Restylane vs. Botox

Which is the better treatment in this great face-off? Cosmetic injectable treatments are not only the most popular, they are also the fastest-growing cosmetic procedures practiced by cosmetic surgeons around the world. With all the growth in this area, it can be hard to keep track of every new development. However, you can keep abreast of most new developments if you remember that there are two main types of injectables: injectable fillers and injectable treatments.

Injectable fillers, which include Restylane and other hyaluronic-acid-derived compounds, treat wrinkles by filling in the groove under the skin and pushing the skin outward so that it is flatter. Fillers work wherever you body has significant subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin), especially in the cheeks and around the nose and mouth. Treatment with these fillers generally lasts about six months, although in some cases, treatments can last as long as a year.

Botox works completely differently. It blocks nerve impulses from reaching muscles that are locked by habit into contractions that create wrinkling, especially in the brows or other places where shape is given primarily by muscle and bone. One advantage of Botox is that, over time, it reconditions the muscles, so that although it initially lasts only as long as filler injections, over time it can lead to permanent reduction in this type of wrinkles.

Because the two injections work in different ways, it is not so much a question of Restylane vs. Botox, like Godzilla vs. King Kong, but one of Restylane and Botox, like Laurel and Hardy or Batman and Robin. Together, they make a great team.