injections, which are medicine, and devices (lasers, radiofrequency, skin treatments), which call for precise technical know-how. What makes the difference is neither the decor nor the name on the door. It's five things, all of them checkable before your first appointment:
| What to look at | What it changes for you |
|---|---|
| Who does the treatment | Whether that person is allowed, and trained, to do it |
| The assessment before treatment | Whether you're offered what you need, or what there is to sell |
| The devices, and who trained the team | Whether the device is licensed, and set up well for your skin |
| The price, readable before you come | What it costs, with no surprise at the counter |
| What they tell you they won't do | Whether you'll be sold a treatment that won't work on you |
Let's take them in order.
1. Who does the treatment
In Quebec, a cosmetic injection isn't a beauty treatment. The Collège des médecins and the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers say so in a joint notice: a nurse may inject provided there is an individual prescription and a treatment plan specific to the person, and they recommend that a medical assessment come first. A "collective" prescription, valid for everyone, has no longer been enough since 2020.
With us, that means three roles, and each stays in its own:
- Our physician, Dr Narine Nyan, medical director, sees you before your first injectable treatment on the face.
- Our nurses give the injections, following the plan decided with the physician.
- Our medical estheticians run the devices and care for the skin. A nurse trained on the laser can do that too; an esthetician never touches an injectable.
You can see the whole team, with real names, real titles and real photos before you come. It's the first question to ask any clinic: who, exactly, will treat you, and with what title.
2. The assessment, before treatment
A good clinic starts by looking, not by treating. That's also what sets it apart from a place that sells sessions: an honest assessment can conclude that a treatment isn't for you.
For a device-based facial treatment, we start with a 3D skin analysis, offered free, about thirty minutes long: it measures your skin instead of judging it by eye, and it's what tells us which device, at what intensity and in what order. For an injectable treatment, the consultation with our physician comes first. It has a price, shown before you confirm your appointment.
What we tell you upfront: both of these appointments can end with "this isn't the right treatment for you", or with "nothing, for now". That's not a failed visit. It's what the visit is for.
3. The devices, and who trained the team
In Canada, a class II or higher medical device can only be sold if it appears on Health Canada's list of licensed devices, which anyone can search online. Ask for the exact name of the device that will be used on you: a clinic that can't name it can't tell you whether it's licensed either.
Ours are named, one by one, with their photo, on the technologies page: the Clarity II for hair removal, the PicoSure for tattoo removal and dark spots, the XERF and the TempSure Envi for firmness, the LaseMD Ultra and the Potenza for texture, the DP4 microneedling and the HydraFacial.
The same device doesn't give the same result depending on who sets it up. The team was trained by our founder, Sarah-Donia Cherif, a clinical nurse who was a trainer for Cynosure Lutronic, the maker of most of our devices, while she was already running the clinic: the manufacturer sent her to show other clinics how to set up their machines.
4. A price you can read before you come
A clinic that posts its prices lets itself be compared. Ours are on the prices page and on each treatment's page, before tax: taxes are extra, and it's written next to every amount.
One clarification, so nothing surprises you: for an injection, the amount depends on the dose, so on what you and the physician decide together. We tell you before starting, not after. And when a treatment is paid over several sessions, the number of sessions is written on the page too, before your first visit.
5. What a serious clinic refuses to sell you
A clinic is also judged by what it refuses. A few examples from our side, which you'll find on the treatment pages:
- The tattoo-removal laser targets melanin as much as ink: on a deep skin tone, the risk of depigmentation is real, and we don't treat those skin tones with the PicoSure.
- No radiofrequency removes skin: marked laxity is treated with surgery, and we tell you so rather than sell you sessions.
- For hair loss, we don't point you towards a medication to take every day, for life: it isn't our approach, and we say so plainly.
- Nobody, anywhere, can guarantee a result. Our before-and-after photos say so under every gallery.
| What an honest clinic tells you | What to run from |
|---|---|
| "The physician sees you before your first injectable treatment" | An injection with no assessment, same day, booked by phone |
| "Here's the device's name, it's on Health Canada's list" | "It's a latest-generation laser", with no name |
| "This treatment isn't right for you" | A six-treatment plan proposed before anyone has looked at you |
| "No result is guaranteed" | "Guaranteed results", or "satisfaction or your money back" |
Three signals that should make you pause:
- They can't tell you who will treat you, or with what title.
- They inject you without a physician having assessed you.
- They quote a price or a result before looking at your skin.
What others say about us
Everything above comes from us. Here's what doesn't. The 2027 Consumer Choice Award, at the top of this article, is the first: it's the only time the word "best" appears here without our having written it ourselves.
Next to the seal, two numbers you can check in one tap: a 5.0 rating across more than 700 Google reviews, and more than 5,000 people treated since 2021. Among the public reviews, this one answers the question of this article word for word:
Je n’hésiterais aucunement à la recommander à toute personne à la recherche de soins médico-esthétiques de grande qualité.
That's also what we invite you to check, with the real name of the person who wrote it, on our Google listing.
How to decide, before booking
Take the five lines from the table at the top and ask every clinic you're considering the same questions: who treats me and with what title, what do you look at first, which device exactly, what posted price, and what do you refuse to do. A clinic that answers all five without dodging is a clinic you can go to. If it's us, we start by looking, and we tell you what we suggest, or what we don't. If you don't know where to start yet, the concerns pages sort our treatments by what bothers you, not by device.
Questions we get asked
What is a medical aesthetics clinic, exactly?
A clinic that does both medical treatments with a cosmetic aim, like injections, under a physician's responsibility, and device-based treatments by trained staff. A spa or a salon can't do the first half.
Who decides what gets injected?
The physician, with you, before your first injectable treatment on the face: that's what the Collège des médecins and the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec recommend. After that, you book your appointments with our nurses freely.
Is the assessment paid?
It depends on the treatment. The 3D skin analysis, before a device-based facial treatment, is free. The consultation with the physician, before an injectable treatment, has a price, shown before you confirm.
How do I know whether a device is licensed?
Ask for its exact name, then look it up in Health Canada's online list of licensed medical devices. Our devices are named on the technologies page.
Should I pick the clinic closest to me?
Being nearby helps for repeat visits, but it's your face: better a clinic a little further that answers the five questions in this article than one down the street that doesn't.
What is the Consumer Choice Award?
A distinction given by an organization outside the clinic, by city and by category. Clinique DC received the 2027 edition in the "Best aesthetics clinic in Laval" category. The seal is the file provided by the organization, as is.
Sources
- Collège des médecins du Québec and Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec, "Pour une protection du public accrue en matière de soins médico-esthétiques", joint notice, May 2024. Read the notice
- Collège des médecins du Québec, "La médecine esthétique", practice guide, 2020. Read the guide
- Health Canada, "Medical Devices Active Licence Listing (MDALL)". Search the listing
