Contents
- 1 What is Botox?
- 2 What can it treat?
- 3 How much does Botox cost/ price in Singapore?
- 4 How does Botox work in Singapore?
- 5 Who is suitable for Botox?
- 6 What is the difference between Botox and Filler?
- 7 Why is there a difference in Botox costs / prices?
- 8 How long does Botox last in Singapore?
- 9 When should I repeat my botulinum toxin treatment?
- 10 Do I need a botox review after treatment?
- 11 Which among these brands of Botox in Singapore provides the most noticeable results?
- 12 How to find a good Botox doctor in Singapore?
As a physician trainer for botulinum toxin (Dysport – Galderma) in Singapore, Dr Justin Boey shares his experience and reviews the various brands of Botox that are currently in use in most aesthetic laser clinics.
What is Botox?
Botulinum toxin, a protein generated by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, is marketed as Botox. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) originally approved Botox in 1989 to treat eye muscle problems. It is currently widely used to treat excessive perspiration beneath the arms and to smooth out forehead wrinkles and the lines around the eyes.
When injected in small amounts into specific muscles, it can temporarily weaken or paralyse them.
What can it treat?
Botox can be used to treat a number of conditions, including:
- Eyelid spasm (blepharospasm)
- Involuntary blinking or squinting
- Excessive sweating (axillary hyperhidrosis)
- Migraine headaches
- Muscle spasms in the neck and shoulders (cervical dystonia)
- Overactive bladder
- Strabismus (lazy eye)
- Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ)
Botox also helps to treat wrinkle formation by relaxing the underlying muscles. The most common areas for treatment are the forehead, between the eyebrows (glabellar lines) and around the eyes (crow’s feet).
How much does Botox cost/ price in Singapore?
In Singapore, the first method of Botox pricing is charging by “areas”. Each “area” of Botox can range from $200 – $1800.
Cost by Area
| BOTOX (BY AREA) | UNITS | COST Range |
| Forehead lines (horizontal lines) | 8 – 25 units | $200 – $700 |
| Glabellar lines (frown lines) | 8 – 20 units | $150 – $600 |
| Crow’s feet lines (lines beside eyes) | 8 – 20 units | $150 – $600 |
| Bunny lines (nose wrinkles) | 4 – 10 units | $100 – $500 |
| Gummy smile | 4 – 8 units | $150 – $500 |
| Downturned lips (sad looking lips) | 4 – 8 units | $150 – $500 |
| Chin dimpling | 4 – 8 units | $100 – $500 |
| Jaw botox (for face slimming) | 40 – 80 units | $400 – $1700 |
Different muscle groups are responsible for different wrinkles on your face.
Some clinics offer “upper face” or “lower face” Botox treatment packages.
If you have many areas that require Botox, these packages can be a good value for money.
Cost by Units
Many clinics in Singapore charge based on the number of units used. The price differs based on the brand of botulinum toxin used.
Botox price in Singapore: $15- 25/ unit
Xeomin price in Singapore: $15- 20/ unit
Dysport price in Singapore: $12- 20/unit
How does Botox work in Singapore?
Botox (Clostridium botulinum) works by reducing muscle activity in your facial muscles. This is how botox procedures treat wrinkles that are present and prevent you from developing wrinkles in future.
Botulinum toxin targets one of the underlying causes of frown lines, crow’s feet and forehead lines — the repeated muscle contractions from frowning, squinting, smiling and raising the eyebrows over the years.
Your doctor will inject these muscles with HSA approved botox to temporarily reduce muscle activity.
You will notice a visible smoothing of the facial wrinkles such as frown lines between your brows (glabellar), your crow’s feet, wrinkles and fine lines and your forehead fine lines.
Can botox remove wrinkles and maintain wrinkles completely? It really depends on your skin concerns, medical conditions and expectations.
Fun fact: Apart from treating frown lines and reducing wrinkles, botox injections can be used to treat medical conditions such as excessive sweating, jaw reduction for teeth grinding (jawline botox), and even remove acne scars.
Botox injections are indeed a good complement to medical aesthetic services, laser treatments and facial treatments in aesthetic medicine.
Who is suitable for Botox?
Botox is suitable for those who have dynamic wrinkles on the forehead and around the eyes and those who suffer from excessive sweating under the arms. Those with migraines, muscle spasms in the neck and shoulders, overactive bladder, lazy eye, or temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) may also find relief with Botox treatments.
Botox is most effective on people aged 30 and above, as dynamic wrinkles tend to form around this age. However, there is no upper age limit for Botox – as long as you are in good general health, you can undergo Botox treatment.
Botox is not suitable for pregnant or nursing women, those with neuromuscular disorders such as myasthenia gravis or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, or those with infections at the injection site. Those who are allergic to botulinum toxin or have skin infections should also avoid the procedure.
