“Botox” has become like “Kleenex” — people use the brand name to mean the whole category. So when patients sit in my chair and ask for Botox, my first question is usually whether they actually want Botox. At Franco Aesthetics we carry three FDA-approved neurotoxins — Botox, Dysport, and Daxxify — and which one ends up in the syringe is a real decision, not a coin flip. Here’s how I make it.
The short answer
Most of my patients end up on Dysport, and it’s the most-requested toxin at our practice for reasons I’ll unpack below. Botox is the one I reach for when precision in a small zone matters most. Daxxify is the one I recommend when your biggest frustration is how often you have to come back. All three relax the muscles that drive dynamic wrinkles, all three are safe in trained hands, and the differences are real but specific. The rest of this post is the actual decision tree.
What all three share
Each one is a neurotoxin that calms the targeted muscles creating your expression lines — forehead lines, the “11s” between the brows, crow’s feet. Each is FDA-approved, each takes effect over days rather than instantly, and each wears off gradually as the muscle activity returns. None of them add volume; that’s filler’s job. And with all three, the result depends far more on who’s injecting and how they dose than on the label. The product is a tool. Placement is the craft.
Dysport: the one most of my patients end up on
Dysport (FDA-approved 2009) is our most-requested toxin, and that’s earned. Two things drive it. First, onset: Dysport typically starts working in 2 to 3 days, where Botox takes 3 to 7. When you’ve booked a treatment two weeks before an event, those extra days matter — and for first-timers, seeing your result sooner makes the whole experience less of a waiting game.
Second, spread. Dysport diffuses slightly more from each injection point, which makes it beautifully suited to broader areas like the forehead — which happens to be where most people want treatment in the first place. That same property means I place it deliberately; spread is an asset in the right area and a liability in the wrong one, which is why technique matters more than brand.
Duration is on par with Botox, in the three-to-four-month range for most patients. When someone new to neurotoxin sits down with forehead lines or 11s as their main concern, Dysport is usually where I start.
Botox: the precision classic
Botox is the original — FDA-approved for cosmetic use since 2002, which means more than two decades of study and real-world predictability. Where it shines is precision. Because it stays closer to where it’s placed, it’s my pick for smaller zones where exact control matters: detail work around the brows, a lip flip, areas where I want the effect to stop exactly where I tell it to.
If you’ve been on Botox for years and love your results, there’s no rule that says you have to switch. Predictability is worth a lot, and a face I’ve dosed successfully for years is a known quantity I don’t take for granted.
Daxxify: the long-haul option
Daxxify is the newest of the three (FDA-approved 2022) and the longest-lasting — six months or more for many patients, where Botox and Dysport run three to four. It’s also formulated differently: a peptide stabilizer instead of the human or animal proteins used in the others.
Who it’s for is straightforward: established patients who know how their face responds to neurotoxin and want fewer appointments a year. If you travel constantly, live outside Norman and drive in, or simply hate calendaring maintenance visits, cutting your treatments down matters. I don’t usually start first-timers here — with a longer-lasting product, I want to already know how your muscles respond before we commit to six-plus months of result.
The unit math nobody explains
Here’s the thing that confuses almost everyone who price-shops toxins. Dysport is dosed in different units than Botox — roughly 2.5 Dysport units for every 1 Botox unit. So when you see Dysport priced lower per unit, that’s not a discount; it’s a different measuring cup. The per-treatment total ends up comparable across the two. If a med spa is advertising a per-unit price that looks too good, ask which toxin and do the conversion before you compare. We quote treatments, never bait-the-unit, and your consult gives you real numbers before anything happens.
How I choose with you
At your consult, I’m weighing four things: which areas we’re treating, how fast you want to see results, how your muscles have responded to toxin before (if ever), and how often you realistically want to come in. Broad areas and first treatments tend to point to Dysport. Tight precision zones point to Botox. Proven responders who want to stretch their calendar point to Daxxify. Some patients use different toxins in different areas, and that’s fine too — the goal is your best result, not brand loyalty.
Whichever we choose, the approach is the same: conservative dosing the first time, a two-week follow-up to see the settled result, and adjustments from there. Natural-looking, never frozen — that standard doesn’t change with the label on the vial.
VIP members get 15% off all services, which makes staying consistent with any of the three a lot easier.
If you’re weighing your options, don’t pick a toxin from a blog post — including mine. Book a consult and I’ll look at your face, your goals, and your calendar, then tell you which one I’d choose if it were my own forehead on the line.
