What Botox analogues exist and which one is better

In 1992, the American ophthalmologist Gene Carruthers, without suspecting it, began a revolution in cosmetology. She found that in patients whom she treated strabismus and cramping with a drug then called Oculinum, wrinkles suddenly disappeared at the injection site. For the sake of the experiment, Gene, together with her husband, a dermatologist, introduced the medicine into the skin, first to an assistant, and then to volunteer testers. When the effect of smoothing wrinkles was confirmed, she published the results of her experiments in professional journals.

It can be figuratively said that on some of the following days, the owners of the small company Allergan, which produced the same Oculinum as a medicine, woke up rich - the clinics started buying up the drug so quickly that the production could not cope with the flow of orders. After some time, the company already cost several billion dollars, the drug was renamed Botox (Botox), and seeing its relevance, pharmaceutical companies around the world began to produce their Botox counterparts, trying to jump on time in a fast-moving train of cosmetic botulinum therapy.

As a result, today, more than 25 years after the start of the targeted use of Botox in cosmetology, many analog products have appeared on the botulinum toxin market. Some of them compete with Botox due to the lower price, and some are outright fakes, on which you can seriously “burn yourself”, risking the beauty and health of the face.

It is not surprising that the vast majority of patients, especially before the first injections, try to figure out whether it is worth considering such analogues as an alternative to the flagship product, which ones can be pricked, and which ones are best avoided, what is the difference between them. And most importantly, on what tool should you choose to eliminate wrinkles at home. Let's try to deal with these issues.

 

Botox analogues “with a name”

The main, most well-known and Botox-taking competitors in the market are high-quality and highly effective botulinum toxin preparations produced by similar technology, but produced and marketed under their own brands. The list of the most famous of them looks like this:

• Dysport (in Europe better known as Azzalure) is perhaps Botox’s main competitor. It is produced by the French company IPSEN Pharma and, at least in Russia, is used almost as often as Botox itself. Dysport differs from Botox in the first place with a lower price and lower force of action of each unit, which, on the one hand, gives the impression of a weaker and lower-cost tool, but, on the other hand, allows cosmetologists to more accurately dose the drug;

• Xeomin (aka Bocouture) is a German drug from Merz, which differs from Botox and other analogues by the absence of complexing clostridial proteins in its composition. When developing the technology for removing these components, they counted on improving the safety of the product, primarily on reducing the frequency of allergic reactions. But in practice, there were no differences in the safety profiles of these agents;
• Mioblock, a product manufactured in the USA (Solstice Neurosciences, California), also produced in the UK by Eisai Europe under the name Neuroblock, differs from all other products in that it contains serotype B botulinum toxin (all other analogues, including Botox itself, contain type A toxin). Moreover, it is somewhat different from other analogues in terms of force and safety;
• Relatox is a Russian drug manufactured by Microgen, one of the most high-tech in Russia. It differs from Botox in price and auxiliary components in the composition;

• Neuronox is a product of the South Korean corporation Medytox, marketed in various markets under the names Meditoxin, Cunox, Botulift and Siax. It is considered almost a complete analogue of Botox, since its active substance is produced by clostridia of the same strain that is used in Allergan production laboratories;
• Lantox, or, as it is also called, "Chinese Botox", produced by the Institute of Biological Products in Lanzhou. According to the results of the studies, it did not demonstrate any significant differences from Botox in terms of effectiveness and safety, and therefore it is used as its full analogue.

Apparently, the drug Refinex is being produced in China, a drug that once received a certificate of registration in Russia, not further extended. On sale in the Russian Federation, the drug was positioned as manufactured in Japan, although there is no evidence of its Japanese origin. And nothing is known about the company that represents it in the Russian market, but it is sold mainly in gray online pharmacies and on private sites. Therefore, most serious clinics and doctors, if they do not directly call it a fake, at least do not prick it to their patients and do not buy it.

All types of such funds, regardless of the company and the country of manufacture, are largely identical to each other. They have a relatively simple composition, the main component of which is botulinum toxin itself, and, as a rule, two auxiliary substances, one of which stabilizes the formulation, and the second ensures the isotonicity of the solution prepared according to the instructions. Auxiliary components have little effect on the effectiveness and safety of the drug, and the effect of botulinum toxin in all preparations is approximately the same. Therefore, there are no significant differences between Botox itself and its analogues, and when choosing a remedy, small nuances are taken into account, which are important mainly for the doctor.

