Dr. Christelle Oliver-Dussault, Dr. Harpreet Lotay, and Amanda Manholt explore the deeper layers behind aesthetic decision-making, unpacking the tension between personal desire and outside influence. They discuss how cultural messaging, comparison, and fear can quietly shape choices, and why clarity around your own values matters more than trends. The conversation walks through the consultation process as a collaborative space—one designed to listen first, assess thoughtfully, and create a plan that reflects the individual rather than a template.

They emphasize that aesthetic medicine is not about quick fixes, but about intentional, personalized care that evolves over time. From understanding facial anatomy to recognizing the emotional drivers behind change, the discussion reinforces a patient-centered philosophy rooted in education, ethics, and long-term trust. At its core, the goal isn’t transformation—it’s alignment: helping patients feel confident that their decisions reflect who they are and how they want to move through the world.

Key Takeaways

1. Regret often comes from decisions made in urgency or fear rather than confidence.
2. A strong consultation creates space for patients to voice concerns and define their goals.
3. Every treatment plan should be tailored to the individual—not copied from trends or social media.
4. Psychological readiness and comfort level matter as much as clinical suitability.
5. Long-term aesthetic success requires patience, education, and thoughtful combination strategies.

Disclaimer: The Beauty Equation is for informational purposes only and not medical advice. This podcast does not create a doctor–patient relationship. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making medical or aesthetic decisions. Information may change as the field evolves.

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About the Hosts:

Dr. Harpreet Lotay is a family physician specializing in aesthetic medicine. She is the founder of Sona MD in Kamloops, BC, and serves as Chief Medical Officer at Bios Wellness Clinics. Known for her artistic approach and comprehensive non-surgical treatments, Dr. Lotay combines medical expertise with an eye for natural results. She is also an educator, a national trainer and holds academic appointments where she shares her knowledge in clinical dermatology and aesthetics. You can get in touch with her on Instagram @hlotaymd

Dr. Christelle Oliver-Dussault is a family physician specializing in aesthetic medicine, women’s health, and psycho-education. She brings a holistic, whole-person perspective to her clinical work, blending science with a deep understanding of the mind-body connection.

She is also the founder of Reclaim The Pink Within, a movement that empowers women to rediscover themselves during life’s most transformative stages. In addition, she is passionate about medical education and mentors the next generation of family physicians through her work with the department of Family Medicine at the University of British Columbia.

You can connect with her on Instagram @drchristellemd

Amanda Manholt is a clinic manager, patient consultant, and co-host of The Beauty Equation Podcast. With over 30 years of experience in beauty, aesthetics, and leadership, she has guided patients and teams alike toward confidence, growth, and empowerment. Known for her ability to connect with people and simplify the often-overwhelming world of aesthetics, Amanda brings a warm, practical, and relatable perspective to every conversation. You can find her on Instagram @crowsfeetandconfidence.

Websites

https://sonamd.ca/

https://www.getyourpinkbackproject.com/

I try not to talk as much as the patient, which is very hard for

me, for those of you that know me. But my goal is really to help

them find their voice and for them to be

able to clearly state what they want to see when they decide

to move forward with the treatment. Because to what you just said, the worst

thing is if someone decides to have a treatment and then has regret

over what they've done. So it's so important that we take

the time and we have the ability to sort of coax things out of

people to get a very clear picture of what would make them happy. And

then using our experience of knowing what's possible with the tools that we

have and what's appropriate, like, do those two things align?

And then only when those two things feel like they're in alignment, do I

think, you know, am I excited about them making the decision to move forward

with the treatment? Welcome to The Beauty Equation. By the

time women get to this point, noticing change,

trying to understand it, something else often creeps in.

Urgency. The pressure to do something.

The feeling that if you don't act now, you have missed your chance.

And here's what we see over and over again.

Regret doesn't come from choosing the wrong treatment.

It comes from making decisions from fear.

Today's conversation is about how to slow that process down,

how to think clearly in a space that often pushes

urgency, how to separate what you actually

want from what you're being told you should want,

and how to make choices that align with your face,

your life, and your values. Not trends

and not pressure. This isn't about doing

more. It's about understanding

enough to choose well. And that, in

our experience, is what helps women feel confident,

not just in how they look, but more importantly, in the

decisions that they make.

