Understanding Anti Wrinkle Injections

What is the difference between anti-wrinkle injections and Botox?

Let’s try and understand the terms that get thrown around when discussing anti-wrinkle injections.

Anti-wrinkle injection is a term we use for any of the botulinum toxin treatments that are used to stop muscle movement to treat a wrinkle.

In Australia we are not allowed to advertise a brand name of a pharmaceutical, in fact, we are not meant to advertise Pharmaceuticals at all. Botulinum toxin products are classed as an S4 pharmaceutical, this is why they can only be administered by a nurse or doctor.

It is thus the term anti-wrinkle treatment was attached to these products so we could use this term on our websites and in advertising. 

Types of Anti Wrinkle

There are three main brands in Australia under this class of drug. Botox (Allergan) Dysport (Galderma) and Xenomin (Merz). All three of these brands are TGA-approved in Australia which means the people who control pharmaceuticals in Australia have approved these brands for use. The companies must produce many studies on efficacy and safety to get this approval and are governed under strict laws to remain here.

What is Botox

Botox was the first brand of botulinum toxin to be available in Australia and the first one approved for cosmetic use therefore many people know of injectable wrinkle treatments as Botox even when they may be getting a different brand. It is like how people will call the vacuum cleaner a Hoover. Hoover is a well-known brand of vacuum cleaner

How Does it Work

All three of these brands work by interrupting the message from the brain to the muscle, so even though you may be telling your muscles to frown the muscle doesn’t get the message, so it doesn’t do the action.

This class of drugs only works on wrinkles that are caused by a muscle contraction. A good example of this is the number 11 lines between your eyebrows these are caused by frowning and will help my botulinum toxin. However, the lines further out on your forehead that run from your hairline down to your eyebrow are often caused by sleeping on your side and having your face In the same position each night these will not be helped by botulinum toxin. If you need to treat those lines you would need a dermal filler.

Are all anti-wrinkle injections the same as Botox?

Even though the three brands are in the same class of drugs they are all very slightly different. What we have found in practice is that the majority of people find them exactly the same, but you will find some people prefer one brand over the other. The other difference is they need to be dosed differently to get the same effect. For example, one unit of Botox is equal to 2.5 units of Dysport. This is why you may see one advertised for $5 per unit and the other at $15 per unit.

Other Wrinkle Treatments

The other main class of treatments for wrinkles is dermal fillers which are made from hyaluronic acid. There are 5 main distributors in Australia with TGA approved fillers, Juvéderm by Allergan, Teosyl by Teoxane, Restylane by Galderma, Stylage by EnVogue and Croma by Croma

I hope this has made things clearer for you. Book a consultation today!