What is the difference between Botox and Filler?
The difference between botox and dermal fillers is that botox temporarily relaxes muscle activity while filler fills in the lines or volume.
If you want an in-depth understanding of the difference between these two skin tightening and anti-ageing treatments, you can click here to learn more about them.
Why is there a difference in Botox costs / prices?
Three important factors affect the cost of your Botox treatment:
1. Different brands are priced differently
There are currently only 3 HSA-approved Botox brands used by aesthetic clinics in Singapore: Botox, Dysport and Xeomin.
All three brands are generally similar in what they do and how long they last.
• Xeomin is slightly cheaper than Botox in Singapore
• Dysport is cheaper than Xeomin and Botox in Singapore
• Dysport tends to show its effects faster than Xeomin and Botox Singapore
•Efficacy wise, Xeomin and Botox are similar units, whereas 2 to 2.5 Dysport units are equivalent to a single Botox unit
2. The number of units used affects prices.
• Areas which require more units are generally more expensive – Jaw Botox for jawline slimming costs the most because it requires the most number of botox units. Botulinum toxin medical aesthetic treatments for forehead lines, frown lines, deep lines, and facial wrinkles do not require as much dosage of botulinum toxin.
• The number of units required for each treatment area also varies between individuals. For example, the jaw masseter muscles of Person A may require only 24 units, whereas the same muscles in Person B may require 40 units.
Your doctor’s proper consultation, assessment, and tailored treatment plan are more important than the number of units actually given.
3. Doctor’s experience affects costs.
Your doctor’s expertise matters with botulinum toxin injections.
A proper understanding of medical anatomy is crucial for safety and natural-looking results.
Experienced doctors tend to charge higher for their Botox treatments.
Botulinum toxin injections’ side effects tend to fade away in a few weeks to months but can cause a lot of temporary unhappiness.
Examples of potential complications include:
- Bruising
- Drooping of eyelids
- Asymmetrical smiles
How long does Botox last in Singapore?
Dysport/ Xeomin/ Botox Singapore all last between 4 to 6 months. They are temporary, and the effects are fully reversible.
When should I repeat my botulinum toxin treatment?
You should repeat your botulinum toxin treatment every 4 to 6 months.
Do I need a botox review after treatment?
Yes, a proper review session after Botox allows your doctor to follow up if your results are satisfactory.
Botox typically takes only a few days for the effects to show. If required, I usually schedule a review two weeks later for my patients for minor touch-ups.
Although botulinum toxin treatment for crow’s feet, jaw slimming, excessive sweating and even baby botox are minimal downtimes medical treatments, this does not mean that it is easy to get satisfactory results in 1 treatment session without any touch-up or follow-up review.
A medical aesthetic clinic will price Botox (Singapore) by the unit and will charge for additional units if a top-up is needed. You should always ask if a review session, numbing cream and additional botulinum toxin units are included in what you pay for.
At Sozo Aesthetic Clinic, our botox prices are inclusive of top-ups during the review session (within 2-4 weeks).
Which among these brands of Botox in Singapore provides the most noticeable results?
It depends on the Area of Botox injection.
Although all three brands of botox are similar (Dysport/ Xeomin/ Botox Singapore), there are subtle differences, such as the area of diffusion/ spreading of botox.
Dysport spreads more than Botox – hence, I prefer to use Dysport for jaw botox and teeth grinding botox injection. This is because jaw muscles, aka masseter muscles, are large muscles.
Have a detailed discussion with your doctor to understand the different botox brands, which one is more suitable for your situation, and how many units you need.
Note: There are price differences between Dysport/ Xeomin/ Botox Singapore. Make sure that you are paying for the correct brand.
Botox, Dysport and Xeomin are also the only HSA-approved brands for botulinum toxin. If prices appear too good to be true, it’s most likely because the clinic is using a brand that isn’t HSA-approved!
How to find a good Botox doctor in Singapore?
The sure-fire ways to find a reliable, trustworthy and professional aesthetic doctor for your aesthetic injectable procedures are:
- word of mouth referrals from friends
- online reviews
Once you’ve shortlisted a few doctors, arrange for a consultation visit.
Choose a botox doctor whom you’re completely comfortable with.
Apart from botulinum toxin treatments, you should also pick an aesthetic laser clinic that offers laser body treatments as there are limits to what botox treat – you might need other aesthetic treatments too!
As a physician trainer for botulinum toxin (Dysport) in Singapore, my advice is: Making your decision based on prices alone is not ideal – good Botox treatments are rarely cheap, and cheap botox is rarely good!
Need help with Botox treatment? Speak to us now!
