Tip: Botox could be something to frown about

Did you ever notice that sometimes Botox seems to work better—or last longer—than others? It could be the doctor, it could be the quality, or it could be that there’s some funny business going on in the office.

Botox is delivered to physicians in a freeze-dried form, and the doctor then mixes it with saline. The Botox itself is very expensive, and many women have complained about getting Botox injections that aren’t doing much for their wrinkles. Are they building up some kind of immunity, or could it be that doctors are watering down the Botox? Some offices will water down the Botox with more than the recommended normal saline, in order to be able to treat more patients, giving the patients weaker results.

“Don’t assume because you’re getting a number of injections that you’re getting a lot of Botox,” says Dr. Andrew Frankel of the Lasky Clinic in Beverly Hills. ”I typically get about four or five areas in a 100-unit vial. Another doctor may get up to 20 areas with the same vial because he’s watering it down.”

The only way to know is to go to a reputable doctor and look at the results. If the Botox doesnt have staying power or if it isn’t softening the lines, you could be getting heavily diluted Botox—it happens more frequently than you might think.