 

Dysport as the most famous alternative to Botox

Dysport is known for its three features:

• The unit of its biological activity in tests on laboratory mice turned out to be as effective as 1 Unit of Botox, but when used in humans, it provides a significantly less pronounced result. According to the experiments, approximately 2.5 units of Dysport are similar in strength to the action of 1 Unit of Botox on a person;
• Dysport is cheaper than Botox. His bottle of 300 units costs about 12,500-13,000 rubles. About the same amount - about 12,000 rubles - costs a bottle of Botox per 100 units. The introduction of one unit of Botox costs an average of 250 rubles, Disport - 165 rubles;
• The effect of Dysport injections appears on average faster than after Botox injections - after 2-3 days (for Botox, the norm is 5-7 days).

Consequently, according to consumer characteristics, Dysport is cheaper, but its cheapness is to some extent smoothed out by a lower force of action. Practice shows that to get the same Disort effect with Botox, you need to prick 2.5-3 times more, but the cost of the whole procedure with Disport will be 20-30% lower.

On a note

Another important difference of Dysport is the presence of lactose in its composition instead of sodium chloride in Botox. Theoretically, in people with lactose intolerance, Dysport should cause allergic reactions, but in reality, the doctor, knowing about such a feature of the patient, simply will not inject him with this drug. As a result, adverse effects due to such compositional differences almost never occur.

Some patients in beauty parlors report that their Dysport effect is 1-2 months faster than the Botox effect.If after Botox injections the effect persists for 7-9 months, then, according to some reports, after applying Dysport, wrinkles appear within 5-6 months.

At the same time, such reviews are not numerous, and their number is approximately equal to the number of reviews from patients in whom Dysport is more effective than Botox. Special strictly controlled studies did not reveal obvious differences in the effectiveness of Dysport and Botox.

Similarly, these drugs are fairly similar in terms of safety. If it is theoretically possible to assume that the lighter Dysport should diffuse more actively from the injection site into the surrounding tissues, in reality, such increased diffusion was not detected in the studies. And the side effects and the frequency of their development with the use of these funds are almost the same.

 

Xeomin

The main feature of Xeomin has already been indicated above: the botulinum toxin molecule in its composition does not contain hemagglutinating proteins responsible for the binding of the toxin to the target cell. It is believed that it is these proteins, which are specific for clostridia, most often cause allergies, and therefore, the manufacturer of the product in the best German traditions invested strength and money in removing these allergens from the drug.

And the result was zero. The toxin molecule itself in Xeomin turned out to be lighter, but the frequency of undesirable side effects when it is used is practically the same as when injecting the product from Allergan.

Similarly, there were concerns that with a lighter molecule of the active substance, Xeomin would be easier to spread under the skin, causing unwanted reactions from non-target muscles. But even here the preparations turned out to be extremely similar - the frequency of cases of unwanted diffusion was about the same. As a result, these funds are used in similar cases, and in terms of popularity, Kseomin is somewhat inferior to Botox only because of the less weak advertising activity of distributors.

Feedback

Somehow, I had never wanted to try different types of Botox before, I only stabbed it, I was pleased. They don’t inject me much, only between the eyebrows and around the edges of the eyes. Once the doctor offered to try Xeomin, it seems to be a little more expensive, but safer, more modern, or something. They had a purchase in the salon, they tried it, everyone was very satisfied. I completely trust her, so I didn’t argue with her. It feels the same way, but only very strong muscles Xeomin holds worse. The interbrow began to recover 3 months after the injection. She had not been with Botox for six months. Therefore, we consulted, looked at the annotations, decided in the future around the eyes, around the nose to prick with Xeomin, and between the eyebrows - with Botox.

Olya, Moscow

 

Mioblock - the only drug based on type B botulinum toxin

Perhaps, it is Mioblock that stands out from the whole series of Botox analogues both in its composition and in the specificity of the effect on the body.

