Botox Vs Botox Cosmetic: What is the difference?
Botox and Botox Cosmetic are the same drug (onabotulinumtoxinA) made by the same parent company, AbbVie. The key differences are in their FDA-approved uses, marketing, and vial strengths.
Botox:
- FDA approved for various medical conditions
- Treats issues like chronic migraines, excessive sweating, overactive bladder, cervical dystonia, eye muscle disorders including strabismus, and muscles spasms and stiffness
- Often covered by insurance for medical conditions
- Can be injected into the muscle, intradermally (into the skin dermal layer), or into the bladder wall depending on the condition being treated
- Typically used in higher dosages than Botox Cosmetic
- Available in 100 Unit or 200 Unit vials.
Botox Cosmetic:
- FDA-approved specifically for appearance (aesthetic) purposes
- Temporarily improves the look of frown lines, crow’s feet lines, forehead lines, and platysma bands (vertical bands connecting the jaw and neck).
- Usually not covered by insurance
- Only injected into specific facial or neck areas
- Generally used in lower dosages than Botox used for medical treatments
- Available in 50 Unit or 100 Unit vials.
While they contain the same active ingredient, the “Cosmetic” label is primarily a marketing and regulatory distinction to separate aesthetic from medical uses.
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Ingredients
The ingredients in Botox and Botox Cosmetic are the same.
- Active ingredient: onabotulinumtoxinA
- Inactive ingredients: human albumin and sodium chloride.
Vial strengths
- Botox is available as 100 Units or 200 Units vacuum-dried powder in a single-dose vial for reconstitution and injection.
- Botox Cosmetic is available as 50 Units or 100 Units vacuum-dried powder in a single-dose vial for reconstitution and injection.
Manufacturer
Abbvie makes Botox and Allergen Aesthetics (an Abbvie company) makes Botox Cosmetic.
References
- Botox Prescribing Information. https://www.rxabbvie.com/pdf/botox_pi.pdf
- Botox Cosmetic Prescribing Information. https://www.rxabbvie.com/pdf/botox-cosmetic_pi.pdf
- Botox Package Insert. https://www.rxabbvie.com/pdf/botox_medguide.pdf
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