Botox®, Dysport, & Newtox

This number will be determined during your consultation.

What should be known is that the number of hairs on your head before hair loss, are approximately 100 thousand. By the time you have significant hair loss and you are ready for hair transplant, you have lost a significant number of this pool. Trying to restore a natural look of “full head of hair” at this point may not be a reasonable or feasible expectation (as we would be trying to transfer viable hairs from your donor pool to the recipient area , trying to replace many thousands of lost hairs with just a few thousands).  Also results may vary among different individuals, depending on your genetics, smoking, nutritional status, further progressive hair loss, maintenance of hair loss medications after surgery, etc. We strongly advise that, at a minimum, you stay on minoxidil for at least 6 weeks before your surgery. We often combine minoxidil with other modalities as either your final treatment or to get you ready for your surgery. It is also necessary that you stay on your non-surgical treatment after surgery for as long as needed for prevention of future progressive hair loss.

Your surgery can be either with a surgical (strip harvesting method from the back of your head or FUT method), or minimally invasive ( but more expensive) follicular harvesting method or FUE, again mostly from the back of your head.  These are both surgical procedures, partly dependent on which method YOU choose according to your budget, and partly dependent on determination of superiority of one method over the other for your particular situation. In both methods you will need to take certain medications before and after surgery, and have the donor area numbed up before and during the surgery. These surgeries will not be under general anesthesia, but you will be given medications to relax you during the surgery. In other words, you will be awake during most of the procedure, with frequent bathroom/snack/lunch breaks.  We will offer you food and drinks on the day of your surgery. You may also relax in our massage chair, watch TV and DVDs, and use the internet on your breaks. The post-operative discomfort is minimal to none. You will need to come in for preoperative consultation for more information/evaluation/pictures, and also after the surgery is done. You will need to be ready to spend one full day at our center for your surgery. Detailed written instructions for preoperative and post-operative period will be given to you.

For the operative/surgical (strip harvesting/FUT) method, we use either a “hidden-stitch” closure which does not need suture removal later (with slightly higher cost), or stitching over the skin (which needs suture removal about two weeks later, either at our clinic or at the place of your choice). Financing is available for your surgery.

Botox and Dysport, along with Xeomin and Jeuveau, are molecules that work on the neuromuscular units and relax the muscles for a defined period of time.

Botox® was initially used (and still is) for treatment of medical conditions such as spasm of the neck, blepharospasm (twitching of eyelids), strabismus in children (deviation of the long axis of the eye), treatment of migraine headaches, etc.

Here is what we can do with Botox® injections for you:

Botox® treatments are very safe , unless you are on certain types of antibiotics or have a serious musculoskeletal disorder such as ALS, Myasthenia Gravis, MS, etc.

There are a number of ways you may benefit from Botox®:

1. Cosmetic uses of Botox®: The use of Botox® has expanded dramatically in the past few years. This is most helpful for wrinkles that have not yet been “etched in”, although it also softens the appearance of “etched in” (or static) wrinkles. Botox® injections are typically spaced out about every 3-4 months. After about 2 years of regular Botox® use, these injections may be spread father out to 5-6 months. This is due to weakening and “retraining” of the muscles over time while on Botox®. Here are a few areas that Botox® can be used and be helpful: Frown lines between eyebrows, forehead lines, wrinkles to the sides of eyes (crow’s feet), wrinkles on the bridge of the nose (bunny lines), too much showing of the upper gum while smiling (gummy smile), droopy corners of the mouth (sad mouth), smokers’ lines (fine vertical lines around the mouth), twitching of eyelids (blepharospasm), grainy (pebbly) or bulky-looking chin, unsightly vertical bands of muscles in the neck (platysma bands), and for slimming of angles of lower jaws in individuals who want a more feminine and slim lower half of the face.

2. Excessive sweating in armpit area: can Botox® help? Some people have excessive sweating in the armpit (axilla) area which could be embarrassing. This could be regardless of the warm season. A single treatment session with Botox® usually has long lasting results between 6-9 months. Some insurances may cover the cost of such treatment. Please inquire about what can be done in that regard at our clinic.

3. Teeth grinding ,TMJ problems and pain. Some people have involuntary teeth grinding at night and chipping of the teeth as a result. This could lead to jaw pain and even TMJ problems. Botox® injection into certain areas of the chewing muscles can significantly help and diminish this problem.

Dysport® is structurally very close to Botox®, and helps to relax the muscles injected in the same way. It has most of the same clinical indications of Botox® usage, and has been in clinical use for many years with a safety profile similar to Botox®. Furthermore, in a subset of individuals, it may even start working faster (as early as 2 days as compared to almost 5 days for Botox®) and last somewhat longer than Botox®.

What’s the advantage of Dysport® over Botox®? Dysport® has most of the aesthetic usages of Botox®, may start acting faster, and may last longer than Botox®. The biggest advantage is pricing. For the same effect expected of Botox®, there is significant savings if you switch to Dysport®. Some people may like one over the other, and eventually it is a personal choice. We have used significant amount of both products in many individuals and have had consistently good results with both.

How many units will I need?

Everyone’s face, muscle mass, and different facial structures are unique. As a rule,  each individual’s need for Botox/Dysport/Newtox/Xeomin is particular to their facial structures.

As a general rule, men need 1.5-2 times the number of units as used for a particular area in women. For a complete face, women may need 40-60 units and men anywhere from 60-100 units.

For common areas of the face the averages are as below (for women only, men in general need more):

Scowl lines: 12-26 units

Forehead: 8-16 units

Crow’s feet: 6-24 units

Bunny lines: 4-8 units

Chin: 5-10 units

Please also ask us about Jeuveau (Newtox) and Xeomin as the newest medicines in that line up!