Fundamentally, the target effect of the use of Mioblock differs little from that of Botox. The drug, when introduced into the muscles, the reduction of which leads to the appearance of wrinkles, provides prolonged denervation and relaxation of them without the possibility of even deliberate tension. As a result, wrinkles disappear for the duration of the action.

The differences between Mioblock and other Botox analogues are in the details:

• The drug often causes obvious discomfort with the introduction. Most often, this feeling of tightness of the skin, some of its tightness, less often - a slight pulling pain.Moreover, these sensations arise more often than when using other Botox analogues;
• The effect of the use of Mioblock ends on average in 10-12 weeks, which is much less than with injections of other drugs;
• The Mioblock biological activity unit is approximately 100 times less effective than the Botox unit. Of course, the equivalent amount of funds costs about the same as the number of Botox units, but the very need for conversion can sometimes lead to some confusion, especially since in different places of introduction the equivalence can range from 1:20 to 1: 125;
• Mioblock itself is sold as a solution ready for administration. This facilitates the work with it, since it is not necessary to restore the drug, but it increases the requirements for storage conditions.

It is believed that the pain that occurs with the introduction of Mioblock is not associated with the active substance itself, but with a lowered pH of the solution. Nevertheless, it is she who is the main reason for patients to refuse this drug.

As a result, cosmetologists most often use Mioblock in cases when Botox and its analogues are not effective enough due to the patient’s getting used to them and the development of antibodies to botulinum toxin type A.

 

Neuronox, a South Korean counterpart to Botox

Neuronox (Neuronox) - almost a complete analogue of Botox, manufactured by the South Korean company Medytox. Sometimes it is also called Meditox or Meditoxin, or simply Korean Botox. The name is quite true: In terms of strength, duration of effect and safety, Neuronox is almost completely identical to Allergan's product. At the same time, many patients notice discomfort immediately with the introduction of the drug, and the frequency of such effects is higher than with Botox.

The main advantage of Neuronox is its lower price than Botox. It is certified in Russia relatively recently, and the manufacturer holds reasonable prices, trying to win back part of the market. And despite the fact that the differences in the cost of the procedure are somewhat erased due to the cost of the work of a cosmetologist (it is the same in both cases and sometimes turns out to be higher than the cost of the drug), with a large number of injections, the total price of the procedure with Neuronox will be lower.

Feedback

It turns out that the third time I inject Botox and each time I do it with a different drug. The first time put Dysport, there were no wrinkles for almost a year. The second time put Relatox, it is cheap, domestic, the effect is the same, but after half a year the effect disappeared. I thought for the third time to stab Dysport again, for alright with that money, I need a result. I called the doctor to agree, she offered to inject Neuronox. I climbed to read about him, found a description, found out that this is a Korean drug, I calmed down right away. I trust Korea, I tried a lot of theirs, including cosmetics. I wanted to buy this product myself, found it on several sites, everything official, from an official distributor, but the doctor dissuaded me, said that she would calculate the price at cost. When I was already at the procedure, I opened the package and diluted the product itself in the bottle. During the injections, pain was felt, it was also from Relatox - as if hot water was injected into the skin. But she quickly passed, the next day there were no more points from the needle. On the third day, the skin began to set, the crow's feet disappeared, and on the fourth, the interbrow disappeared. Now I’ll consider it cooler, Korea, or Russia, which will last longer.

Ilona, ​​Moscow

 

Features of the Russian Relatox

Russian Relatox produced by technology as close as possible to the manufacturing technology of Botox.Due to this, when it is introduced, a result almost identical to the use of Botox is achieved both in the rate of onset of the expected effect and in the duration of the action. At the same time, Relatox injections are quite painful. This is noted by most patients. Before injections, doctors have to anesthetize the areas of administration with ice or alcohol solutions of lidocaine, and after injections, patients are sometimes forced to apply wet wipes to their faces to relieve pain.

On a note

Relatox uses gelatin as a stabilizing medium, which is theoretically more allergenic than Botox albumin. However, a significantly higher frequency of allergies to the use of Relatox is not observed.

Some compensation for such undesirable effects is the lower price of the product. A bottle for 100 units of Relatox costs 9000-9500 rubles. at a price for the same amount of Botox 12000-12500 rubles. With the same cost of the doctor’s work, the savings on the procedure due to the cost of the drug are significant, especially when a large number of facial muscles are chipped.

