Gift certificates for aesthetic procedures: how to do it
The gift certificate is one of the most requested ideas around dates like Christmas, Mother's Day, and birthdays: someone wants to give their mother, wife, friend, or themselves "a harmonization". For the clinic, it is a sale that brings in a new patient, often through an affectionate referral. For the HOF professional, it is also terrain that calls for care: an aesthetic procedure is not an off-the-shelf product. It involves an assessment, consent, a clinical indication, and the person's own decision.
This guide shows how to structure a certificate that respects that logic, which rules to write, where the sensitive legal and ethical points are, and how to handle the person receiving the gift. Everything here is informational: the final wording should be reviewed by a lawyer, with your council's rules and your accountant's guidance. The legal references on this page are those of Brazil.
Why is a procedure certificate different from a store gift card?
Four reasons:
- Clinical indication. Nobody should receive a procedure just because they were given one. The indication comes from the assessment. See assessment consultation.
- Contraindications. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, illnesses, medications, and other conditions can prevent the procedure. See general contraindications in HOF.
- Personal decision. The person receiving the gift may not want, or not want right now, what the giver imagined. Pressure turns into embarrassment.
- Advertising and rules. Promotions, giveaways, freebies, and pricing in healthcare have restrictions that vary by council. See what you can advertise according to councils and CONAR.
The safest approach is to turn the gift into free-use credit or an assessment consultation, and leave the choice of procedure for later.
What certificate formats exist?
| Format | How it works | Advantage | Caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit for an amount | The giver buys an amount (for example, R$ 500.00) that the person uses on any service at the clinic | Flexible, no need to decide on a procedure | Set an expiry and what can be paid for with it |
| Assessment consultation | The certificate pays for the assessment, and the plan is decided afterward | Consistent with ethics, introduces the clinic | When the assessment has a fee, decide whether the amount is deducted from a procedure. See assessment consultation cost |
| Certificate for a non-invasive service | Skin treatment, cleansing, or care without injectables | Lower clinical risk | Only for what the clinic and the professional perform |
| Certificate for a specific procedure | A gift already defined, such as "lip filler" | Simple for the giver | High ethical risk: the procedure is decided before the assessment. Avoid it |
What rules should you write on the certificate?
A clear rule prevents friction with the giver and with the recipient. The text should be simple and fit on a page or card. Recommended items:
| Field | Sample wording (hypothetical) |
|---|---|
| Amount | "Credit of R$ ________" |
| For whom | "Named and personal" or "transferable", as you choose |
| What it covers | "Clinic services, after assessment" |
| Prior assessment | "Any procedure depends on an in-person assessment and the professional's indication" |
| Right to decline | "The person is not obliged to undergo any procedure. There may be no indication" |
| Contraindications | "The procedure may be contraindicated by health conditions. In that case, the credit may be used for another service" |
| Validity | "Valid until //____ " |
| Booking | "Subject to schedule availability" |
| Changes and refunds | "If unused, the amount will be handled as follows: ________" |
| Minors | "Procedures on minors only with the required documents and authorizations" |
| Contact | The clinic's phone or channel |
How do you set the expiry?
The Consumer Protection Code (Law 8.078/1990, on the Planalto site) protects consumers against abusive clauses, and a very short period can be challenged. Since there is no single period set for all cases, adopt a reasonable one, keep it visible on the certificate, and ask your lawyer and Procon for guidance. A few precautions:
- Write the expiry date, not just "6 months".
- If the clinic moves or closes, provide for what happens to the credits.
- Do not shorten the period after the certificate has been sold.
- Refunds: define in the rules whether there will be a refund and how, in line with the CDC. When in doubt, consult your lawyer.
- Treat the certificate as a clinic liability: it is money received that has yet to be consumed. This affects cash flow.
And the tax and financial side?
Selling a gift certificate involves decisions that change by municipality and tax regime: when to issue the invoice (at sale or at use), how to record the pending credit, and how to treat an unused certificate. Ask your accountant for guidance before launching. See service invoices at the HOF clinic and Simples Nacional for an HOF clinic (Simples Nacional is a simplified tax regime in Brazil).
On payment: accept Pix, cards, and installments as in any sale, and remember that installments affect cash flow. See installment plans for aesthetic procedures.
How do you handle the person receiving the gift?
