Polynucleotides cost in the UK

• Location. Central London clinics are consistently the most expensive; prices are typically lower across much of the North, the Midlands, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• Practitioner. A consultant dermatologist or plastic surgeon will usually charge more than a nurse or dentist injector, who will usually charge more than a non-medical practitioner.
• Product and quantity. Brands differ in wholesale cost, and a full face uses more product than the under-eye area alone.
• Area treated. Under-eyes, full face, neck, décolletage and hands are usually priced separately or bundled.
• Setting. A CQC-registered clinic with full facilities carries overheads that a mobile or home-based practitioner does not.

Polynucleotides are designed to be given as a course, so judging value on a single session price is misleading. Most clinics offer a package for two or three sessions at a discount of roughly 10 to 20 per cent against the individual price.

Before paying for a package, ask what happens if you react badly to the first session, move away, or simply decide not to continue — whether the balance is refundable, transferable, or lost. Ask how long the package remains valid.

Factor in maintenance. If a clinic suggests repeating the course every six to twelve months, the meaningful figure is the annual cost, not the introductory offer. See how many sessions.

• The named product and brand, and the volume used per session.
• The number of sessions and the interval between them.
• Whether the initial consultation is charged, and whether that fee is deducted if you proceed.
• Whether a review appointment after the course is included.
• Who to contact out of hours if you have a problem, and whether follow-up for a complication is charged.
• The practitioner’s registration and insurance details.

A quote that names only “polynucleotides” with a price and nothing else is not enough information to compare clinics on.

A high price does not guarantee skill, and a low one is not automatically poor value. But be cautious about offers that look unusually cheap. Genuine product, proper consultation time, sterile single-use equipment, insurance and a safe setting all cost money, and the cheapest route often cuts one of them.

Treat the following as reasons to pause: pressure to pay on the day, heavy time-limited discounting, treatment offered without a consultation or medical history, reluctance to name the product, injections carried out at a party or in a non-clinical setting, and unwillingness to confirm registration and insurance.

There is no NHS funding for cosmetic polynucleotide treatment, and no reputable reason for it to be sold on the basis of urgency.