For an aesthetics or skin clinic, before-and-after photos are often the most persuasive part of the website. They show what a treatment can do in a way no description can. They are also one of the most regulated and most easily misused types of content a clinic publishes.
Designers who build clinic sites on X stress "honest copy, no perfect skin promises". This guide covers how to show before-and-after photos well: consent, consistency, context, the rules on editing and claims, and where results should sit on your website.
This is general guidance on website content, not legal or medical advice. Rules on advertising cosmetic treatments vary by country and change over time. In the UK, for example, the Advertising Standards Authority and the Committee of Advertising Practice publish guidance on before and after photos. Check the current rules where you practise, and your professional body's guidance, before you publish.
Why before-and-afters work
People considering a treatment are trying to picture the result on themselves. A well-taken pair of photos helps them understand:
- What kind of change the treatment can make
- How visible that change is
- How long it took
They also build trust in the clinician. A clinic that shows consistent, honest results over many patients looks confident in its work.
The same power is why regulators pay close attention. Photos that mislead about what a treatment can achieve can cause real harm to patients' expectations, and to the clinic's reputation.
Consent comes first
Never publish a patient's photo without clear, written consent for that specific use. Good practice includes:
- Written consent that states where the photo will appear, such as website, social media or printed materials
- The right to withdraw, with a simple process for removing photos later
- Agreement on identifying features, such as whether the face, tattoos or jewellery will be shown or cropped
- Secure storage of consent forms alongside the images
Consent for clinical records is not the same as consent for marketing. Ask separately. Your data protection obligations also apply to patient photos, so check how they are stored and who can access them.
Same light, same angle, same distance
A before-and-after pair is only meaningful if the two photos are taken in the same way. Differences in lighting, angle, make-up or expression can create a change that has nothing to do with the treatment. Keep these consistent:
- Lighting: same position, same strength, same colour temperature
- Angle and distance: use marks on the floor or a fixed camera position
- Background: plain and identical
- Expression: neutral, the same in both
- Make-up and hair: none, or the same, and hair kept back from the treated area
- Camera settings: same lens, same zoom, no beauty filters
Set up a dedicated corner of the clinic for clinical photography and use it every time. It makes consistent photos far easier.
Context under every pair
Every before-and-after should come with plain information:
- The treatment carried out
- The number of sessions
- The time between the two photos
- That results vary between individuals
For example: "Three sessions of [treatment], photographed eight weeks apart. Individual results vary." Do not add claims that go beyond what the photos show, or suggest every patient will see the same result.
Rules on editing and claims
The general principle in many countries is that photos must not be altered in ways that exaggerate the effect of the treatment. That usually means:
- No retouching of the treated area
- No filters that smooth skin or change tone
- No changes in lighting or contrast between the two photos to exaggerate the difference
- Cropping only to protect privacy or keep the pair consistent
Be careful with words as well as images. Avoid absolute claims such as "guaranteed results" or "permanent", and do not describe a treatment as suitable for everyone. Some treatments and some medicines have extra restrictions on how they can be advertised, so check the rules for each one. If in doubt, ask your professional body or a specialist adviser.
Where results sit on the site
Results are most useful near the information they support:
- On each treatment page, a small number of results for that treatment
- On the home page, one or two representative results, with context
- In a results gallery, if you have many, filterable by treatment
Place results near the treatment details, sessions, timing and price, and near the reviews for that treatment. Together, they give a visitor a realistic picture before booking a consultation.
Include a short note near results explaining your approach: that photos are of real patients, shared with consent, unretouched, and that results vary. It sets expectations and shows you take this seriously.
Setting up the results section in Dermis
Dermis is a free Framer template for skin and aesthetics clinics. Its home page puts a measured treatment list on the first screen, showing every treatment's sessions, weeks to result and price from, followed by a drag before-and-after, then the clinicians with their years, reviews by treatment and a journal. It includes four treatment pages, three clinician pages and three journal posts on the CMS, a booking page, a start-here guide and a 404.
To set up the results section:
1. Replace the demo before-and-after with a consented pair from your own clinic, taken under consistent conditions.
2. Add the treatment, sessions and time between photos next to it, with a note that results vary.
3. If you want results on individual treatment pages too, add them where you have consented photos for that treatment.
4. Check every image and caption against the advertising rules in your country.
The drag before-and-after lets visitors move between the two images themselves, which makes the comparison clear as long as both photos are honest and consistent. See free Framer templates for more.
Before-and-after photos earn trust when they are consistent, consented and honestly labelled. Done carelessly, they can lose it just as quickly.