About Botulinum Toxin (BOTOX® , DYSPORT®, XEOMIN®)
Here you’ll find everything you need to know about this confidence-building appearance treatment: what it’s used for, what the procedure is like, aftercare, risk factors, and more.
See also:
Botulinum Toxin FAQs / Dermal Fillers / Non-invasive Treatments / Appearance Medicine for Men
Is botulinum toxin right for you?
Your skin is unique, and so are your needs. If you’re considering botulinum toxin as a treatment option, please book a complimentary skin consultation to determine if this is the right treatment for you.
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Botulinum Toxin is effective as a treatment for:
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Wrinkle prevention
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Wrinkle reduction
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Elevating eyebrow arch
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Excessive sweating/Hyperhidrosis
usually underarms
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Gummy smile
when your lips expose your upper gums when you smile
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Teeth grinding (Bruxism)
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Headaches
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Temporomandibular Joint Pain (TMJ)
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Reducing a wide jaw
A common treatment for Asian patients
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Botulinum toxin is used by many Registered Health Professionals to reduce the appearance of wrinkles or to prevent wrinkle formation such as frown lines, forehead and crow’s feet (around the eyes). While it’s a very effective cosmetic appearance treatment, it’s also beneficial in the treatment of multiple other issues, such as hyperhidrosis, headaches, and TMJ.
A Preventative Wrinkle Solution
People develop wrinkles because over time, skin weakens and can’t effectively bounce back from folding caused by laughing, smiling, furrowing your brow, and all the other motions your face makes on a regular basis. Botulinum toxin relaxes facial muscles to prevent them from constricting and wrinkling. Preventative Botulinum toxin simply starts that process early on for people who need it more.
Botulinum toxin specifically prevents dynamic wrinkles, or wrinkles caused by muscle movements. Those typically include lines around the sides of your mouth, horizontal lines across the forehead, crow's feet, and wrinkles on the side of your nose. By relaxing these muscles with Botulinum toxin, you can prevent their movement, resulting in fewer wrinkles.
Receiving botulinum toxin injections in your late 20’s and early 30’s can work as an effective prevention treatment. Older patients with “static” wrinkles also have success with this treatment.
45 min
Fee at consultation
How it works
Botulinum toxin relaxes voluntary muscle movement in certain areas of the face, reducing or eliminating “dynamic wrinkles”, or wrinkles that are worsened by expression and facial muscle movement.
Botulinum toxin blocks the signal from the nerve to the muscles, ultimately resulting in a reduction of muscle activity so that muscle contraction that causes frown lines is temporarily prevented.
The untreated facial muscles continue to show facial expressions, such as smiling.
Wrinkles that are already present, known as “static wrinkles”, may not be removed with botulinum toxin alone, but the treatment can help to reduce them.
​While the beneficial effects of botulinum toxin can be prolonged, the continual presence of it in the muscle tissue “teaches” the muscles that create your facial expression not to contract.
It is this learned “muscle lesson” that is believed to be responsible for the more prolonged results often experienced by those who undergo this treatment.
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Safe for your whole body
Botulinum toxin Type A has been in use for years and has a high safety profile. It can be used on other parts of the face and body.
Botulinum Toxin Factsheet
Botox® Dysport® and Xeomin® work by paralyzing wrinkles. It blocks the signals from the nerves to the muscles. As a result, the targeted muscle cannot contract.
Frequency of Treatments
Botulinum toxin must be injected every 3-6 months.
DYSPORT®
Dysport®, like Botox®, is a protein extracted from the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum. The Dysport® protein was initially used for the treatment of motor disorders and various kinds of involuntary muscular spasms, including cerebral palsy. The difference between the two are, that Botox has a consistent molecular weight of 900 Kilodaltons, while Dysport has more variability in the protein sizes used to deliver its active ingredient, e.g 1 u Botox is equivalent to 2.5u of Dysport. Both Dysport and Botox are considered safe and effective for the temporary treatment of moderate to severe wrinkles.
XEOMIN®
Incobotulinumtoxin A is made from the bacteria that causes botulism, similar to Botox and Dysport however this is the purest Botulinum Toxin. It does not have the complex protein that its predecessors have, this means no product resistance over time. If you use Xeomin only you will be less likely to build a resistance to this toxin and immune reaction. The more pure the toxin, the less immune reaction. Botox® has more complexing proteins, Dysport® has less, and Xeomin® has none.
What’s in it?
Botox®: Botulinum Toxin Type A.
The main ingredient in Botulinum Toxin is actually a neurotoxin, a human albumin (a protein found in human blood plasma), and sodium chloride (basically salt). Botox is made by the bacteria clostridium botulinum which is extracted using a fermentation process. Botox is used for three main purposes: Muscle spasm control, severe underarm sweating and cosmetic improvement.
