Dysport in Beverly Hills: how it works and where it is used
Dysport is the brand name of abobotulinumtoxinA, a purified botulinum toxin type A, FDA-approved for the frown lines between the brows in 2009; the forehead, crow's feet and the other areas are treated off-label, as is common. A tiny dose injected into a muscle blocks the nerve signal that tells it to contract, so the skin over it stops folding and the line softens; over three to four months the effect fades on its own.
Dysport treats lines that appear when you move; a line still there at rest is a crease in skin that has lost its collagen, a job for facial fillers, often planned for the same visit. Botox, the practice's other neuromodulator at $25 per unit, is the same drug built into a different protein complex, which is where the differences in spread, onset and unit size come from; our comparison of Botox and Dysport goes through the choice, and the short version is that placement and dose decide the result, not the vial.
Frown lines, forehead lines and crow's feet
The frown lines, the 11s, are made by the muscles that pull the brows together, the one area Dysport's label dose was written for: 50 units. Forehead lines cross one wide, flat muscle, where a product that spreads covers the width with fewer injection points, and the aim is even softening with the brows still able to lift. Crow's feet sit over a thin ring of muscle beside the eye, where the spread is the thing to respect: smaller doses, more margin. These three areas are Dr. Cat's.
Dr. Cat's approach to Dysport: the muscle map and the margin
Dr. Cat is a board-certified plastic surgeon, trained in both head and neck surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery, Harvard-educated and UCLA trained. Injectables, in her words, are a technical art, and her aim with Dysport is a smoother forehead over a brow that can still lift, with no frozen forehead and no heavy brow.
Mapping before dosing
The plan starts with your face in motion, not with a vial. Dr. Cat asks you to frown, raise your brows, squint and smile, and marks on your face where each muscle pulls, which is rarely the same on both sides; the product and the units for each area are decided after that, with you. Two things change a Dysport plan: because it diffuses a little further, she places it with more margin next to the brow and the eyelid and fewer points across the forehead; and because its unit is a different size, a dose is converted from your records, never copied.
A conservative first dose, adjusted at two weeks
First-timers get a conservative dose, then an adjustment at the two-week check, when the full effect can be judged; men's thicker muscles usually call for more units. A patient who has done well on one product for years stays on it; if it wore off at eight weeks or settled unevenly, the other is worth one trial at a converted dose.
The injections
After the skin is cleansed, and numbing cream if you want it, the product goes in through a very fine needle as a series of small injections; most patients describe a brief pinch or a little pressure. The injecting takes about 15 minutes, a first appointment closer to an hour, and the small bumps left at each site are gone within the hour.
Who injects Dysport at Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery
Dr. Cat herself injects Dysport of the forehead lines, the frown lines between the brows and crow's feet. Our board-certified facial plastic surgeon injects the masseter, the chin, the platysmal bands of the neck, the lip flip, a Dysport brow lift and the jawline, and treats underarm sweating, which the practice does with Botox rather than Dysport. When a nurse injector or physician assistant is engaged, Dr. Cat's rule limits them to the forehead and the eye area, and filler is never in their hands. Whoever holds the syringe, the price is the same $8.50 per unit.
Dysport units, and how they convert
A Dysport unit is a smaller measure of the drug than a Botox unit, and the two are not interchangeable: as a common conversion, about 2.5 to 3 units of Dysport do the work of 1 unit of Botox. The label doses show it: 50 units of Dysport against 20 of Botox for the frown lines, so a 20-unit area becomes about 50 to 60 units of Dysport, and 100 units is typically a two-area treatment, the forehead with the frown lines. The number of units is agreed at your visit; a count copied from a Botox treatment would be a half dose. Our guide to Botox units per area gives the starting ranges.
The Dysport lip flip and the other areas
A Dysport lip flip places a few units into the muscle that circles the mouth, just above the upper lip border, so the lip rolls slightly outward and shows more of its edge. It adds no volume: a thin lip that wants fullness is a filler question. Bunny lines, the lines around the mouth, a dimpling chin, the masseter for a slimmer jawline and the vertical bands of the neck take the same product in converted doses. Every one of these is our facial plastic surgeon's area, at the same $8.50 per unit. Underarm sweating is the one request Dysport does not take at the practice: it is treated with Botox, by the same surgeon.
How long does Dysport last?
Dysport holds for three to four months, a usual range and not a promise, though some patients report a slightly shorter run than with the other neuromodulator, and a first treatment often wears off a little sooner. Most patients come three to four times a year, and regulars tend to need fewer units as the muscles weaken. Rarely, after years of high or frequent dosing, the immune system makes antibodies and a product stops working at a full dose; switching brands is then the first thing to try, one reason the practice keeps both.
When Dysport starts working
The first softening shows at 2 to 4 days, often a day or two sooner than Botox, and the full effect settles within two weeks. For an event, book three weeks out so the two-week check falls before it; if it is five days away and you are already a regular, Dysport's earlier onset is the advantage.
Dysport aftercare, day by day
There is no downtime after Dysport.