 

Fake Botox, the danger of its use and ways to avoid meeting him

Finally, counterparts can be attributed to Botox's counterparts - obvious fakes, either less effective, or not so safe, or combining both of these shortcomings.

As a rule, most of these fakes are Chinese, less often Thai or even Russian. The country of manufacture of the fake, in fact, does not play a role - counterfeit is made in semi-artisanal conditions in violation of the requirements for these funds. They can either add botulinum toxin, produced by unverified technology, or not fill them with active substances at all, and the patient, using such fake products, will, in fact, inject distilled water or simple saline.

According to the reviews of cosmetologists, as a result of the use of fakes, various undesirable consequences appear in different cases:

• Severe edema appears, not lasting for weeks and actually disfiguring the patient's face;
  

  One of the negative consequences of using fakes of botulinum toxin preparations is swelling on the face.

• Synthetic fillers accumulate under the skin, creating a mask effect. Their main danger lies in the fact that they practically do not appear on time on their own, but they need to be removed by special operations;
• The injections themselves can be very painful;
• The drug is rejected with the development of inflammation, bumps, swelling, suppuration;
• Scars appear at the injection site;
• Allergies develop, including quite severe ones.

Of course, the use of such drugs has no relation either to cosmetology or to the treatment of certain diseases. Their use is a simple fraud of patients, and in some clinics they are literally put on stream.

On a note

Television and Internet news reports sometimes reveal large batches of fake Botox. After that, the network receives photos of such products, on which you can find clear differences from the original in the appearance of the bottles, packaging and labeling of the products. In particular, instead of “Botox”, Btx may be indicated on the inside of the package, the bottles themselves turn out to be either wider or higher, on the packages the lot number and production date are not indicated. Of course, tracking these nuances in the clinic is quite difficult, but knowing them is useful.

The simplest scheme for such an application of fakes is as follows:

• The clinic buys the minimum batch of the drug from an authorized distributor, receives a certificate and approval for the use of this drug (most often - Botox);
• After this, counterfeit goods are purchased, and often even doctors do not know about it - managers who procure counterfeits to doctors under the guise of the original deal with procurement. Doctors administer a fake drug to patients, often convinced that they inject real Botox;
• Under certain pretexts, the distributor’s controlling representatives are not allowed into the clinic.

At the same time, such clinics do not reduce prices too radically, but simply earn much more than those that work honestly. Nevertheless, having a large margin, they can dump in some places, attracting customers through advertising, and at the same time giving out their fraud.

Therefore, to avoid the accidental use of a fake drug, you should:

• Avoid offers with a clearly lower price, significantly lower than the average market;
• Avoid promotions and engaging advertising - it is important to remember that well-working cosmetologists and clinics quickly acquire a pool of regular patients and do not need intrusive advertising;
• Contact cosmetologists checked personally or by acquaintances;
• If possible, do not change the doctor who once already did the procedure well;
• Do not be shy to ask to show licenses, certificates, approvals, documents for drugs;
• See in advance what the original bottles and packaging of the product look like in order to be able to compare them with those that can be examined at the clinic. If you can first find and view photos of counterfeit goods, it will be very good.

In general, Botox analogues, with the right choice and understanding of their properties, can very well be used in cosmetic medicine, and the results from their use in most cases turn out to be identical to those when injecting the product itself from Allergan. The choice of a specific remedy in each case must be trusted precisely to the cosmetologist, who will be responsible for the result. And the patient’s task is to find a cosmetologist who can be trusted with both his own face and the choice of the drug.

Feedback

“In general, even if the real Botox either didn’t work, or lasted 1-2 months, this does not mean that it is bad or fake. Sensitivity varies, an individual reaction to a specific drug. But if for real Botox heavy side effects are a rarity, then for the fake it is the absence of side walls that will be something strange. Most likely, if they put a counterfeit substitute, something will come out - swelling, allergies, scars, something else like that. Therefore, in principle, I do not understand people who, in the pursuit of a couple of thousand savings, are ready to risk their health in this way. I saw women who were literally disfigured by such fakes - if they didn’t pursue saving, they would go to beauties, and they can’t go out on the street.

Maria, from forum posts

 

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