Botox vs Dysport: Review

BOTOX VS. DYSPORT:

WHICH IS BETTER FOR WRINKLES? WHICH IS BETTER FOR YOU?— A quick guide to the similarities and differences between these two neurotoxins.

Botox— the ever so popular drug of choice in the cosmetic world. Aging is a cruel curse, and beauty truly is painful. Rarely, if not ever, do people celebrate the crow’s feet, fine lines, and wrinkles that develop slowly over the years. Life might as well be tallying up the remaining years people have left on Earth. In a world in which presentation and appearances are an oftentimes the key to success or recognition, people have resorted to quick fix yet hands-on solutions and thus, the cosmetic industry racks in billions in revenue to help millions of women and men feel more confident and beautiful about themselves. In this knowledge, Botox can arguably be recognized by many as a temporary miracle. Just a century ago it would have sounded absurd to think that people willingly trust a professional with a needle full of poison, while today, people still come back hungry for more despite the long list of side effects.

Nowadays, technology has vastly improved to specifically cater to more of the outer ‘defects’ people wish to remove or mend. Botox, in particular, has surely evolved from its earlier stages to become a very safe and efficient means to provide anti-wrinkle effects to the face. But Botox is not just one singular thing; there are different types available for use and purchase. Dysport is one such alternative to the standard Botox. Those unfamiliar might ask and desire to know fully the differences and similarities between the two. The compare and contrast between these from one professional standpoint might shed some light on many unanswered questions.

It is crucial to lay out the scientifically factual distinctions before figuring out the pros and cons to both. Simply put, Dysport is a product from a big name company, Galderma, which works slightly faster and spreads wider than Botox. Generally speaking, both of these are classified under the FDA approved Botulinum toxin (BoNT-A), which is the more potent form of its kind, with different sources and sub-genres of chemical properties. One example is that Dysport contains Abobotulinum toxin A while Botox carries Onabotulinum toxin A. According to Dr. Sung Bin Choi, a particularly renowned dermatologist from the Shilim Ganghan Dermatology Clinic in Seoul, South Korea— one of the golden Meccas for the cosmetic industry—Dysport and Botox don’t really have a whole bunch of disparities through the working mechanisms and compositions slightly vary.

"BoNT-A in Botox and Dysport are produced by the fermentation of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum type A which is a Hall Strain," Choi said. He also laid out the negative side effects of both that can include hypersensitivity: anaphylaxis, urticaria, soft tissue edema, and dyspnea as well as infection at the injection sites. "These toxins may in some cases also spread and be observed beyond the site of local injection, but there have been no definitively serious adverse event reports of distant spreading of toxin effects are associated with the dermatologic use of Botulinum toxins," he further explains. Seemingly, the use of Dysport is still fairly new here in the United States, but places like Korea and other countries in the world have already long been introduced to the product.

People might be more inclined to resort to Botox over Dysport because of the prevalence and familiarity of Botox, but it is important to know what they are looking for on their bodies to achieve the best kind of results. Because Dysport spreads wider than Botox, it definitely has advantages over certain areas of the face like on the eyes for crow’s feet, for instance. The dosages and ratios also vary between the two and currently, there is still further research being done on the outcomes and composition between Dysport and Botox. But ultimately, the decision between the two depends on the occasion and needs of each patient and consultation with a licensed doctor is the best way to figure out a concrete, definitive answer.