Botox has become the Pilates of the aesthetic treatments – a nice to have but not really a game changer. And in a world of aging backwards, face lifts have become the new normal, so much so that we barely know what aging really looks like anymore. And whilst I most certainly do have a savings account for the not so future facelift, I also have not kissed Botox goodbye.
Which brings me on to the point of this. I recently tried a new clinic and a new botox injector, and ended up with a result that wasn’t really the one I was expecting. Now I know it’s never a good idea to switch your doctor once you find ‘the one’ but with my forever doctor on maternity leave it was more a requirement than a choice. Now both the aforementioned clinic and doctor shall remain nameless, because it wasn’t actually a bad experience and certainly not one to blast online but it was definitely lacking in the finesse that I have become accustomed to. It’s not enough to know the facial anatomy, that syringe needs to be wielded by artistic hands.
Whilst I was waiting for it to wear off, I had a long hard think as to how it went wrong. And I had a lot of time, there’s nothing like an off aesthetic treatment to make you want to stay in. Was it the doctor? Was it the brand? Because Botox isn’t actually the product, it’s just the brand name that we seem to use for all the neurotoxins. Or was it the temperature of the storage?? A seemingly strange question but actually not when you know your stuff. We’ll circle back to this.
And whilst I will never know the answer, I did come to the conclusion that whilst the doctor and the clinic certainly matter, the brand of neurotoxin matters a whole lot less than we think. Which seems a funny thing to say in a world as obsessed with brands as we currently sit. But with the facelift in mind, I like to ask questions about where I am spending my money, or rather what I am injecting with my money.
My usual clinic (and usual doctor) have a number of neurotoxin brands available – as most clinics do. And my go to for a number of years has been Nabota. Nabota is a Korean brand and let’s be real, Koreans not only know a thing or two about treatments, but when that treatment costs you 500dhs instead of 1,500 – 2,500 for the full upper face, then it’s practically paying for itself at this point.
Before you think Korean botox sounds like a backstreet clinic option, it’s not. Nabota is FDA approved in America as Jeuveau (2019) and Botulax as Letybo (February 2024). You might have assumed that non-American branded means dodgy when it’s far from the case. FDA approval ain’t no small thing and many brands don’t even get it.
Now I’ve tried A LOT of different products, treatments and techniques when it comes to aging like Peter Pan, and I will ALWAYS be 100% honest when it comes to what works and what doesn’t. And honestly, Nabota works just as well as any other brand, in fact I prefer it to Botox just as I do other filler brands to Juvederm. Nabota lasts just as long, freezes just as well and after four sessions a year over the last three years, you can no longer call me a guinea pig, I am more of a convert. And whilst some clinics pitch Nabota as lasting longer, which would be amazing, I can confirm that it does not. It lasts the same as any other brand and it’s dictated more from the strength of facial muscles and metabolism than the product itself.
Back to the storage answer. Neurotoxins need to be stored between 2 to 8°C and temperature cycling can wipe out up to 69.8% of the result. Most of us who’ve had a dud round think they got a fake product or a bad injector but often it’s the fridge. Which is more of a clinic issue than anything else and worth checking into no matter how much you are paying.
Fast forward a few months and I’m back at the old clinic, with my old doctor, and thankfully my eyebrows in the their old position. It’s still facelift here I come, but for now I’m putting that 8000dhs a year saving to work.
