Botox, Dysport, Daxxify: How We Choose Yours
They belong to the same family and do the same fundamental thing. The differences are real but narrower than the marketing suggests — and the unit counts are where most patients get quietly misled on price.
Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, Jeuveau and Daxxify are all botulinum toxin type A. They all work the same way: injected into a specific muscle, they interrupt the signal telling that muscle to contract. The muscle relaxes, it stops folding the skin above it, and the line it was creating softens.
So the honest headline is that the product matters less than the person holding the syringe. But the differences are real, and one of them — unit counts — is responsible for more confused pricing conversations than any other topic in this industry.
The units thing, first, because it costs people money
Units are not interchangeable between brands. A Dysport unit is not a Botox unit. Converting between them takes roughly two and a half to three Dysport units to match one Botox unit, depending on the area and the injector.
This matters because most medspas price by the unit. A clinic quoting "$9 per unit" for Dysport and one quoting "$14 per unit" for Botox may be charging you almost exactly the same amount for the same clinical result — or the Dysport may be meaningfully cheaper, or more expensive. You cannot tell from the per-unit number alone.
Ask for the total cost of treating the area, not the price per unit. Any clinic that will not give you that number before treating you is relying on the confusion.
How they actually differ
| Product | Onset | Typical duration | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Botox | ~3–7 days to see it, 10–14 days for full effect | About 3–4 months | The longest clinical track record and the most established dosing protocols across facial areas |
| Dysport | Often 2–5 days — many patients find it kicks in slightly sooner | About 3–4 months | Many injectors find it spreads over a slightly wider field, which can be an advantage on broad areas like the forehead |
| Xeomin | Similar to Botox | About 3–4 months | Formulated without the accessory proteins the others carry |
| Jeuveau | Similar to Botox | About 3–4 months | Developed specifically for cosmetic use |
| Daxxify | Notably fast — often 1–2 days | Longer in trials, with results reported out to roughly 5–6 months for some patients | Uses a peptide carrier rather than human albumin; newer, with less accumulated real-world dosing experience |
Swipe table →
Two caveats worth holding onto. First, duration is highly individual — metabolism, muscle strength, dose and how much you exercise all shift it. Second, longer is not automatically better. If you are new to neurotoxin and you are not certain how you will feel about the result, a product that lasts three months is a far more forgiving place to start than one that lasts six.
How we choose
The decision starts with your face, not the product menu. At consultation we watch you animate — raise your brows, squint, frown, smile fully — because the line on your skin is a consequence of a specific muscle, and the muscle is what we are treating.
From there the product choice usually comes down to a few practical questions:
• Have you had neurotoxin before, and how did it behave? If a product has worked well and lasted a reasonable time, there is rarely a good reason to switch.
• Do you have an event? A fast-onset product is genuinely useful when the timeline is tight. If your event is in four days, that narrows things considerably.
• Which area? Broad forehead work, a precise brow lift and a downturned mouth corner are three different technical problems, and the amount of desired spread differs across them.
• Have you ever felt "too frozen" or had a heavy brow? That history changes both product and dose.
• How strong is the muscle? Strong muscles need more product. This is the honest reason your dose may be higher than your friend's.
What neurotoxin cannot fix
This is the part that gets skipped, and it is the part that prevents disappointment.
Neurotoxin treats dynamic lines — the ones that appear when you move. It works extremely well on the "11s" between the brows, forehead lines and crow's feet.
It does much less for static lines that remain fully etched when your face is completely at rest. Those have become creases in the skin itself, and while relaxing the muscle stops them deepening, softening what is already there usually calls for resurfacing, microneedling, or filler placed very superficially.
It does nothing at all for volume loss, skin texture, pigmentation or true laxity. If your concern is that your face looks hollow or your jawline has softened, more units will not solve it, and an injector who keeps adding them is not helping you.
Getting a natural result
"Frozen" is almost always a dosing and placement outcome rather than a product outcome. The muscles of the upper face work as a system: over-treat one and another compensates, which is how you end up with a heavy brow or that peaked, surprised arch.
A good result should leave you able to express yourself while the resting lines soften. If this is your first treatment, we would rather start conservative and add at your two-week check than overshoot — there is no way to remove neurotoxin once it is placed. You wait it out.
AFTERCARE, BRIEFLY
• Stay upright for about four hours.
• Skip strenuous exercise, saunas and hot yoga for the rest of the day.
• Do not rub or massage the treated areas.
• Bruising is possible; arnica helps, and it is usually minor.
• Come to your two-week follow-up. That is when we assess and fine-tune.
Common questions
Can I switch brands between appointments?
Yes. Plenty of patients do, usually for timing or cost reasons. Tell us what you had last time so we dose correctly.
Will my muscles get "addicted"?
No. If you stop, the muscle gradually returns to its previous activity. Some long-term patients find the treated muscle weakens over time and they need slightly less — which works in your favor.
Why did it wear off faster this time?
Common reasons are a lower dose, a stronger muscle than we estimated, heavy exercise, or simply individual variation. It is worth mentioning so we can adjust the plan rather than repeat it.
Is it safe long term?
Botulinum toxin has decades of clinical and cosmetic use behind it. Like anything injected, it carries risks — bruising, asymmetry, eyelid or brow droop — that are strongly influenced by injector skill and should be discussed with your provider before treatment.
Can it treat excessive sweating?
Yes — underarm sweating is a well-established use, and it is a different conversation from facial treatment. Ask us about it.
Get a plan, not a price per unit.
We'll map which muscles are creating your lines, recommend a product and a dose, and tell you what it will actually cost before a needle comes out.
Book a consultation · 503.303.8313 · 1130 NW 10th Ave, Portland
This article is general patient education, not medical advice, and it does not establish a provider-patient relationship. Individual results vary. Every treatment described here carries risks that should be discussed with a licensed provider who has evaluated you in person.