Mm-hmm. Well said. So I think the last thing we all want

as physicians is for someone to do something, and as

consultants and in this industry for someone to do something

and then regret it, right? So

I think it is so important to kind of understand what's happening

to your face as you age. So if you haven't had a chance to listen

to our last episode, go back and listen to it because I think it will

give you a good framework for how the human face ages,

what's normal, what's to expect. And when we're thinking

about treatment choices and putting together a treatment

plan, we're really looking at your face through that

lens to really understand and help you understand

where is your biggest payoff going to be for

your investment in time and money, right?

Absolutely. So tell us a little bit about the,

the consultation process, Amanda, and what you kind of talk to

patients about. I try not to talk

as much as the patient, which is very hard for me, for those of you

that know me. But my goal is really to help them

find their voice and for them to

be able to clearly state what they want to see.

Mm-hmm. If and when they decide to move forward with the treatment, because to what

you just said, the worst thing is if someone decides to have a

treatment and then has regret over what they've done. So it's so

important that we take the time and

we have the ability to sort of cook things out of people to get

a very clear picture of what would make them happy. And then

using our experience of knowing what's possible with the tools that we have

and what's appropriate, like, do those two things align?

And then only when those two things feel like they're in alignment,

do I think, you know, am I excited about them making the

decision to move forward with the treatment?

It's because it's already a journey you're taking together. You want them to have

agency. Over the decisions and you want to be able to

guide them. And it's not a one-stop shop.

There's not just one treatment and

the treatment choice will evolve over time.

And often there are treatments that are complementary to

get the results. And what you see

will change over time as well. It can be quite

complex and it can be quite hard to understand

why one person is getting one treatment. And then, you know, especially if you

have friends coming in together, they think they're going to get the same thing. And

oftentimes when we say exactly, um, they have two completely different

treatment plans. Like, did you not have three in your room the other last

week? I did, yeah. They were all going on a holiday. We had conversations

about their different concerns, and they were, they were really intrigued

as to how one treatment might be good for one person and not another

person, and the subtleties, um, involved in that.

Those conversations can sometimes get tricky because there's overlap when you're jumping from

one person to the next, but, um, 100%.

They're also, yeah, must be quite enjoyable because you can see

them kind of connecting the dots and being curious about their friend and, well, will

that work for me and why not? And, um, so yeah, that was

actually, that was a fun— yeah, can be, can be fun, right? And I do

like it when people are open and transparent with their friends as to what they're

doing. So it's, it's great, but you're And to your

point, like it's not a one treatment

fits all and there's a good reason behind that, right? So in our

last episode, we talked about how some people have a particular Achilles

heel. They might have a short chin that ages them faster.

Other people might have skin that tends to get mottled and wrinkled in

a particular way. And so they might need a laser.

Almost everyone can use some Botox. So it is,

it is quite, unique and you do have to assess each face.

And I think a lot of times patients come in thinking that

there's a magic wand, one wand that you can

use that's going to magically reverse or improve

all these changes that they're seeing. And they might not understand that the

end result of looking tired is actually because

of skin changes, periorbital fat loss, as well

as muscle overactivity and wrinkles. So it's,

I don't have a, make it less tired wand.

And I would, you know, I would say that we see it more often with

lasers. Lasers are so mystical and magical.

And a lot of times people think that, you know, just do the

laser and that's it. But no, it is an accumulative

thing. Like lasers work on skin. So we still need your Botox

to stop the muscles from creasing your skin repetitively.

