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Writer's pictureBarbara

So again...what's a botulinum toxin??? And how does it relate to Botox, Jeuveau, Xeomin, or Dysport

Updated: Jan 29, 2022





According to the Marriam-Webster Dictionary...

botulinum toxin: a neurotoxin formed by botulinum that causes botulism and that is injected in a purified form for therapeutic and cosmetic purposes (as to treat blepharospasm and reduce wrinkles)

Jeuveau, Botox, Xeomin, and Dysport are all botulinum toxins with slight differences....


Toxins...VS....Toxins...


What Is BOTOX?


Developed and marketed by Allergan, BOTOX is an injection consisting of a specific formulation of botulinum toxin (BTX) known as OnabotulinumtoxinA. It’s injected directly into muscle tissue to block neurological signals to the respective tissue. Our muscles rely on neurological signals to contract. When you flex a muscle, your brain tells that muscle to contract. If a muscle remains contracted, however, it may cause discomfort and the formation of wrinkles or fine lines. BOTOX injections relax contracted muscle tissue such as this by blocking neurological signals.


*Some people refer to all botulinum toxins as Botox; using the word Botox as a proprietary eponyms for all botulinum toxins that are FDA approved...this includes Jeuveau, Dysport, and Xeomin.



I keep hearing about Jeuveau?


Jeuveau® is almost the same as Botox® treatment since both are extracted from the same type of bacteria. Botox® is basically a neuromodulator and Jeuveau® works on the same principle to smooth out the creases in the face. Botox® is an established brand and is not the name of the standard neurotoxin drug.

Aka NEWTOX, Jeuveau is an injection that uses botulinum toxin type A. It works like other BTX injections by temporarily blocking neurological signals to muscles. While relatively new — first approved by the FDA in 2019 — Jeuveau has become a popular alternative to BOTOX because of its low cost. The actual cost varies depending on many factors, but While BOTOX is approved for both cosmetic and medical applications, Jeuveau is only approved for cosmetic applications, including treating wrinkles and frown lines.



Xeomin...isn't Gwyneth Paltrow a rep for Xeomin...and why do they refer to it as a clean toxin?


Yes, she is!!! As you may have guessed, Xeomin is an injection featuring yet another formulation of BTX. Produced by the German pharmaceutical company Merz Pharma GmbH & Co., it uses incobotulinumtoxinA. Once injected into muscle tissue, Xeomin’s incobotulinumtoxinA temporarily blocks neurological signals to the respective tissue, thereby forcing the muscle or muscles to relax. Xeomin is used for the same purposes as both BOTOX and Dysport, including but not limited to the reduction of wrinkles and fine lines.

Another bonus of Xeomin...Botox—another injectable that works to reduce fine lines—is also made from botulinum toxin type A, but Xeomin differentiates itself from Botox and other neuromodulators by omitting accessory proteins (it's why you may hear that Xeomin has "unnecessary proteins"). In Botox and other injectables, those accessory proteins (technically called neurotoxin-associated proteins, or NAPs) help to stabilize the molecules of botulinum toxin, and aren't essential to its function. There's a theory that those accessory proteins may trigger an immune response in your body to the product—and that Xeomin's omission of those proteins may help protect against building immunity to the botulinum toxins due to it's lack of accessary proteins.



And how about Dysport?

Like BOTOX, Dysport is an injection containing BTX designed to block neurological signals to the targeted muscle tissue. With that said, Dysport uses a different formulation of BTX than BOTOX. While BOTOX uses onabotulinumtoxinA, Dysport uses abobotulinumtoxinA. It still consists of the same basic neuromodulator that temporarily blocks neurological signals to the injected muscle or muscles. Furthermore, the Dysport injections are administered the same way as BOTOX injections. But Dysport uses a different formulation of BTX than its BOTOX counterpart, resulting in a few subtle differences.






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