Who is Legally Allowed to Buy Botox?

Thank you for your question. You must be a licensed physician to purchase Botox from the manufacturer or through a medical supply distributor.  There is a lot of education and training that is required to inject Botox. Please refer to a board certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist to do your injections.

In Canada, Botox is able to be administered by a licensed medical professional with training in performing the procedure. This can include doctors, dentists or nurses. However, the product can only be purchased by a medical doctor.

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 who can inject substances, such as MDs / DOs, RNs, etc.

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.

Thank you for your question. You must be a licensed physician to purchase Botox from the manufacturer or through a medical supply distributor.  There is a lot of education and training that is required to inject Botox. Please refer to a board certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist to do your injections. Best of luck! 

Botox must legally be purchased in the US from the manufacturer (Allergan) under a state issued physician's (MD, DO, etc) license. However, like any product, this can be sourced via the web from other countries at substantial savings. What you give up when purchasing medical products this way is FDA regulation of the manufacturing, transport, and storage of the product. In many cases, it is the exact identical drug, made by Allergan or a subsidiary.  Did it sit in a warehouse or ship hull for weeks at 100F? Who knows? Will it work? Probably...but it's not guaranteed Safe AND Effective by any means. You will pay more for US manufactured and distributed product. You will pay more for injectors with advanced medical degrees (MD > NP/PA > RN > LVN) in the same way that you pay more for other professionals services. I strongly advise only receiving injection therapy in a clinic setting either directly from a physician, or where a physician is immediately available. 

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

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

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.

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 Surgery.  If your face is worth the best, then choose the best.  Should you elect to have someone other than one of these three specialists for your injection, ensure that they are directly supervised by one of them.  Should you get a poor result, you will want to have access to an expert to fix the side effect.