An Alternative to Botox®
by Liz Janowski, VP
We’ve long been Botox®-only in our Broomfield, Colorado office. Sure, we’ve flirted with Xeomin or Dysport® – but when it came right down to it, we always remained 100% “team Botox®”. However, after my own continuous use of Botox® (every 3-4 months) for about 5 years, it just didn’t seem to be lasting as long. I would notice I needed more frequent touch ups and more units than for the previous treatment.
Now, as we age, we all probably will need more units than we did when we were younger. However, with continuous and regular Botox® usage, you should be able to keep wrinkles and expression lines at bay.
Botox® is a neurotoxin, which means it relaxes the muscles into which it is injected. That’s why Botox® has so many uses – from preventing wrinkles to staving off migraine headaches to stopping teeth grinding (bruxism) and reducing sweating (hyperhydrosis). Dysport® and Xeomin are also neurotoxins – and use the same mechanism to achieve the same results.
Botox® just came on to the market earlier (approved for cosmetic use in 2002) – and has a much larger market share. In that way, Botox® is like the Kleenex of tissues. We’ve all heard of Botox® – and therefore, it dominates the aesthetic market place. Botox® is a fantastic product, with many uses.
However, Dysport® is also a fantastic product.
In our time serving patients (since 2004), we’ve had long-time Botox® users report to us that, like in my case, Botox® started to lose it’s efficacy. They needed more touch-ups and more units per session. So, convinced by another physician colleague, I decided to give Dysport® a try. And I love it.
In my case (which may not be true in every instance), Dysport® “kicked-in” faster. Instead of waiting 5-7 days for the full effect -as with Botox®- I noticed the effects of Dysport® in 2-3 days. The effects seemed better – with less movement (still enough to be natural, but less frown lines and crow’s feet). I also noticed that Dysport® seemed to last longer – with effects still noticeable at 4 months.
Dysport® is formulated somewhat differently than Botox®, and you will need more units to receive what you are used to getting with Botox®. The conversion is 3 to 1 – so if you needed 20 units of Botox®, you will need 60 units of Dysport®. However, pricing is also adjusted – so you will end up paying the same or less than you did for Botox®.
You want to go to a skilled physician injector, like Dr. Janowski, because the techniques for injecting Dysport® are somewhat different than Botox®. However, the results are just as good – if not better!
Everyone is unique – and your treatment experience may not be the same as mine. However, we’ve been treating many of our thousands of returning patients with Dysport® for over 3 months – and- we’ve seen almost universal satisfaction. Our patients are happy! And I am happy!
*Results may vary from patient to patient
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