Neurotoxins are a neuromodulator that selectively blocks and relaxes the muscles responsible for facial aging. It is used for cosmetic purposes to reduce the appearance of facial wrinkles. Untreated muscles remain untouched and function normally. Neuromodulators are wrinkle-relaxing injections of botulinum toxin – commercially known as Botox Cosmetic, Dysport, Xeomin or Jeuveau – that are used to treat wrinkles, frown lines and crow's feet.
The Benefits of Neurotoxins:
Facial neurotoxin injections require continued maintenance, with repeated office visits scheduled every three to four months.
Botox®: Blocks signals from the nerves to the muscles. The injected muscle can't contract. That makes the wrinkles relax and soften. Botox treatment is most often used on forehead lines, crow's feet (lines around the eye), and frown lines mouth.
Dysport®: Temporarily decreases muscle movement in the target areas to soften the appearance of glabellar lines, the vertical wrinkles most prominent on your forehead in between your eyebrows.
Xeomin®: Temporarily decreases muscle movement in the target areas to soften the appearance of glabellar lines, the vertical wrinkles most prominent on your forehead in between your eyebrows.
BOTOX (Allergan), Dysport (Galderma) and XEOMIN (Merz) all have the same active ingredient—botulinum toxin—but each brand has a slightly different formulation. Generally, most practitioners use all 3 to treat fine lines and wrinkles on the brow, forehead, crow's feet, bunny lines, frown lines, and nasal squint lines.
What's the difference between a neuromodulator and a filler? In the simplest terms, fillers support and fill while neuromodulators weaken the contraction of muscles that lead to a wrinkle. More precisely, a neuromodulator interrupts the signal between the nerve and the muscle, causing it to relax.
If you're considering a neuromodulator vs. fillers, always opt for neuromodulator to smooth fine lines of expression and prevent deep-set wrinkles from forming. On the other hand, if you want to add volume to the lines at rest (aka muscles that aren't contracting), fillers are the solution.
Luckily, getting Botox treatments for a long period of time will not have any negative effects, and if you discontinue getting Botox treatments, the worst that will happen is that your fine lines and wrinkles will return over time.