You still probably have some volume loss that needs a little bit of

fillers. You might have some significant

collagen loss, which will be somewhat improved by lasers, but

add in some bioregenerative treatments. So like, you have to understand

what's going on in the face, right? And then the person has to understand

that it's a journey and it's one

treatment, then the next, then the next. And when we look back at your pictures

a year later, you see a tremendous change, but it wasn't just one

thing that made it so, right? No, no, it's usually a

cumulative effect and attacking— or not attacking,

addressing the problem from different Totally. And, and

one of the key factors is also gauging the

comfort level with the procedures. Like, I had someone today that

what is standing out to her— so she's doing the skincare, she's really

happy with how glowy her skin looks, how her

tone has improved. She's been someone who's been doing Botox

regularly. And as someone that come in with, you know, that just feeling

angry, and she said to me, you know, I always thought I had very unique

features growing up. And as I've gotten older, those

features are being hidden and using Botox has been able

to like open up and show those features. But she's like, now what

I'm noticing is that around my eyes, the skin is just so thin,

my makeup is getting— and we often see that, particularly the under-eye

skin. It is so thin. And in the neck as well, it's very similar, but

we don't tend to put foundation on our neck. So, and, and we

ended up having a discussion about what's the best option. We

talked about doing PRP injections under the

skin, which was liquid that'll contain essentially

all the factors that your body needs to regenerate

new skin, thicken the skin. We talked about radiofrequency

microneedling, which stimulates the same process but a different way. And

we were kind of weighing up the pros and cons, like, well, what kind of

downtime can you expect? What kind of pain you might expect?

And, and even at the end of the conversation, there is still a lot

of, you know, wondering which is going to be the best. Obviously, in an ideal

world, I would do both in combination. But yeah,

That is, you know, if someone has a fear of needles, you might not say,

okay, let's do some radiofrequency microneedling because you're going to be getting needles all over

your face. Yeah. As if it's just a few pokes, it might be more,

you know, tolerable. So it's never

one size fits all, even for one problem. We'll have different

tools we can use and we need to gauge where that person is at.

Yeah. And what they've got going on in their life, right? You had some

people that were going away on a trip, so you're not going to want to

do treatments right before you leave somewhere.

And then depending on someone's lifestyle and their sort of

tolerance for downtime, which is what you were alluding to, right?

You know, and their psychology too. Sometimes we have people

who are like, I've had enough of this. I've been looking in the mirror

noticing this forever, and I want it

fixed like ASAP. And I will

do 3 treatments the same day, but I don't wanna have to come back.

Right? So it's so variable. Yeah. So,

I mean, treatments can be really variable as to how you structure them

when you're coming up with a treatment plan, right? To your, you were mentioning that

you had some ladies who were going away on a big trip, so we're not

gonna schedule big treatments right before you

leave. It, it really also depends on the psychology of the patient. Like

you were saying, if somebody's got a fear of needles and they're, they are

not gonna resonate with radiofrequency microneedling. And

similarly, we do sometimes get patients who are like,

I've been thinking about this forever. I have explored

my options, you know, and we'll discuss sort of aging with them.

And they're like, I'm a busy professional. I have this 2-week

time off of work right now. And I want to do all the

treatments that I can do to get me looking my best at that 2-week

time period. So, you know, in that scenario, we're gonna sort of

maybe bundle a laser, do their Botox at some point, do

their fillers, and try to get them looking their best very quickly.

And, and then we have other people people who are very,

they really wanna take their time and they really

don't want anybody to know that they're doing anything.

And I would say that's more common. And as long as they're not

emotionally at the point where they really need to see change right away,

we can do so many things that are extremely subtle, but

cumulative and add up. And, you know, within a year, in a

year's time, you see remarkable changes in their skin and their

volume. And, you know, in that category of treatments, I

really love biostimulator treatment. So we see, see a lot

of people doing Sculptra, a lot of people doing

Radiesse, as well as your other,

you know, traditional fillers still definitely have a place.

So, you know, it's really, we really try to

understand where you're at, and then it's so important to help

you understand why things are changing and why,

you know, Why are we picking one thing to focus

on first? And, you know,

usually when I look at that, I'm like trying to understand what is

out of harmony, what looks older than the rest of the patient. Is

it their skin looking older than their volume? You know, is it

their lips and perioral area that's aging them

disproportionately to their upper face? So these are some of the ways that

we kind of look at it as professionals and we try to help you

understand it. And oftentimes it

can feel when you go into our— the settings or the aesthetic field

that you're trying to be convinced to do more.

And that's not our intention. And if you ever

feel like that, it's okay to take a step back and think about things. But

really, our goal is to try to guide you so that you feel steady

throughout the treatments that you choose and you can understand what you're seeing in the

mirror and you can make a thoughtful decision about your

treatment without jumping into something.

And if it's something that you're curious about

and you want to understand what questions to ask,

what treatments to explore, subscribe to this podcast

where we have these types of conversations and

we try to explore what's available and how to

navigate your aesthetic and aging journey in

a positive way. So to all who listened, we're very happy that you're

here. Please subscribe or comment or send us an email and,

uh, we will chat to you soon.