With millions of treatments performed each year, Botox® is recognized as a popular treatment for wrinkles around the eyes, forehead, and other areas of the face. But it’s not without competition.
Over the past few months, Daxxify® has emerged as a rival to Botox, and it offers some interesting benefits.
At Metroderm DC: Medical, Laser, and Aesthetic Dermatology Center, our board-certified dermatologists, Edward Stolar, MD, and Todd Perkins, MD, are among the first providers in the Washington, DC, area to offer Daxxify.
Here’s how Daxxify works and how it compares with Botox.
Daxxify is a neuromuscular agent, which means it affects the way your nerves and muscles communicate. Typically, when you make a facial expression, your facial nerves send messages to and from your brain. These messages tell your facial muscles to contract to create specific expressions.
Over time, repeated facial expressions start to etch lines into your skin. Called dynamic wrinkles because they form as a result of movement, these lines are especially prevalent around your eyes, forehead, and brows.
Daxxify acts on nerve receptors, temporarily preventing them from sending or receiving messages. As a result, your facial muscles don’t contract, and those pesky lines and wrinkles can’t form.
Botox is also a neuromuscular agent that works in a way similar to Daxxify. Like Daxxify, Botox is injected and it also works on dynamic wrinkles. But there are a few key differences.
First, Daxxify tends to last longer than Botox. In fact, while Botox results start to wear off in 3-4 months, Daxxify results last as long as six months and sometimes longer. That means you won’t have to visit our office for touch-ups nearly as often.
Second, Botox and similar products are derived from animal products — specifically, an animal-based protein called albumin. Daxxify is free of any animal or animal-based products, relying instead on peptides or amino acids, which might be one reason why Daxxify lasts longer.
Daxxify treatment begins with a careful evaluation of your facial anatomy and a review of your concerns. This step enables us to map out a custom treatment plan and decide on the best placement of your injections.
We use very fine needles for the injections, and most people say the injection itself feels similar to a pinch. Each injection takes only a few moments.
Afterward, there’s no downtime, but avoid rubbing the area so you don’t spread the product around. You can expect minimal and temporary bruising or very mild swelling around the injections site, just as you might have with other injections.
Your results become visible shortly after injection, developing over a period of about three days or so. Although Daxxify is currently FDA-approved for frown lines, it can be used off-label to treat dynamic wrinkles in other areas of your face, similar to Botox.
Our team is skilled in multiple noninvasive treatments that can help you look and feel your best. To learn more about Daxxify and the other treatment options we offer, call us at 202-659-2223 or book an appointment online with our team at Metroderm DC today.