Who should NOT receive Botulinum Toxin treatments?
Botulinum Toxin injections are not suitable for you if you:
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Are pregnant or breastfeeding (no studies have been done on this)
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Suffer from any neuromuscular diseases such as myasthenia gravis, Lambert-Eaton syndrome, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
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Suffer from motor neuropathy
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Are allergic to human albumin (different than an egg allergy)
What to Expect When You Get A Botulinum Toxin Treatment
Before Your Treatment
Please avoid taking these supplements before your treatment, as it will help to minimise any potential post treatment bruising.
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​Exedrin
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St Johns Wart
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Vitamin E
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Fish Oil or Omega-3s
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Ginko Bilboa
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Ginseng
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Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen
The Procedure
Botulinum Toxin is injected with a very small needle (like an acupuncture needle), so it causes very little pain upon injection. Botulinum toxin does not cause irritation or inflammation. The injections are performed in the clinic and typically take fifteen minutes to complete. You may return to your normal activities immediately.
We ask that you avoid rubbing your face.
The Recovery
Recovery from Botulinum Toxin injections is minimal. Most patients are able to immediately return to their normal activities, though some minor redness or swelling and rarely bruising may occur at the injection site. The results will begin to be visible in three to five days.
The Aftercare
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Do not rub your face or any areas that were injected with Botulinum Toxin for 24 hours
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No exercise, do not bend down, lie down, or do strenuous exercise immediately after treatment
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Do not use a sauna or put yourself in other situations where your body will be subjected to increased heat levels
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No aggressive skin manipulation up to one week after treatment, so no forms of treatment like microdermabrasion, laser hair removal and electrolysis
Just keep your hands off your face and don’t do anything which could potentially cause the Botulinum Toxin to move. Play it safe! It’s all about minimising risk.
Book a skin consultation to see if botulinum toxin
(Botox, Dysport & Xeomin) is right for you.
45 min
Fee at consultation
Disclaimer
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XEOMIN® is a Prescription Medicine containing 50, 100 LS50 Units of clostridium botulinum Type A toxin complex for injection. It is used for treatment of frown lines on the forehead in adults. It should be administered only by trained professionals. Talk to your specialist about the benefits/risks of this procedure in appearance medicine. Xeomin* treatment lasts about four months and further courses of treatment may be necessary. Cautions: Generalised disorders of muscle activity; infection or inflammation at the proposed injection sites; pregnancy and lactation. Possible side effects: headache; pain;swelling; or infection at injection sites; local muscle weakness including drooping eyelids, lack of feeling or nausea. You will need to pay for this medicine. Discuss with your specialist if Xeomine is right for you. For more information or for a copy of CMI please contact the NZ distributor: NZMS Ltd: 2a Fisher Crescent, Mt Wellington, Auckland. Phone + 64 9 259 4062. TAPS NA762.
Botox* is Prescription Medicine containing 100 units of botulinum toxin type A for injection. It is used for the treatment of frown lines, forehead lines and crow's feet, and for the treatment of severe primary hyperhidrosis of the axillae. it should be administered only by trained professionals. Ask your doctor about the benefits and risks of using Botox* and whether Botox* is right for you. If you have any side effects or concerns speak to your doctor. You will need to pay for this medicine. Normal doctor’s visits fees apply. Medicines have benefits and some may have risks. Always follow your doctor's instructions. If symptoms continue or you have side effects see your healthcare professional. For more information refer to the Consumer Medicine Information for Botox* at medsafe.govt.nz. Botox* is a registered trademark of Allergan Inc. Allergan New Zealand Ltd, PO Box 1873 Shortland Street, Auckland 1140, New Zealand.
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DYSPORT® is a prescription medicine containing Clostridium botulinum Type A toxin complex for injection. It is used for the treatment of frown lines. It should be administered only by trained medical professionals. Cautions: people with defective neuro-muscular transmission disorders, infection at site of injection, glaucoma, pregnancy and lactation. Possible side effects include headaches, pain, burning or redness at the injection site, local muscle weakness including drooping eyelids, lack of feeling or nausea. Talk to your specialist about the benefits/risks of this procedure.
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BOTOX® Important information from Allergan Pharmaceuticals. Botox® is a prescription medicine containing 100 units of clostridium botulinum Type A toxin complex for injection. It is used for the treatment of severe frown lines and associated “crows feet” around the eyes. It should be administered by trained medical professionals. Talk to your specialist about the benefits/risks of this procedure in appearance medicine. Cautions: people with defective neuro-muscular transmission disorders, presence of infection at site of injection, glaucoma, pregnancy and lactation. Possible side effects include headaches, pain, burning or redness at injection site, local muscle weakness including drooping eye lids, lack of feeling & nausea. If you have side effects or concerns, speak to your doctor. A charge applies. Allergan Pharmaceuticals