Worried About Botox Resistance? How to Choose Between Coretox, Xeomin, and Nabota

Hello, I’m Park Taeo, the chief physician at Relive Clinic.

"I heard that if you keep getting Botox, you can develop resistance."

"If it happens once, can you never get it again for the rest of your life?"

This is a question I hear often, and to answer right away,

Botox resistance can happen.

But it is not something to be afraid of; it is a possibility to manage.

What does Botox control?

Most products used in Korea are botulinum toxin type A.

They temporarily block and control nerve signaling in muscles that contract excessively, helping to reduce wrinkles.

It is effective on areas that move repeatedly, such as the forehead, glabella, and around the eyes,

and it begins to work in about 3 to 5 days, settling most naturally around 2 weeks.

The average duration of Botox is 3 to 6 months,

and a small amount is injected in a broad spread into the dermis and shallow muscle layers.

Rather than stopping large muscles, it partially controls the tension of fine muscle fibers and the nerve signaling of sebaceous and sweat glands,

helping with fine wrinkles, pore tightening, and oil reduction.

However, its purpose is different from improving aging and sagging.

What is Botox resistance?

Because Botox is a protein-based substance,

the body can produce antibodies when exposed repeatedly.

When antibodies form, they neutralize the toxin before it can act on the muscle... Then the Botox effect does not appear.

This state is what we call Botox resistance.

If we divide the types, there are domestic Botox products that may have a slightly higher chance of resistance but are more affordable,

and there are products such as Coretox, Xeomin, and Nabota that are marketed as being designed to reduce resistance.

(For reference, I get Xeomin in my own face.. many people ask about this.)

Filler and Botox differences

Botox resistance is a probabilistic phenomenon,

and it does not necessarily happen to everyone.

The factors that influence resistance are the following 4:

• Degree of purification

• Treatment interval

• Dosage

• Individual immune response

Among these, I think the most important is dosage,

and repeated treatments at short intervals or using a high dose may increase the likelihood of antibody formation.

Botox meaning and management principles

Coretox and Xeomin are highly purified toxins with minimized complex proteins,

designed to lower the possibility of an immune response.

They can be considered when repeated treatments are needed,

but more important than skin Botox products is the plan and management.

• Maintain an interval of at least 3 months between treatments

• Choose a highly purified product when a high dose is needed

• Do not receive injections on different days in divided areas right away

• Do not perform unnecessary touch-ups

If you follow just the four precautions above,

the risk can be managed sufficiently,

and you do not need to worry too much about Botox resistance.

An image of the comfortable treatment room at Relive Clinic

Botox is not simply an injection that erases wrinkles;

it is a treatment that adjusts muscle balance.

I am Dr. Park, and I always want to provide treatment safely and with as little pain as possible. Thank you.