- Your visitThe muscle analysis, the units agreed and converted from any records, the skin cleansed, then roughly 15 minutes of injecting.
- The first 4 hoursUpright: no lying down, no bending over, no tipping your head back.
- The first 24 hoursSkip strenuous exercise and alcohol, leave the treated areas alone (no rubbing or massage), and keep skincare mild.
- Days 2 to 4The first softening. Any soreness, swelling or bruise fades over a few days; no saunas or hot yoga, and sunscreen.
- Two weeksThe full effect; at the follow-up the two sides are compared and any touch-up is done.
- 3 to 4 monthsThe muscles wake and the lines return gradually; the next visit is booked before they do.
Dysport before and after: what to look for
In Dysport before and after photos, the pair that matters is taken in expression, not at rest, because a smooth forehead at rest does not tell you whether the brow can still rise. At matched doses Dysport and Botox are indistinguishable in a photograph, so the practice's Botox and Dysport before and after gallery shows what a neuromodulator does in Dr. Cat's hands; its labeled case is a Botox treatment of the forehead and eyes. Dysport results are shown at your visit.
Dysport side effects: what can go wrong, and how it is avoided
The common side effects of Dysport are minor and short. What patients fear is product landing in a muscle it was not meant for: placed too low on the forehead, it weighs the brow down; drifting into the muscle that raises the eyelid, it lets the lid droop. Neither lasts; both fade away over a few weeks as the effect wears off. Both are also more likely with a product that spreads and an injector who ignores the margins, which is why placement, not brand, is the risk.
What can go wrong
- Soreness, redness, small bumps for an hour, or a bruise
- Sometimes a mild headache on day one or two
- A heavy brow or a drooping lid when product reaches the wrong muscle; both temporary
- Uneven sides, evened out at the two-week check
- Flu-like symptoms, dry eyes or an allergic reaction, all rare
How the practice avoids them
- The muscles are mapped by a surgeon before the first unit goes in
- More margin next to the brow and eyelid, because Dysport diffuses further
- A conservative first dose, converted from your records and adjusted at two weeks
- Forehead and frown lines treated together, so the brows keep their support
- The week-before list, four hours upright and no heat for a few days
Who is a good candidate for Dysport?
The right candidate has lines that come with expression.
You may be a good candidate if
- Your frown lines, forehead lines or crow's feet show when you frown, raise or squint
- You want the lines softened and your expression kept
- You are a healthy adult who expects a three-to-four-month result
- You have an event within the week, or Botox has faded early or unevenly for you
Not yet, or a different plan, if
- You are pregnant or nursing
- You have a cow's milk protein allergy: Dysport contains lactose, so the other product is used
- You have a neuromuscular disease, an infection on the skin to be treated, or a known allergy to any botulinum toxin product
- You take a prescribed blood thinner without the prescriber's approval to pause it
- Your lines are visible with your face completely still: those are filler lines
- Your complaint is hooded eyelids or a fallen brow: that is skin, and no injectable removes skin
Lactose, milk allergy and your medications
Dysport's formulation contains lactose, a milk-derived sugar, as a stabilizer, so it is not given to anyone with a cow's milk protein allergy; the practice's other neuromodulator is used instead. Some antibiotics increase the effect, so tell us about every medication.
How much does Dysport cost in Beverly Hills?
Dysport costs $8.50 per unit at Dr. Cat Plastic Surgery, as listed on our published non-surgical price list, and the price is the same for every provider; multiply your units by $8.50 for the total, and the number of units is agreed at your visit. Because a Dysport unit is smaller than a Botox unit, compare the price of a treated area, never the price of a unit: a 50-unit frown-line treatment is $425, the same area at 50 to 60 units is $425 to $510, and 100 units, typically the forehead with the frown lines, is $850. Dysport is cosmetic and not covered by insurance. Our Botox pricing guide explains why per-unit prices vary between providers.
The $500 deposit, and paying over time
Dysport is booked as a treatment visit: the appointment is reserved with a $500 deposit credited to the treatment, new patients are evaluated and treated at the same visit, and the $500 stays as a credit if treatment is not right for you. The surgical $500 consultation fee and its credit toward surgery are a separate arrangement. Cherry, the practice's primary financing partner, offers Cherry Pay in 4 on the day of a non-surgical treatment; CareCredit and Alphaeon Credit are also accepted, and our financing and payment plans page has the details.
Your Dysport appointment with Dr. Cat
The first step is a free 15-minute discovery call with our Patient Concierge; the Concierge answers your first questions and books the appointment on Rodeo Drive, where new patients are evaluated and treated at the same visit, and our consultation page walks through the visit. Travel and the office are covered on our out-of-town patients page, and for anyone flying in, a private video consultation through OnPatient, the HIPAA-secure patient portal, comes first.
How to prepare
Skip alcohol for the 24 hours before your visit. For about a week beforehand, and only with your prescribing doctor's approval, pause aspirin, ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatories, fish oil and vitamin E, which all add to bruising. Arrive with a clean face and the record of any neuromodulator treatment you have had elsewhere: the product, the units per area and the date.
