Botox injections are now the most common non-invasive cosmetic procedure in the US with a massive 4.4 million procedures performed annually.
The procedure is now so popular, globally, that it’s worth a whopping $14.76 billion per year.
If you’re heading to your local cosmetic spa or plastic surgeon’s clinic for botox, then you might be wondering what the etiquette is for tipping.
Tipping is commonplace across the entire US with a wide variety of rules and customs.
Getting your tipping customs on point is important when it comes to managing any financial budget.
Tip too much and you’ll be shredding cash. Tip too little and you might end up redfaced when you fall short of common custom.
But what about when it comes to botox injections?
To help you out with that, we’ve examined common customs to bring you up to date with what the etiquette is for tipping for botox, how much you should tip (if anything), how much the procedure will cost, and much more.
Keep reading to find out more…
Do You Need to Tip Botox Injectors? The Short Answer
The short answer is that you don’t usually need to tip botox injectors with cash. Botox injections are performed by medical practitioners in most states and they generally don’t accept tips.
However, there are other ways to tip that don’t involve money and we’ll come onto this below.
Is Tipping Common in the Botox Industry?
As above, generally, botox injections are done by medical professionals such as:
- Dermatologists
- Plastic surgeons
- Nurse practitioners under the supervision of a doctor
- Physician assistants
- Dentists
The common link between all these people is that they’re medically trained and licensed.
Most states outright bar non-medically trained physicians from performing botox which means 9 times out of 10, it will be a medically trained professional who performs your procedure.
The general rule of thumb is that medically trained professionals do not accept tips. This is not written into law but it is a common custom throughout the US.
This is because of the ethical dilemma of accepting monetary rewards for good service when medical professionals are supposed to perform the same level of service irrespective of financial incentive.
Related Article:
Do You Tip For Laser Hair Removal?
Can Estheticians Do Botox and Will They Accept Tips?
There are some limited exceptions to the general rule that medical professionals are required to perform botox injections.
For example, in Texas, anyone is legally permitted to administer botox provided it’s done under the supervision of a licensed physician.
This opens up the possibility of non-medical estheticians and other medical assistants performing botox injections in some states. But this is very much the exception, not the rule.
If the professional performing your procedure is not a doctor or medical physician, then they may be more willing to accept a monetary tip from you. This means that estheticians and other people assisting trained doctors may be willing to accept tips if they’re allowed to perform the procedure in the state they’re in.
Indeed, we found when we looked at whether you should tip for micro-needling, IPL treatments, and Cool Sculpting that whether you should offer a monetary tip will much depend on who performs the procedure.
If you’ve got any doubts about this, then it’s always best to check ahead when you book your botox procedure to see whether you’ll be expected to tip and, more importantly, whether a tip will be accepted should you offer one.
Related Article:
Do You Tip After Microblading?
How Much Will Botox Cost Me?
The question on most people’s minds when they think about tipping is how much are they going to be out of pocket to begin with.
If they’re spending their life savings on a product or service they might be a little bit apprehensive about delving deeper into their pockets for a tip.
The flip side of this coin is that people sometimes feel tipping is a necessity, especially if the quality of the service they’re buying varies depending on who performs it.
This is very much the case in cosmetics as the results you get will depend very much on the skill of the practitioner.
If you’re pleased with the results, you’ll be more inclined to tip and tip more, and vice-versa.
But how much are you likely to spend and can you stretch to a tip?
We’ve taken a look at the average cost of a botox procedure and it’s likely to be between $300 – $600 per session according to plasticsurgery.org with prices varying depending on location.
It’s important to remember that some clinics might include a gratuity already which covers a little extra for tips so we’d recommend speaking to the clinic before you pay.
The last thing you want to do is tip twice when a gratuity is already included in the price.
However, in our experience, most clinics will not include a gratuity.
Related Article:
Do You Tip for a Facial?
How Much to Tip For Botox?
As above, it will be outside the norm when you are required to provide a monetary tip for botox injections and in most cases, your tip is unlikely to be accepted in any event.
However, if you enquire with the clinic and a tip can be accepted, then the usual etiquette in the US is for a tip of 10-20% of the sale price of the service.
On the basis of our research above, that would mean a tip of between $30 – $120.
This is quite expensive so we’d propose a fixed sum of, say, $10 – $30 is probably more suitable.
Other Non-Monetary Methods of Tipping for Botox
In most cases, if you want to show your satisfaction and gratitude for a botox job well done, then you should offer a non-monetary tip.
Medical practitioners like doctors and nurses are allowed to accept gifts provided they are proportionate and reasonable.
In other words, a thank you card is fine but a Lamborghini with all the trimmings is not.
Here are some other examples of what you might want to offer up as a non-monetary gift:
- Flowers or chocolates
- A gift voucher
- Thank you card
- Google review
- A written testimonial or referral
- Tickets to a game
Even simple praise is likely to go down well.
A tip won’t be expected in most cases so anything you offer up is likely to be well received.
When and When Not To Tip For Your Botox
There will of course be times when you decide that the service you’ve received is exceptional and you simply must tip, whether that be in the form of cash or otherwise.
This might be when:
- You’ve received excellent service and have been treated exceptionally well
- The results are above and beyond what you expected
- Around the holidays
- If you’ve been offered a good price or deal
You might decide you shouldn’t tip if:
- The workmanship is poor or not as expected
- If you’ve been injured
- If the practitioner is a medical doctor as covered above
- If the service was poor
- If a gratuity is included in the price already
Conclusion
You absolutely do not need to tip for botox injections in most situations.
A tip won’t generally be expected or even accepted by most medical practitioners.
There are only limited circumstances where a monetary tip will be accepted as we’ve covered.
If you do wish to tip, then we’d suggest you do so with a gift that doesn’t include money.
Clinics and spas depend very much on word of mouth and other displays of gratitude, such as reviews and testimonials, and agreeing to provide a good review or a recommendation to a friend are often all you need to do to make your satisfaction known.
