Botox: Q&A
Ask a Question
Botox Cost - CC's Vs. Units?
How common is it for doctors to sell Botox in cc's instead of units? How much does Botox cost per cc of Botox vs. per unit of Botox?
Tags:
24 Doctor Answers |
Asked by
anon
+4
Botox pricing by cc is uncommon
It's not very common for practitioners to offer Botox by volume. Most offer by site (frown, forehead, crow's feet lines) or unit. Botox comes packaged in a vial contaning 100 units of dry powder. This is then mixed by the provider with sterile saline resulting in a concentration measured as units/0.1cc. Most make the ultimate concentration to be 4 units/0.1cc and most will treat the frown lines, for example with around 24 units (0.6cc).
Hope that helps.
Dr. Ahn
+3
CC does not tell you anything about the units.
Di,
You are correct, people sell Botox by cc, which is a measure of volume, or by unit, which is a measure of total Botox. Additionally, they may sell it by areas, which tells you nothing about the volume or the total Botox. It is best to always know how many units you are receiving. This way, the next time you have a Botox treatment, you will know if you need more or less in specific areas. Most careful injectors keep tract of how many units they inject in each area and mark this in...
more
+3
Botox: Price per unit, not cc, vial or area
Physicians reconstitute Botox with different amounts of saline solution, which means that the number of units of Botox you receive per cc of the solution that is injected may vary from practice to practice. For this reason it is important for consumers to understand how many units of Botox are being injected into a given treatment area, and to select a physician who prices Botox by the unit.
It makes no sense to price Botox "per area". Pricing "per area" means one of two things - either...
more
You might also like...
Real Stories
Botox Treatment - Day One - Mclean, VA
This is my first treatment. My Doctor used 20 units to treat the vertical lines between my...
+3
Most docs I know charge either by the unit or by the area treated
I feel that the fair way to charge is by the unit because it is the amount of Botox protein that you are actually paying for. That being said, the typical going rate for Botox in my area of the country is 12-16 dollar per unit.
If your injector is charging you per cc, he or she may still be charging you a reasonable rate, but the per volume unit of measurement is not very meaningful, since a single cc of Botox can range from less than 1 to greater than 100 units.
Good luck!
more
+3
CC's are irrelevant
Dear Di,
Botox is packaged as a 100 unit vial of freeze dried material, which has essentially no volume (cc's). We, the physicians, then add any volume (cc's) of saline solution (salt water) that we choose to add. This gives us a number of units per cc.
In general, there is a range of units required to treat an area of the face. The number of cc's used to treat an area will therefore depend on the amount of saline that was used to reconstitute the freeze dried product in order to inject...
more
+3
Units tell you more
Botox is packaged as a dry powder. The physician adds saline fluid to prepare for the treatment. The amount of saline added determines the concentration of Botox (how many units are in each cc). There are various reasons why a physician may chose one concentration or another. However, the real issue is how many units of Botox you received.
Some physicians always use the same concentration so they may discuss cost in terms of cc's.
You should also remember that Botox is a treatment not...
more
+3
Cost of Botox
Many doctors charge by the "area", i.e. glabella or crow's feet. Fees vary from $300 to $600 per area.
Others charge by the unit. Fees vary from $9 a unit to $25 a unit.
There are 100 units to a bottle of Botox. Usually that translates to 4 or 5 cc in the bottle(depending on how much a doctor adds).
Doctors who have established practices and specialty training (plastic surgeons or dermatologists) and great experience are generally more expensive than doctors without specific...
more
+3
Most sell Botox by the syringe but will tell you the units if you ask
I would estimate that most surgeons mix Botox either 20 or 25 units per syringe, so just ask them which they do. Most physicians base their pricing on the units. In my practice, we give a discount to patients who purchase several Botox treatments in advance (so called "Botox banking").
+2
Botox is measured by units, not cc's
Botox is sold as a freeze dried film stuck to the bottom of a bottle. Mostly it is sold in a bottle with 100 units of Botox in that film. Obviously, a dry film can not be injected into a patient so it must be mixed with saline solution. The doctor chooses how much saline to use. I like 2 cc's which means there are 50 units in one cc. Other doctors may choose different amounts. If your doctor likes 4 cc's then you would be getting twice as much...
more
+2
Botox Costs
Great question Di,
Typically Botox is charged by either the unit or by the area treated. In either case you should make sure you know how many units you're getting as that may be the only reliable way to compare price.
Pricing by the cc (cubic centimeter) does not make as much sense as Botox must be diluted and more of the diluting saline will lower the concentration. (You may get more cc's but fewer units).
