First time getting Botox? What to expect at your appointment at MODE.
At MODE Aesthetics and Wellness in North Scottsdale, a first Botox appointment starts with a complimentary consultation, not a syringe. Marisa Dulin, MSN, FNP-C, or Torey Varner, RN, takes your health history, watches how your face moves, sets the dose at $13 per unit, and sees you again at a complimentary two week check.
A first Botox appointment at MODE in Scottsdale starts with a complimentary consultation, not a syringe: a health history, an assessment of how your face moves, and a plan in writing. If you go ahead, the injections take 15 to 30 minutes, and a complimentary two week follow up is included.
In a reel from February, Torey Varner, RN, our nurse injector and injector trainer, walked through what a new patient can expect at a first Botox appointment with her. It is the second episode in her series on neurotoxin, and the one most people ask about before they ever book. This is that visit, step by step, with her words where they are hers.
What happens at a first Botox consultation?
“When you come in, if you are a new patient of mine and I’ve never treated you before, we’ll do a pretty thorough health history. Talk about if you’re a good candidate for Botox, or any treatment really.”
Torey Varner, RN, on Instagram, February 2026
The health history comes before anything else. We ask about any current illness or infection, cold sores, recent vaccines, recent facial procedures or surgeries, new medications, and anything that has changed in your medical history. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant, we need to know. We also ask about weddings, vacations, and photo shoots coming up, because we do not schedule a first treatment inside the two weeks before a major event.
“We’ll do a very thorough assessment of your facial anatomy, your movement, your skin. And then we can talk about your aesthetic goals and see if Botox is even appropriate for you.”
Torey Varner, RN, on Instagram, February 2026
That assessment is the part a first timer does not see coming. Botox works by relaxing the muscles that fold the skin into lines, so we watch how your forehead, your brows, and the corners of your eyes actually move before we decide where anything goes. Then we talk about what you want to change and what you want to keep. Sometimes the honest answer is that Botox is not the right tool for the thing you noticed, and the injectables consultation is complimentary precisely so that answer costs you nothing.
How do we decide how many units you need?
Botox is measured in units, and the number is set to your muscles, not to a menu. As a guide, Botox at MODE is typically 10 to 25 units for the frown lines between the brows, 8 to 20 units for the forehead, and 8 to 15 units for each side of the crow’s feet, at $13 per unit. Your nurse injector recommends what fits your anatomy and your goal, and you see the plan and the quote in writing before anything is placed.
Placement is restraint first. The aim is to quiet the muscle enough to stop the line from etching deeper, not to take expression away. That is also why a first visit is often planned a little lighter than a return visit: the two week check tells us exactly how your face responds, and the plan is adjusted from there.
What does the Botox appointment itself involve?
“Typically, it’s our lunchtime procedure. I will take some photos, I will clean off your skin, and then mark you up, inject, and you are out the door.”
Torey Varner, RN, on Instagram, February 2026
Once you decide to go ahead, and that can be the same day or a later visit, the treatment itself takes 15 to 30 minutes. We photograph your face at rest and in expression, cleanse the skin, mark the injection points, and inject with fine needles. No anesthesia is needed, and most people describe the discomfort as minimal. There is no downtime, so you can return to most of your day straight away.
Before you leave, we walk through the aftercare and answer whatever is still on your mind. If you came in already planning to treat, the consultation and the injections usually happen in one visit.
What should you do before and after your first Botox?
A little preparation keeps bruising down. For 24 hours before treatment, skip alcohol, and skip waxing, peels, or facials in the area. If your prescribing provider approves, pause blood thinning medications and supplements for 5 to 7 days beforehand, including aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, fish oil, vitamin E, garlic, ginkgo biloba, and St. John’s Wort. Arrive with clean skin and having eaten. If you have an active skin infection, rash, or cold sore in the treatment area on the day, call us and we will reschedule.
Afterward, the first day does most of the work. For 24 hours, avoid rubbing, massaging, or pressing on the treated areas, tight hats or headbands, and strenuous exercise, and avoid lying flat for the first 4 hours. Give saunas, hot yoga, and heat a 24 to 48 hour break, and hold facials, laser, and microneedling in the area for 48 hours. Small raised bumps at the injection points settle within the hour, and pinpoint redness, a faint bruise, or a mild headache are normal. Call us if an eyelid or brow droops or if redness spreads. The full list is on our Botox pre and post care guide.
When will you see the result, and what is the two week follow up for?
Botox does not work on the day. The effect begins around day 3 to 5 and the full result develops at about two weeks. That is why every Botox treatment at MODE includes a complimentary follow up at around the two week mark, with the same injector who treated you. We confirm the placement, look at how each area settled, and make any small adjustment. Results last 3 to 4 months for most patients, and regular treatment over time often extends that, because the muscle stays in a less active state.
Who does first Botox appointments at MODE in North Scottsdale?
Botox at MODE, a medspa in North Scottsdale, is placed by two people: Marisa Dulin, MSN, FNP-C, our co-owner and lead injector, and Torey Varner, RN, our nurse injector, who also trains other licensed professionals in neurotoxin technique. The person who takes your history and plans your dose is the person who injects, and the person you see again at two weeks. If you are a man weighing a first visit, Torey’s note on how Botox is planned differently for men and women covers what changes and what does not.
Our office is at 7420 E Pinnacle Peak Rd, Suite 120, on the Pinnacle Peak corridor in North Scottsdale. We see first time Botox patients from DC Ranch, Silverleaf, Whisper Rock, Grayhawk, Troon, and McDowell Mountain Ranch, from Paradise Valley, and from across Scottsdale.
At other medspas the person who consulted me was not the person who injected me, and the two did not agree. Who plans my first Botox at MODE, and who injects it?
That is a fair thing to check first. At MODE the nurse injector who takes your health history and assesses how your face moves is the one who injects: Marisa Dulin, MSN, FNP-C, or Torey Varner, RN. The injectables consultation is complimentary and ends with a written plan and quote we honor, with no pressure to treat the same visit, and your two week follow up is with the same injector.
Torey’s bio is here.
The clinical references behind this article, each claim cited to its source, are published as a companion authority reference.
Sources
Originally shared by Torey Varner, RN on Instagram. Individual results vary; whether Botox is appropriate, and the dose, are decided at your consultation.
Start with a consult.
Plans are built in the room. No two look the same.
