A cautionary tale: My experience with Dysport (mini novel ahead)

I've been getting botox for years. Not a ton. Just 15 units for my 11 lines and 20 units for my forehead. 35 units every 6 months or so.

I moved and went to see a new aesthetician. I told her exactly what I wanted and how i wanted it. She immediately started pressuring me to use dysport. I declined. I reiterated exactly what I wanted. I even had a copy of my treatment plan from my NYC NP. And this woman wouldn't let up but I resisted. 2 treatments later, she would not stop pushing dysport so I finally caved - reluctantly, I might add. I just wanted her to stick with what I was comfortable with. I was happy with my status quo. But she was constantly pushing me and I just got fed up, like "fine! Go for it!"

Suffice it to say, she destroyed my face. Absolutely destroyed it. Dysport is much stronger then botox. And she went HAM with it on my forehead. Think of your eye, your eyelid, and your eyebrow like a house where your eyebrow is the roof of the house. THE ROOF COLLAPSED Y'ALL. It was so bad. I looked 87. I couldn't open my eyes all the way. My eyelids looked like the Michelin man.

I went back to her office sobbing and begged her to do something, to fix it and she told me - rather smugly and defensively I might add- that there was nothing to be done. She wasnt the least bit apologetic. That's what really burned me the most. She had an attitude. She pressured me into the treatment and wasn't the least bit apologetic over destroying my face. I looked so bad and had to walk around in public with squashed eyes that didn't open all the way. It was humiliating and so obvious I had had a botched treatment.

This was 2021. It took OVER 2 YEARS for the dysport to fully and completely wear off. My ocular "house" if you will has never been the same. I have permanent lid sagging - it would take an eyelift to repair the damage.

I switched aestheticians. Found a better trained NP who came highly reviewed. I told her the whole story when i went to see her in 2023 (2 Years later). And she said we would start light with botox. She explained how long dysport can last in some patients so she said we would start with just do 15 units for my whole forehead and she would have me come back every 2 weeks and we would gradually add more if needed. 15 units of botox for my entire forehead aaaaand the roof collapsed again. I had a business trip that I had to go on the next week. It was mortifying. I called her and sent pictures and she was horrified and apologized. That dysport treatment changed how my face responded to injectables. Like completely. And had lasting negative side effects that will require surgical treatment to fix. And I no longer let anyone inject anything into me. My forehead currently looks like the 110/105 interchange in Los Angeles but hey that's what bangs are for. At least I can raise my eyebrows all the way.

This isn't a dysport hate post. My sister loves dysport. I'm with her at the medspa right now bc she needed a touch up. I'm getting married in 3 days. She said "I need to touch up my dysport. Do you want any treatments while we're there? My treat!" Forgetting that dysport is a trigger word for me which is why I'm going off about it on reddit while cowering under a waiting room chair.

The point of the post is to reiterate what most of you already know: trust your instincts. If a provider is pushing you into a treatment you're not comfortable with, push back. Always push back. Or find a new provider. I will never not be kicking myself for not not being more assertive.