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Injectables · Pleasanton & Sunnyvale
Can I get Botox in Pleasanton?
In short
We do not carry the Botox brand. We use Dysport, Jeuveau and Xeomin — all three are botulinum toxin type A, the same molecule that Botox is, and all three relax the muscle that creates a line.
If you have had Botox before, an equivalent dose of one of these does the same thing. Softening begins around day three, settles by day seven to ten, and holds for about three to four months. There is no downtime.
Injectables run in both Pleasanton and Sunnyvale.
Botox is a brand, not a treatment
The word has done to this category what Kleenex did to tissues. Botox is Allergan's trade name for botulinum toxin type A; Dysport, Jeuveau and Xeomin are three other companies' versions of the same protein. All four are purified type A toxin, all four are injected into the muscle in a few units, and all four work by interrupting the signal that tells that muscle to contract.
Which means that when someone asks for Botox, what they almost always want is the effect — a softer frown, a forehead that still moves — rather than the particular vial it came from. That part we do.
How the three differ
| Product | What is different about it | Where it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Dysport | Smaller molecule, dosed on its own scale — roughly two and a half to three Dysport units to one Botox unit. Tends to spread slightly further from each injection point and to show a little sooner. | Broad areas where even softening matters more than pinpoint placement, such as the forehead. |
| Jeuveau | Developed for cosmetic use only, and dosed about one to one with Botox. Behaves closest to what most people are used to. | A straight like-for-like if you have been treated elsewhere and want the same result. |
| Xeomin | Carries no accessory proteins — the toxin alone, with the surrounding complex stripped out. Also dosed about one to one. | Patients whose results have been getting shorter over the years, where antibody response to those proteins is a plausible cause. |
The differences are real but small, and none of them decides whether a treatment looks good. Placement and dose do that.
Four brands, one molecule. What varies between results is where it goes and how much.
Can Dysport lift my eyebrows?
Yes, within a few millimetres — and the mechanism is worth understanding, because it is also how brows get accidentally dropped.
Your brow sits where two opposing forces balance. The frontalis, across the forehead, pulls it up. The glabellar muscles between the brows and the outer fibres of the orbicularis around the eye pull it down. Relax the depressors and leave the elevator working, and the brow rises on its own — usually one to three millimetres, most visible at the tail.
Treat the forehead heavily instead, and you have relaxed the only muscle holding the brow up. The frown softens, the brow sinks, and the result is the heavy, slightly tired look people are describing when they say their Botox dropped their brows. It is a dosing pattern, not a bad product.
So a brow lift with a neurotoxin is a question of balance: enough in the glabella and the lateral orbicularis, restraint across the forehead. It suits brows that have settled a little with age and faces with reasonable upper-lid skin. Where there is real hooding, the lift available this way is a few millimetres at most, and the hooding stays where it is.
Where it works
- Frown lines between the brows — the most reliable area of the three in the upper face.
- Forehead lines, dosed in proportion to the frown rather than independently.
- Crow's feet at the outer corners of the eyes.
- Brow position, as above.
- Underarm sweating, which is a different use of the same molecule and lasts considerably longer — see the treatment page.
Where it does not
A neurotoxin relaxes movement. It does not fill, tighten or resurface. Lines that are visible with your face completely still are etched into the skin and need something else — filler, microneedling or a resurfacing laser, depending on the line. A softening jawline or a loose neck is laxity, which is a tightening question. Under-eye hollowing is volume.
Faces that are still mostly treated well in one visit are the ones where movement is the whole problem. Where it is not, mixing two treatments usually beats doubling one.
Common questions
Is Dysport the same as Botox?
Not the same product, but the same molecule. Both are botulinum toxin type A, and both relax the muscle that creates the line. Dysport is measured on a different scale — roughly two and a half to three Dysport units for every one Botox unit — so a bigger number on the chart does not mean a stronger treatment. The visible result is comparable.
Why don't you carry Botox?
Botox, Dysport, Jeuveau and Xeomin are all botulinum toxin type A, and the three we stock cover the same uses. If you have had Botox before and were happy with it, an equivalent dose of one of these does the same thing.
How soon will I see it?
Movement starts to soften around day three and settles by day seven to ten. Dysport often shows a little earlier than the other two. The result is final at about two weeks, which is when a small adjustment is worth making if one is needed.
How long does it last?
Three to four months for most people. A strong muscle and a lot of expression shorten that, and so does a dose kept deliberately light. Treating at the same interval tends to stretch it slightly over the first year, because the muscle is doing less work in between.
How many units will I need?
It follows the muscle rather than your age. A frown usually takes more than crow's feet, and a strong forehead more than a light one. The number is worked out at the appointment from how the area actually moves, and quoted before anything is injected.
Does it hurt?
The needle is very fine and each injection takes a second or two. Most people describe a brief sting. The whole appointment is usually under fifteen minutes and you can drive yourself home and go back to work.
Can I have it done in Sunnyvale?
Yes. Injectables run at both sites, with the same team and the same three products.
Who injects
Injectables are done by Elizabeth Huang, RN, Evelyn Chinh, RN, and Diana Pretzlaff, RN, under Dr. Seth Eberlin as medical director.
Medically reviewed by Seth Eberlin, MD, Medical Director, Essential Bella. General information, not a substitute for an in-person assessment.