The experience of the person who receives the certificate shapes the outcome. They may be curious, uncomfortable, or insecure ("do they think I need this?").
- Welcome them without pressure. Thank them, introduce the clinic, and make clear the certificate obliges them to nothing.
- Do the full assessment: medical history, examination, a conversation about expectations. Follow the first consultation script.
- Respect what they want. If they want no procedure, offer other ways to use the credit.
- Do not reveal to the giver what was done or decided. Confidentiality applies even if they paid.
- If there is a procedure, specific informed consent, an explanation of risks and care, and a follow-up plan.
- If the person decides on a larger plan, present it calmly and without hurry. See how to raise plan acceptance and presenting before and after in the consultation.
On which dates does it make the most sense?
| Date | Note |
|---|---|
| Christmas and year-end | High demand. See year-end campaign at the HOF clinic and November and December schedule |
| Mother's Day, Valentine's Day (Dia dos Namorados) | Gift dates, with special care in the wording |
| Birthday | Spontaneous requests from family members |
| Graduation, wedding | Planning requests. Watch out for short deadlines and pressure for results before the event |
Plan the schedule for the peak of certificate use, which usually happens in the weeks after the gift. See seasonality of the HOF clinic and the HOF clinic's schedule.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Selling the certificate as a specific procedure and a defined volume.
- Using promotional language, urgency, or "get a discount".
- Advertising the procedure price on the card or in the campaign, against the rules.
- Forgetting the expiry and the terms of use.
- Pressuring the recipient to do what the giver "wanted".
- Telling the giver what the person decided or had done.
- Not recording the certificate as an amount still to be used in the finances.
- Giving a certificate to a minor without the guardian's authorizations. See the guardian authorization template.
- Confusing a gift certificate with a giveaway or freebie, which have their own rules at the council.
Checklist for launching the certificate
| Item | Done? |
|---|---|
| I read my council's advertising rule | ☐ |
| The certificate is for an amount or an assessment, not a specific procedure | ☐ |
| The rules include prior assessment, right to decline, and contraindication | ☐ |
| The expiry is written with a date and was reviewed by a lawyer | ☐ |
| The accountant defined how to invoice and record it | ☐ |
| Advertising does not include prohibited prices, promotions, or before-and-after photos | ☐ |
| The team knows how to welcome the recipient without pressure | ☐ |
| What was done stays confidential, even toward the person who paid | ☐ |
| The schedule can handle certificate use in the following weeks | ☐ |
Hypothetical example: a clinic creates a "care certificate" for a fixed amount, with a discreet card. The rule says the credit can be used on any service, after an in-person assessment, and that the indication depends on each person. A daughter buys the certificate for her mother. The mother comes in, talks, has the assessment, and decides only on a skin treatment. The clinic records the partial use of the credit, the balance is kept for the next visit, and nothing of what was done is told to the daughter. Everyone leaves satisfied, and nobody was induced into anything.
A well-designed gift certificate is a gentle doorway into the clinic. Poorly designed, it becomes pressure, promotion, and risk. The difference lies in turning the gift into an invitation to an assessment, not a procedure in gift wrap.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell a facial harmonization gift certificate?
Many clinics offer the certificate as credit for a set amount or for an assessment consultation, not as a ready-made procedure. Selling and advertising it must respect your council's advertising rule, the Consumer Protection Code (CDC, in Brazil), and the rule that every procedure is first preceded by an assessment.
Can the gift certificate be for a specific procedure?
It is risky. Naming the procedure before the assessment can induce a clinical decision because of the gift. The safest option is a certificate for an amount or for the assessment consultation, with the plan decided afterward, together with the person.
How long should a gift certificate be valid?
Set a reasonable period and write it clearly. Very short periods can be challenged as abusive. Since the law does not set a single period for all cases, confirm with a lawyer and with Procon (Brazil's consumer protection agency) in your region.
What if the person receiving the gift cannot have the procedure?
Provide for it in the rules: the certificate is credit, the indication depends on the assessment, and there are contraindications (such as pregnancy, illnesses, or medications) that can prevent the procedure. In that case, the certificate can be used for another service or refunded, as the rules establish.
Does a gift certificate generate an invoice?
Tax treatment depends on the municipality, the clinic's tax regime, and how the certificate is sold and used. Talk to your accountant before launching, to know when to issue an invoice and how to record the revenue.