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Who is Legally Allowed to Buy Botox?

I have seen on this site that so many types of medical practitioners can inject Botox...dentists, psychiatrists, etc. I also know many women who go to Botox parties at someone's home with an RN or someone with even less medical injecting.

Who does the manufacturer of Botox actually sell to? Do they have to be a doctor?

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Allergan legal purchase

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13 Doctor Answers | Asked by Makenzie in Seattle, WA

Doctor Answers (13)
Community Comments (2)

Buyer Beware when having Botox Injections

Any MD can purchase Botox and can even sponsor Botox events where RN's inject patients. The old saying "buyer beware" applies as does "you get what you pay for". Having a complication from Botox is more costly in the long run than having an experienced MD do the Botox treatment from the beginning.

Who is LEGALLY Allowed to Buy Botox?

The purchase of Botox directly from the manufacturer Allergan is legally permitted by any licensed physician/doctor (MD, DO, DMD). Allergan does not guarantee the safety or authenticity of Botox that is not purchased from the company. Depending on your state medical board, you may be able to inject Botox as a physician's assistant, nurse or nurse practitioner, under the supervision of a physician. No state board, allows Aestheticians, Medical Assistants or Nursing Assistants to... more

Who is allowed to purchase Botox

While any physician can purchase Botox, more importantly, the question is who is the best trained to inject Botox and provide the best results and safety, who understands anatomy, beauty, proper proportions, and skin the best. And if there were a problem, who would be the best person to try and fix it.

Benjamin Barankin, MD

10 reviews

Toronto Dermatologic Surgeon

Who is Qualified to Inject Botox?

Botox can be purchased in the United States by any licensed MD, DO or DDS. This is not isolated to this particular drug but really any pharmaceutical. The real question, however is not really who can purchase it but who is qualified to inject Botox? Why would you trust your face to anyone but an expert? There are three physician specialties that provide extensive training in ALL aspects of Botox injections: Facial Plastic Surgery, Dermatology and General Plastic... more

Botox

Any licensed physician can purchase Botox. What's important is who is injecting Botox, and it should be an experienced physician.

Anatoli Freiman, MD

4 reviews

Toronto Dermatologist

Legally Allowed to Buy Botox

Any licensed physician can purchase botox. To ensure the best possible treatment, ensure that you are going to an experienced and expert injector. see video

Who is LEGALLY allowed to Buy Botox?

Conveniently, Allergan (the company producing Botox) sells it to ANY doctor with a valid medical license REGARDLESS of training or board certification. Some of these medical professionals, in turn, have business arrangements with injectors (RN's, aestheticians etc) either in their offices or in affiliated salons. Is this the ideal way to be treated with Botox? I don't think so but many people do not understand the serious quality compromise and clinical implications. Peter A Aldea,... more

Botox and doctors

Allergan will only sell Botox to doctors. There are companies that try to sell non-medical grade botox but that is illegal for use.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Only physicians can buy Botox

Allergan, the manufacturer of Botox, will only sell it to licensed physicians. Anything you see online that will sell directly to the public is not authentic Botox and can be extremely dangerous. Caveat emptor!

Psychiatrists are licensed medical doctors and are eligible to purchase BOTOX should they choose.

Dentists are also licensed to purchase and use BOTOX although many state dental boards restrict this practice. There are not states in the United States that permit nurses to purchase and administer BOTOX. How do spas with only nurses offering services get these products? Often they have an illegal arrangement with a licensed physician.

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD

8 reviews

Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

Botox

Legally the only people allowed to purchase Botox should be an MD only. Nurses can administrate but cannot purchase.

Botox

According to the compant" Allergan" only doctors can buy Botox. Many pharmacies can carry it too, but only by prescription to and by doctors. There are lots of fake Botox on the market that one can buy on the internet. Fake Botox can be hazardous to your health, as well as Botox parties.

Botox trust an experienced board certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon

Remember, it's not just the Botox, but the injector. If a nurse does it and he or she is delivering the treatment under supervision of a physician in the office, there is better quality control. The practice is probably purchasing the Botox from Allergan under the license of one of the physicians. Counterfeit Botox could be sold to non-licensed individuals. Allergan can sell Botox to any licensed MD or DO but there is no restriction as to which specialty. Each state has its own laws as to... more

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Comments (2)

Smokeandmirrors 14 Sep 2012

All pharmaceutical products require that the licensed PRESCRIBER or pharmacist order and procure all pharmaceutical products (Botox included). To indicate that RN's are not qualified to inject or are illegally injecting is a hefty allegation without cited merit. In standard medical practice RN's administer almost all medications, including injectables. An MD prescribes and an RN carries out the administration of the drug. MD's typically have little experience with medication administration aside from injecting topical anesthetic in surgery. I find it interesting that when profitable aesthetic injectables hit the market, doctors and plastic surgeons started to assert that only they are qualified to inject safely. This just is not true. There are very skilled injectors who work with a doctor to administer Botox safely and legally. When the argument if "what I something goes wrong?" is brought up, i will say this. Botox is not reversible, so being in a fancy office won't fix that. What if a patient experiences an allergic reaction? The only thing I have ever seen a plastic surgeon do is watch the nurse inject the drugs to reverse it. Nurses are not the big bad wolf here. They can legally partner with an MD to provide services. It is no different than what an RN does when they administer home health services to a patient while teaming with a doctor who writes the orders. Many times, doctors never meet their home health patients. If home health to ailing patients was profitable, doctors would be back in home health in droves.

Megan P (Community Manager) 14 Sep 2012

I'm a bit confused by your above comment. I read through the doctors opinions and don't see anything that indicated "that RN's are not qualified to inject". As you mentioned "They can legally partner with an MD to provide services." I think the point the doctors were trying to make is that you want to make sure that doctor is actually supervising his/her injectors. Though there are no guarantees no matter where you go, it seems that people are more pleased with their results when they go to the office of a board certified doctor, as opposed to elsewhere, such as a med-spa. Here is a blog post that speaks to that:

Staggering Differences in Satisfaction Between Board vs. Non-Board Certified Doctors

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