Every treatment on your menu has a shelf life. Botox wears off. Filler breaks down. A laser series only works if the client comes back on schedule. So each client already has a date by which they'll want you again. Most clinics just don't track it.
A client who's due and hears nothing from you doesn't always book elsewhere. Often they just drift. By the time they think of it again, you're one of several clinics they could go to.
This post puts the timing for the most common treatments in one table. It covers:
- when to reach out
- when to count a client as lapsed
- how to find the overdue clients who are already in your booking system
The calendar
| Treatment | How long it lasts / how it's spaced | Reach out | Counts as lapsed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neurotoxin (Botox, Dysport, etc.) | Results last about 3–4 months, sometimes longer [1] | Around week 10–12 | No visit by month 4–5 |
| Hyaluronic acid filler: lines, lips | About 6–12 months; faster in high-movement areas like lips [2] | Around month 5–6 | No visit by month 12 |
| Hyaluronic acid filler: deep / structural | Up to 12 months; some newer products up to 2 years [2] | Around month 9–10 | No visit by month 12–18 |
| Laser hair removal | Sessions every 4–6 weeks, usually 2–6 treatments, then maintenance as needed [3] | A few days before each session is due | Misses a session by more than 2 weeks mid-series |
| Microneedling (acne scars) | 3–5 treatments every 2–4 weeks; maintenance about once a year [4] | Before each session; again at the 1-year mark | Mid-series gap longer than 6 weeks, or no maintenance visit by 12–14 months |
| Superficial chemical peel | 3–5 peels, repeated every 2–5 weeks [5] | Before each peel | Mid-series gap longer than 6 weeks |
| Facials (HydraFacial and similar) | Monthly is common clinic practice. This is a convention, not a medical guideline | Around week 4 | No visit by week 8–10 |
These are general timings from dermatology and plastic surgery bodies. Your practitioner decides what's right for each client. The table tells you when to start a conversation, not when a treatment is medically needed.
Two kinds of lapse, and which one to fix first
1. Mid-series dropouts. Laser hair removal, microneedling and peels are sold as a course. A client who books three of six laser sessions and stops isn't a lapsed client in the usual sense. They made a decision, may already have paid, and they won't get the result they came for. They're the easiest to win back, because the reason to return is already agreed: finish what you started.
2. Maintenance lapses. A Botox client who came in every four months and is now at month seven. A filler client past a year. They were happy enough to come back before. Something interrupted the habit: a busy season, a move, a price change, or just no reminder.
Start with the mid-series dropouts. There are fewer of them, the message writes itself, and each one who returns books more than one appointment.
Why 3 months is a sensible single line
If you can only pick one number, 3 months without a visit is a reasonable point to count a client as "not coming back on their own". For neurotoxin clients, the biggest recurring group at most med spas, that's about when results fade [1]. For series treatments, a 3-month gap means the course has stalled.
That's the line we use in RelayOps' lapsed-client report. We draw it from the client's last-visit date alone, because not every booking system exports the treatment cleanly. If yours does, the table above lets you time messages per treatment instead.
How to find your overdue clients
Most booking systems can export a client list. You need three columns:
- Client name and contact
- Last visit date
- Last service (if your system includes it)
Sort by last visit date, oldest first. Then remove:
- anyone who has asked not to be contacted
- anyone whose last visit is so old they have probably moved on. As a rough guide, more than 2 years ago is worth separating out. This also matches CASL, below.
What's left is your list. Split it into mid-series dropouts and maintenance lapses using the table, and you know who to contact first.
What to say
Keep the first message short, personal and about them, not about a promotion. For example:
Hi Sarah, it's Maya from Glow. It's been about five months since your last injectables appointment, so you're probably due. Would you like me to hold a spot for you next week? Just reply here.
A few rules that help:
- Mention the appointment and the timing. It shows you know them, and it's the reason for the message. For prescription injectables like Botox, stick to the appointment. Don't describe what the drug does, because Canadian rules restrict that kind of claim. See Health Canada's guidance, or our summary of what the rules mean for med spa marketing.
- Don't lead with a discount. For a maintenance client, a reminder at the right moment is often enough. Save offers for clients gone 6 months or more.
- Make replying easy. A reply is less effort than a booking link.
- Top spenders get a personal note from the practitioner they saw, not a template.
Full templates for each situation: win-back text and email templates for med spas.
A note on consent (Canada)
Under Canada's anti-spam law (CASL), a client who has bought from you gives you implied consent to send them commercial messages. That consent lasts two years from their last purchase [6]. Past that point you need express consent. Every message still needs to identify your clinic and include a way to unsubscribe. This is general information, not legal advice.
See how many of your clients are overdue
RelayOps' free lapsed-client report reads your booking-system export and shows you:
- how many clients haven't been back in 3+ months
- how long they've been away
- who to contact first: top spenders, then the most recently lapsed
It costs nothing and takes one export. Get your free report →
Sources
- American Academy of Dermatology, Botulinum toxin therapy: Overview
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons, How long do dermal fillers last?
- American Academy of Dermatology, Laser hair removal: FAQs
- American Academy of Dermatology, Microneedling can fade scars, uneven skin tone, and more
- American Academy of Dermatology, Chemical peels: FAQs
- Government of Canada, Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, Frequently asked questions (implied consent from an existing business relationship)