What matters when you have your Botulinum toxin (Botox) is the overall number of units that you are given. Practitioners may choose to dilute their Botox with varying amounts of saline, and this will affect how far the Botox diffuses away from the injection site.
Personally, when I am treating frown lines between the eyebrows in the frown line (Glabella) region I like to use it in quite a concentrated form (100 units of Botox diluted in 1 ml of saline, giving 10 units per 0.1ml), as I want the Botox diffusion to be quite limited. When I am treating horizontal forehead lines I prefer to use it in a more dilute form (100 units in 2mls of saline) so that I can achieve more diffusion of the botox over a wider area of muscle.
So why does the total number of units that you are given matter so much?
Studies have shown a clear dose-response relationship between the duration of effect and the dosage that you are given.
If you are given 20 units of Botulinum toxin (Botox) into your glabella frown line region it will last about 16 weeks in 75% percent of clients, whereas if clients are given half that dose it will only last that long 35% of the time, and you will therefore probably be needing more treatment well before the end of four months after your last treatment with this dosage.
So if you are of average build and normal facial muscles mass, and you are having the frown line and your forehead treated with Botox you should probably be getting a total dosage of around 40-50 units.
This will reliably achieve an effect that is going to last you for the next four months or so.
Clearly if you are exceptionally lean or exceptionally well endowed with facial muscles then the dosage will need to be altered accordingly.
Don’t forget that if your doctor is using Dysport (marketed under the name of Azzalure in Europe) then the number of units will be different. It will be about 3 times higher than with Botox or Xeomin/Bocouture as Dysport/Azzalure, unit for unit, is only one-third as powerful as Botox.
So one unit of Botox is equivalent to around 3 units of Dysport / Azzalure. When given in appropriate dosage studies have shown that Dysport/Azzalure is as effective as Botox. So ask your practitioner about the total dosage they are planning to use. If it’s a lot less or a lot more than the quantities mentioned above for the forehead and frown line areas, ask them why.
If you want to read more, the experts at Consulting Room really know what they're talking about and have put together botox for your frown or glabella lines, Botulinum toxin, Botox, lines and wrinkles, dysport, azzalure, xeomin and bocouture FAQs just for you.
If you have more questions, you can use the Botulinum toxin, Botox, lines and wrinkles, dysport, azzalure, xeomin and bocouture questions feature to talk to our panel of trained medical experts.
If you're keen to get started with any of these treatments right away then you're in luck - those clever folks also have a list of trusted, accredited Botulinum toxin, Botox, lines and wrinkles, dysport, azzalure, xeomin and bocouture clinics in your area.
Many thanks to the author of this blog Dr Mark Aszkenas who has been providing aesthetic beauty treatments since 2011.
He is a consultant in the National Health Service and has the diploma of the membership of the Royal College of Physicians.
Dr Mark saw the need for a simple and effective range of skincare treatments, containing ingredients at a strength that could achieve results, and launched the Dr Mark Skincare range.
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