How much does Botox cost?
This is probably the most common question asked and searched for online by individuals new to medical aesthetic treatments. The great news is that we are going to give you all the information you need to become a well-educated consumer in this article. So, get your learning cap on as we explore everything you need to know about this topic.
Understanding Botox Pricing Methods
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First, you must become acquainted with the pricing methodologies that you will run into while shopping for Botox in the market. Basically, there are two popular ways of pricing Botox. Unit Pricing and Area Pricing.
First, let’s look at unit pricing.Â
What is a unit? A unit is how Botox is measured and sold. Look at any legit Botox vial, and you will see they are either sold in 50-unit or 100-unit vials. See picture. Moreover, units are how injectors will track how much Botox is going into each section of the face they are treating. For example, the standard dosing for Botox in the glabella is 20 units equally distributed across 5 injection sites (4 units in each injection). Some people need less, and others need more depending on muscle size, muscle strength, skin thickness, and desired outcome. Fewer units typically mean a “softer” result with more muscle movement, while more units typically mean less muscle movement. Â
there can be tremendous variation from person to person
 So, as you can see, there can be tremendous variation from person to person as a well-trained injector can customize how many units an individual needs to achieve their goals. Different practices and medical providers will choose different prices for each unit depending on several factors like geographical location, experience, and value to determine what price to charge per unit.
Now, let’s look at area pricing.
What is an area? An area is a section of the face with muscles that cooperate to give you expressions. Most practices that price their Botox this way will divide the face into 3 areas. The first would be the glabella complex, which is the section between your eyebrows. The second area is the forehead, and the third area is the lateral canthal lines, which is a fancy word for crow’s feet. Please refer to the image here for reference. Different practices and medical providers will choose different prices for each area depending on several factors like geographical location, experience, and value to determine what price to charge per area. Â
Which Botox Price Method is Best?
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This is a hotly debated topic within the aesthetic community. However, we at The Beauty Barn feel that unit pricing is the fairest and most transparent approach to pricing Botox treatments. To illustrate this, we have provided a scenario below:
Example:Â
In this scenario, we have two patients who need different Botox doses to achieve their desired results in the Glabella area (between the brows). Patient Betty needs 20 units, and Patient Rachel needs 25 units. These patients have the option of going to Medical Practice A, which charges by units, and Medical Practice B, which charges by area. We will assume a Medical Practice A charges by unit at $11/unit and Medical Practice B charges by area at $250/area.Â
Summary:
Medical Practice A (units) – $11/unit
Medical Practice B (area) – $250/area
Patient Betty – Needs 20 units for desired results
Patient Rachel – Needs 25 units for desired results
If both patients go to Medical Practice A (unit pricing), each patient will pay for the units they need to get the look they want. In the case of Betty, she will pay $220 (20 units x $11) for her treatment, and Rachel will pay $275 (25 units x $11) for her respective treatment. Seems fair, right?
Now, if these patients go to Medical Practice B, both will pay the same price ($250) even though Rachel needed 20% more units to get her desired result. That doesn’t seem fair as Rachel paid $10/unit ($250/25 units), and Betty paid $12.50/unit ($250/20 units).  That is a BIG difference in pricing!Â
Because we believe in being fair and transparent, PLUS the fact that Botox is a very individualized treatment and “cookie-cutter” approaches will always be inferior to customized treatments, we price our Botox by the unit.Â
Cheap or Bargain Botox
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Every medical practice has the right to determine what they will charge for Botox treatments. So, if they want to charge insanely low prices, that is their option. However, the US has been inundated with the illegal importation of Botox with the rise of non-surgical aesthetic treatments and unscrupulous medical providers (knowingly or unknowingly) using these unregulated, cheap products in patients (see links below). At The Beauty Barn, we purchase all our Botox from Allergan (an Abbvie company), which is the manufacturer of Botox and the only legal distributor in the US.Â
Final Word
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Botox is an amazing product and treatment. You should feel comfortable with your medical provider and the method they use for pricing, but more importantly, you should feel comfortable with the overall practice in general. We hope that this article has provided you with the necessary information to become an educated consumer. An educated consumer is always the best consumer. If you have any additional questions about Botox or any other injectable treatment, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our practice at 678-824-5466.
