Botox and Dysport are both FDA-approved botulinum toxin type A injectables that relax the muscles behind frown lines. Botox is also FDA-approved for forehead lines and crow’s feet, while Dysport is approved for frown lines. Both soften lines for about three to four months, and the two are measured in different units. At Santa Barbara Face & Body in Santa Barbara, California, a board-certified facial plastic surgeon selects between them and performs the treatment.
How they are alike
Both products are purified botulinum toxin type A. Injected in small amounts, each relaxes the muscle that folds the skin into an expression line, so the line eases while the rest of your face keeps moving. On the part that matters most, how they work, they are the same.
Where they differ
The real differences are in how each product is approved and how it is measured. Here is how the two compare on the points that change your result.
Botox
- What it is
- Botulinum toxin type A (onabotulinumtoxinA)
- FDA-approved areas
- Frown lines, forehead lines, and crow's feet
- How long it lasts
- About three to four months
- How it's dosed
- Measured in Botox units
Dysport
- What it is
- Botulinum toxin type A (abobotulinumtoxinA)
- FDA-approved areas
- Frown lines
- How long it lasts
- About three to four months
- How it's dosed
- Measured in Dysport units, a different scale than Botox units
More units is not more product
Dysport is measured in different units than Botox, and it takes more of them for the same job, roughly two to three Dysport units where one Botox unit would go. That sounds like more, and a higher number can read as a stronger or heavier treatment. It is simply a different scale, the way a temperature reads higher in Fahrenheit than in Celsius without the day being any warmer. What matters is the result on your face, which Dr. Pontius plans the same careful way with either product.
How Dr. Pontius chooses between them
The choice is a clinical one, made for your anatomy rather than a house default. The area is part of it: the frown lines, forehead, and crow’s feet all carry an FDA approval for Botox, while Dysport is FDA-approved for frown lines, so the plan accounts for where you want softening. How your muscles have responded before matters too. If a past treatment faded faster than you liked, or never fully relaxed a line, trying the other product is a reasonable next step. Above all, the goal is softer lines with a face that still looks like yours, and placement, far more than the brand on the vial, is what delivers it. Because a board-certified facial plastic surgeon plans and performs the treatment, the product is matched to the face in front of her and adjusted as she learns how you respond.
What a visit is like
1. Dr. Pontius maps your movement. You frown, lift, and squint while she watches which muscles pull where. 2. A few precise injections. A fine needle places small doses into the muscles that drive the lines, and most treatments take a few minutes. 3. It settles over about two weeks. Smoothing starts within a few days and reaches full effect around two weeks.
For the fuller picture of how neuromodulators work and the other products we carry, see our overview of neuromodulators. To restore volume rather than relax movement, that is the role of facial fillers, and the two are often planned together in one visit.
Is it right for you?
- Want to soften frown lines, forehead lines, or crow’s feet
- Want your natural expression to stay
- Have tried a neuromodulator and want to compare how another performs
- Are pregnant or breastfeeding
- Have a neuromuscular condition
What it costs
Treatment is priced by the product and the dose used. Because the right dose depends on your anatomy, muscle strength, and goals, plans and cost are individualized and reviewed with you at your consultation.
Botox and Dysport in Santa Barbara, CA
The best injectable work is quiet work: softer lines, the same expressions, still clearly you. In our Santa Barbara practice, Dr. Pontius places every unit herself and treats the face as a whole rather than chasing single lines. To talk through which product fits your goals, fill out the form below or call us at (805) 764-9074, and we will help you plan it.