Botox Vs Other Products

They say aging with grace is really important, which I fully agree with. However, more and more people choose plastic surgery, or a less dramatic treatment like Botox to make the signs of aging less visible. If you fall into this category the key is balance, making sure you’re not doing it excessively which may have bad effect on your health and also may result in a really unnatural look. But let’s be realistic, at the end of the day, who wouldn’t wish sometimes to stop the hands of time?

When the first signs of aging and stress started to show on my skin, I decided to take action. I began with a pretty common treatment—microdermabrasion—done by my beautician. I also started asking for facial massages more often to boost circulation in my face and neck. Fast-forward ten years, and I realized those treatments just weren’t cutting it any more. I didn’t want plastic surgery, and I wasn’t looking for a dramatic change—I just wanted the crow’s feet and fine lines around my lips to be a little less noticeable. That’s when I discovered Botox. After doing some thorough research, I decided to give it a try—and honestly, I was really happy with the results. My skin looked fresher, smoother, and more radiant. The procedure itself was quick and not painful at all. I was so pleased that I started repeating the treatment every six months. Later on, I found out that Botox isn’t the only option—there are other brands out there that offer similar results.

So I started to look into 2 other products which work based on the same principles. I didn’t want to increase the regularity of my treatments, I just wanted to make sure that I use the best product. The 3 biggest brands are Botox, Xeomin and Dysport. Each brand has a slightly different formulation of the same substance, but they all work the same way: they block the nerve impulses of the injected muscles to temporarily paralyse muscle movements that cause wrinkles. The most common targets are horizontal lines across the forehead and perpendicular frown lines between the brows, crow’s feet, nasal squint lines, lines around the neck, eyebrow lifting, and even profuse underarm sweating and migraines.

What I came to realise -even after trying them-were that the differences were really minor. One of the benefits of Xeomin is that it is considered a more purified version of the active component of the toxin. Basically, botulinum toxin contains an active component (the part that results in the key effect) and some other proteins. Xeomin removed these proteins and thus the notion that there is less of a risk of allergy as some believe the allergy risk is associated with these proteins. However, there is another side to the story. Some people suggest that these proteins are important for making the medication work better, thus some believe this is the reason why Botox lasts longer, it keeps some of these “extra” proteins that may have a role in improving its effect. Dysport may be minimally less expensive, but not enough so to make any significant difference cost-wise to the consumer. It may begin to work a bit faster than Botox, by as much as one to two days earlier, which may be an advantage if you have a big party a couple of days later and need a really quick fix; otherwise, this isn’t of much practical importance either. Dysport injections are administered slightly deeper than Botox and as a result, tend to “spread” more easily throughout the treated area. However, when practitioners do not use the product extensively, there is an increased chance for drooping eyelids or brows when injected in the forehead and crow’s feet.

I think many people are nervous about trying a product that has been on the market for a few years versus one that has been around over 15 years. I tend to use Botox because I know it works, it’s safe, and I’m happy with the results. The word Botox has become a part of our everyday lexicon. With the increasing applications of the “wonder drug” and increasing consumer demand and awareness of its inherent safety profile, there is no question that Botox has secured its place on the market.