Nurse Niki

The library

What is the difference between Botox and filler?

They solve different problems. Neuromodulators such as Botox and Dysport soften the muscle movement that creates expression lines. Fillers restore volume that has been lost. One relaxes, the other replaces. Using the wrong one for a given concern is the most common reason a result disappoints.

The shorthand is that neuromodulators address lines caused by movement, and filler addresses the loss of underlying structure. A crease that appears when you frown and vanishes when you relax is a movement problem. Hollowing that is there whatever your face is doing is a volume problem.

In practice a face is usually doing both, in different places, to different degrees. That is why I map a plan across the whole face in the consult rather than treating whatever was named first.

The goal I work toward is restorative rather than dramatic — looking rested rather than looking done. If you can tell where the treatment happened, something has gone wrong.

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