Botox

Botox Cosmetic and Dysport are purified botulinum toxin type A. Injected into a specific muscle, they temporarily interrupt the signal telling that muscle to contract. The muscle relaxes, and the skin folding over it stops creasing. That is the whole mechanism — it does not fill, tighten, or resurface anything.

This matters for expectation-setting. Lines that are visible only when you move (dynamic lines) respond well and often disappear. Lines etched into the skin at rest (static lines) soften but usually do not vanish from neuromodulator alone; those often need time, skin treatments, or a small amount of filler alongside. An honest injector will tell you which of your lines is which before you pay.

Placement is the entire skill. The forehead, glabella, and orbicularis oculi work as a system — over-relaxing the frontalis without addressing the depressors drops the brow, which is the single most common reason people say Botox made them look tired. Dosing patterns should be built around your muscle strength and brow position, not a template.

Both are type A toxins and both work. The practical differences are onset and spread. Dysport tends to show up slightly faster — often 2-3 days versus 3-5 for Botox — and diffuses a little more from the injection point, which can be an advantage across a broad forehead and a disadvantage in a small, precise area like a lip flip.

Dysport is measured in different units than Botox, so a Dysport unit count is not comparable to a Botox unit count. If you are price-shopping between practices, compare the total cost of treating an area, not the per-unit number.

We stock both and pick based on the area, your muscle strength, and how you have responded before. Patients who feel Botox wears off early sometimes do better on Dysport, and vice versa. There is no universally superior product.

Botox and Dysport are $16 per unit at every location. Treatments of 50 units or more get $75 off, members save 10% on the entire total ($14.40/unit for members), and there is a $375 visit minimum.

Strong glabellar muscles frequently need more units than average, and we would rather tell you that upfront than under-dose and have you back in six weeks disappointed.

Lower-face and body work is priced purely per unit because the ranges are wide: masseter runs 30-40 units per side region, neck bands 25-35, underarms 75-100, lip flip 4-6, nose tox 6-8, brow lift about 8.

You will notice softening at 3-7 days and see the full result at about two weeks. We book touch-up assessments in that window rather than earlier, because judging a result at day five leads to over-treatment.

Most patients hold 3-4 months. Longevity is shorter if you have a lot of muscle mass in the treated area, exercise heavily, or metabolize quickly, and it tends to lengthen after several consistent treatment cycles as the muscle deconditions.

Aftercare is minimal and mostly about not displacing product in the first few hours: stay upright for four hours, skip strenuous exercise, saunas, and facials for 24 hours, and do not massage the area. Small bumps at the injection sites resolve within an hour. Bruising is possible but uncommon with fine-gauge needles.

Neuromodulators are not appropriate during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or for anyone with a neuromuscular disorder such as myasthenia gravis, Lambert-Eaton syndrome, or ALS. Active infection at the injection site is a reason to reschedule.

If you have had a previous bad result — a dropped brow, an asymmetric smile, a heavy lid — bring the details. Knowing which area was treated and roughly how much was used tells us a great deal about how to approach you differently.

Manhattan per-unit pricing generally runs $14–$22. Ours is $16 per unit at every location, $75 off 50+ units, $14.40/unit for members (10% off), with a $375 visit minimum.

Per-unit comparisons across practices are less useful than they look. Dysport units are not equivalent to Botox units, some practices dilute more heavily, and a low headline unit price paired with a high unit count is not a discount. Compare the total cost of treating the same area with the same product.

We post prices because the alternative — quoting after the assessment, once you are already in the chair — is how people end up spending more than they planned. If the number changes because your glabella genuinely needs 28 units instead of 20, you hear that before we treat.