Always ask to see how many units you received. In my San Francisco based practice...
more
+1
Botox units vs cc
I have so many patients ask this question and it can all be so confusing. What really matters more than this, which can be affected by the dilution, is how you look afterwards and how long it lasts. If it dissipates too quickly or too little was placed, will the doctor do a touch-up for you several weeks later at no charge. These are the important variables and of course what cosmetic result you achieve.
see video
+1
Botox Cost - CC's Vs. Units
Botox is usually sold by the unit. Anywhere from 25 – 50 units or higher could be used for a complete facial treatment. Botox is diluted with preservative free bacteriostatic Normal saline to compose the injectable solution. I dilute my 100 unit bottle with 4cc of normal saline to obtain 2.5 units per 0.1 cc of solution. Some practitioners dilute with less or more of the normal saline solution to obtain the concentration that they prefer to work with.
+1
Botox cost should always be priced by the unit
Botox cost should always be priced by the unit. This is the only way to compare "apples to apples". If you don't know the concentration of the cc's, you don't know how many units you are receiving. Be sure to demand the number of units you are receiving.
+1
Botox pricing
Since Botox is diluted differently by various doctors, referring to cc's is meaningless. It is best to refer to units since it is distributed by Allergan in units. Regardless of how it is diluted, one unit is still one unit. The average cost is $12 per unit but it varies in different parts of the country. Please consult a board certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon for best results.
+1
Botox Cost
One vial of Botox has 100 units. Botox is injected to the muscles by measurements of units. Doctors or nurses are trained by injecting Botox by measuring the amount in units. My recommendation is to only get the treatment with someone who measure and charge by units as this is only way to know if you are paying a good price for it.
+1
Don't buy Botox by the cc.
It is too hard to know how many units that equals, and what you are paying for. The most reliable method is to pay by the unit. A second, common way is to pay by the area treated.
+1
Cost per cc vs unit
Botox comes as a dry powder and is dissolved in normal saline. Depending on how much normal saline is added, the concentration of the botox per cc can change. Therefore the cc cost of botox can vary widely from doctor to doctor as the concentration changes. A cc could have 5 units or could have 10 units. Thus the price could be twice as much. I don't know anyone personally who charges by cc. Most people charge by unit or location.
+1
Botox by cc
Botox is best sold in units as it is most directly comparable from practice to practice. If you are comparing cc's then that may make for confusion or inaccurate comparisons as different practitioners may mix the botox differently.
+1
How Do Doctors Charge For Botox?
I personally think the only way a doctor should charge for Botox is by the unit. The only way to legally purchase Botox in the United States is per unit. Meaning, most doctors purchase a 100 unit bottle of Botox from Allergan - the only make and distributor of Botox in the U.S. The bottle requires 'reconstitution' in order to be used properly. This means that the doctor has to add saline (salt water) into the bottle in order to create a solution of Botox that can then be injected....
more
+1
Don't pay for Botox by the cc! Only by the unit!
Botox comes as a dry powder in a small vial. The doctor then chooses to add a certain amount of sterile saline into this vial to reconstitute the Botox. The amount of saline that added depends on the preferences of the doctor. This is why you should never pay for Botox by the milliliter or CC. It is not the saline then you are buying but how much Botox is in the saline. Before your next treatment, ask your physician how many units of Botox they plan to use. Clarify that you...
more
+1
Do not buy cc's of Botox!
If a physician is selling you CC's of Botox he/she is almost certainly trying to deceive you. There are two common ways to offer Botox in today's market, one is by the unit and the other is by the area.
Measuring in CC's is deceiving because a CC of diluted Botox does not tell you how much actual Botox is in the dilution, rather it tells you more about how much saline was used.
Purchasing Botox in anything other then the "unit" cost will usually lead to paying more for the...
more
+1
Botox costs
Botox vials are measure in cc's. However, there are 100 units per vial. Everyone does it differently. I usually dilute 2 cc's for the bottle. I don't per se charge per unit or per cc's. I charge per area. The forehead costs more than the glabellar region or the crow's feet. Around the country, I would say there probably is a large range. Even in NY there is a large range. The forehead which probably uses .5 cc or 25 units is about $500-800, The other areas are less, and the three areas...
more
+1
You don't know how much Botox you are getting
The problem with selling it in cc's is that it doesn’t tell you how much actual Botox you are getting. If it is diluted less than in other offices, you might be getting more units, if diluted more, then you will be getting less with the same number of ccs. That’s why only units should be discussed
+1
Selling Botox by the cc is uncommon
Most practitioners sell Botox by the unit or area. Depending on how it is diluted will depend on the price. I would suggest finding a practitioner who sells Botox by the unit or the area.
Comments (0)