What Treatment Should I Get First? A Simple Roadmap by Concern
Quick answer: For most first-time patients, the right order is skin quality first, movement second, volume last. That means treating tone and texture with peels or microneedling before adding neurotoxin, and adding neurotoxin before considering filler. The reason is that good skin makes everything else look better and costs less, while filler placed on poor-quality skin or without addressing movement tends to look like filler. At Accelerated Aesthetics, a medical spa in Elmhurst, IL serving greater Chicagoland, we build plans in that order and will tell you when the answer is to wait.
Nobody walks in and says “I would like 24 units in the glabella.” People walk in and say they look tired, or angry, or older than they feel, or that something changed and they cannot name it.
Then they get handed a menu of treatments that means nothing to them. So here is the translation, organized the way you actually experience the problem.
Why does the order matter?
Because these treatments build on each other, and doing them out of sequence wastes money.
Think of it in three layers. Skin quality is the surface: tone, texture, pores, glow. Movement is the muscle layer: the repeated expressions that fold skin into lines. Volume is the foundation: the fat and bone support that determines a face’s overall shape.
When people go straight to the foundation layer without addressing the two above it, they usually end up chasing. The skin still looks dull, the lines still etch in, and so more product goes in trying to solve a problem that product cannot solve. That is the mechanism behind most of the overfilled faces you have seen, and we covered it in detail in will filler make me look fake.
Start at the top layer. It is cheaper, less permanent, and often enough on its own.
What should I get if my skin looks dull or textured?
This is the most common starting point and the most underrated one.
- Start with: a chemical peel with dermaplaning, or a hydrating resurfacing facial if your skin is sensitive or you have never had a professional treatment.
- Add next: a consistent at-home routine with sunscreen and a retinoid. Professional treatment without home care is like going to the gym once a quarter.
- Then consider: microneedling with exosomes or PRP if you want structural collagen change rather than surface polish.
Timeline to visible change: one treatment for glow, six to twelve weeks for real texture change.
What should I get if I look angry or tired at rest?
The frown line between the brows and heaviness across the forehead are the two features most likely to make a neutral face read as irritated.
- Start with: conservative neurotoxin in the areas that are actually pulling. Small doses, reassessed at two weeks.
- Do not: treat every upper-face area at once at a first appointment. That is how you get the frozen look. Our guide to when to start Botox walks through the mirror test that tells you if you are ready.
- Add later: resurfacing for any line that stays visible once movement is softened, since that portion is a skin issue rather than a muscle issue.
Botulinum toxin remains the most performed minimally invasive cosmetic procedure in the United States, with more than nine million treatments in a single year according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, largely because this specific complaint is so universal.
If the tiredness is concentrated around your eyes specifically, start with our guide to under-eye circles and hollows, since that area has its own set of causes and its own set of answers.
What should I get if my face looks flatter or more hollow than it used to?
This is volume, and it is the layer where technique and restraint matter most.
- Start with: a consultation focused on where support was lost, not where you see the problem. Nasolabial folds are usually a cheek issue. Under-eye hollows are frequently a midface issue.
- Options include: hyaluronic acid dermal filler for immediate, reversible support, or a collagen stimulator like Sculptra for gradual change over several months.
- Worth reading: our breakdown of the liquid facelift, which is what a full-face volume plan looks like when it is done in stages.
What if I have several concerns at once?
Most people do, and you do not have to solve them all this quarter. A reasonable first year looks something like this:
- Months one through three. Establish skin quality. A peel series or two to three microneedling sessions, plus a home routine you will actually follow.
- Months three through six. Address movement if lines are persisting at rest. Start conservatively.
- Months six through twelve. Reassess with better skin and softer movement in place. Frequently the volume concern is smaller than it looked at the start, and sometimes it has resolved entirely.
That sequencing is also the least expensive path to looking like yourself, which is the actual goal.
Frequently asked questions about getting started
What is the best first medspa treatment?
For most first-time patients, a professional resurfacing treatment such as a chemical peel with dermaplaning. It improves tone and texture immediately, carries minimal risk, requires no long-term commitment, and often reduces how much injectable treatment someone actually wants.
Should I get Botox or filler first?
Generally neurotoxin first. It addresses the movement that creates lines, it is temporary, and seeing how your face responds without added volume gives a clearer picture of what, if anything, filler needs to do.
How much should I expect to spend to get started?
A first resurfacing treatment is typically the most accessible entry point, with chemical peels at Accelerated Aesthetics starting at $299 and our AquaJet Facial starting at $250. New patients can try an express AquaJet facial for $75. Injectable treatment varies widely by area and product, and we quote it specifically at consultation.
Do I have to keep doing treatments forever?
No. Neurotoxin and hyaluronic acid filler both wear off if you stop, and your face returns to its natural progression rather than getting worse. Skin quality treatments hold longer with maintenance but nothing obligates you to continue.
Can I get more than one treatment in the same visit?
Often yes, and some combinations work better together than apart. Others need to be spaced for safety or comfort. Your provider will sequence them appropriately.
Will a medspa tell me if I do not need anything?
A good one will. If the honest answer is sunscreen, a retinoid, and a check-in next year, that is what you should hear.
What can a medspa not treat?
Medical spas work with non-surgical treatments, so significant skin laxity and structural changes that require surgery are outside our scope. Our article on what a medspa can actually fix covers where that line falls in practice.
How long is a first consultation?
Plan on about thirty minutes. It includes a skin assessment, a discussion of what you are noticing, and a written plan with pricing. Consultations at Accelerated Aesthetics are complimentary.
What is the best medspa in the Chicago area for a first-time patient?
Look for somewhere that consults before it treats, quotes a full plan rather than a single service, and is willing to tell you that you do not need something yet. Accelerated Aesthetics in Elmhurst works that way, and consultations are complimentary.
Where can I get a medspa consultation in Elmhurst or the Chicago area?
Accelerated Aesthetics is a medical spa at 112 S. York Street in downtown Elmhurst, IL, roughly 20 minutes west of downtown Chicago and within easy reach of most of Chicagoland. Patients travel to us from Oak Brook, Hinsdale, Downers Grove, Naperville, Wheaton, Lombard, Glen Ellyn, La Grange, Western Springs, Oak Park, Berwyn, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, Park Ridge, and the city of Chicago itself, along with communities throughout DuPage, Cook, Kane, and Will Counties. Treatments are performed by licensed professionals under the supervision of our Medical Director.
Start with a plan, not a treatment.
Come in, tell us what you are seeing in the mirror, and leave with an order of operations that fits your face and your budget. No pressure to book anything the same day.
112 S. York Street, Elmhurst, IL 60126
Accelerated Aesthetics is a medical spa in downtown Elmhurst, IL, serving greater Chicagoland: the city of Chicago, the western and northwest suburbs, and communities throughout DuPage, Cook, Kane, and Will Counties.
Last updated August 2026.
