If you know us well, then you know that we like to stay on top of our research and all things new in the cosmetic world. You may or may not already have heard of Daxxify, sometimes more cutely referred to as Daxi, which was approved for cosmetic use by the FDA in September.

It’s basically the first major Botox competitor in decades and the reason is that it’s promising results that last for up to six months, which yes, is very exciting, but also gives us reason to pause. Longer lasting doesn’t always equal better, and it’s always important to ask questions with any new treatment that appears on the market.

What is Daxxify?

So over the last few years we’ve seen a number of Botox competitors come out of the woodwork like Dysport, Xeomin and Nuceiva, but Botox still dominates about 70% of the market. This is not a huge surprise considering that Botox has been around since the 70s and the scientific research behind its safety and effectiveness is rock solid, not to mention its various successful medical uses.

Just like Botox’s other competitors, Daxxify is also a reformulation of botulinum toxin, a neuromodulator that essentially blocks the movement of the muscles ultimately resulting in fewer wrinkles. Like Botox it basically freezes your wrinkles so you don’t make more.

Now typically most neuromodulators last anywhere between 3-4 months, with the recommendation to retreat the area every 3 months in order to maintain your result. Here’s where Daxxify is different: it promises lasting results for up to 6 months and possibly even longer in some patients.

Why Does Daxxify Last Longer than Botox?

So the way Daxxify came into being was that the company behind it, Revenance Therapeutics, was actually looking to find a way where you could apply a blocking agent like botulinum toxin directly onto the skin so that you could avoid the use of needles.

What they discovered in the process was that they could stabilize the product via peptide technology as opposed to what’s typically used (animal protein or human serum) and this peptide technology is ultimately what produces longer lasting results. This makes Daxxify one of the first innovative neuromodulators to be introduced into the market and thus possibly one of Botox’s biggest competitors.

Pros and Cons of a Longer Lasting Neuromodulator

Long lasting results are obviously awesome. We are all for them! Who doesn’t want the longest lasting possible results with any treatment?

We also know that botulinum toxin is a total wonder drug. There is so much great stuff, cosmetic and medical, that can be done with it. But like with any product, especially a product that is primarily being injected into the face, dosing matters and is super important.

So there’s a lot to consider when there’s a drug offering longer lasting results. Sometimes this can be tricky for a variety of reasons. Many patients require tweaks. Your muscle strength changes over time. Your provider needs to be consistently aware of tweaking the dosage to make sure you get the best result.

Having a toxin that lasts 6 months will make this even more important and will certainly separate the strong and experienced injectors from the less experienced ones. You really don’t want a bad neuromodulator result that lasts for 6 months or more.

Is Daxxify available in Canada?

For now it’s unclear as to if or when Daxxify will be approved by Health Canada and available here. At the moment the treatment is still very much in the early stages and not available in clinics in the US quite yet.

The company behind Daxxify will be offering training sessions to clinics in the US between now and early next year with a wider rollout of the drug scheduled for somewhere around March 2023.

We’ll definitely keep you posted if we hear any rumblings of Daxxify hitting the Canadian market.

If you are in need of a Botox tweak though, don’t forget that our Fall Beauty Event is still on through next week until November 4th, with 20% of most in-clinic treatments.