Counterfeit Botox exists, and in 2024 the FDA warned that it had reached patients in multiple states. You can check before you book, and the checks take about five minutes. This page explains what to ask any provider, what a genuine vial looks like, and how to run those same questions on Elume Medspa in Fairfax, VA. For the treatment itself, start with our Botox treatment page.
Why is counterfeit Botox a real concern?
Because it has reached actual patients. In April 2024 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published an alert about counterfeit Botox found in multiple states, and reported adverse events including hospitalizations. In that alert, the product had been purchased from unlicensed sources and was administered by both licensed and unlicensed individuals, in non-medical or unlicensed settings. The reactions the FDA described included blurred or double vision, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, shortness of breath and weakness. The alert is worth reading in full: Counterfeit Version of Botox Found in Multiple States. The useful takeaway for a patient is narrow. The concern is not the medicine, which is FDA-approved and widely used. It is the supply chain and the setting.
What should I ask before an injectable appointment?
Five questions cover it, and none of them are rude. A provider who treats them as reasonable is telling you something, and so is a provider who does not.
| Ask this | A straight answer sounds like | What should give you pause |
|---|---|---|
| Which product are you using? | The product, by name: Botox or Dysport | No brand name at all, even after you ask |
| Where do you buy it? | From the manufacturer or an authorized distributor | Vagueness, or product sourced from overseas or online |
| May I see the vial? | Yes, with the label readable | Reluctance, or a syringe drawn out of sight with no vial to show |
| Who is injecting me, and what is their license? | A named, licensed practitioner | An unnamed staff member, or no licensed practitioner on site |
| Where does the treatment happen? | A medical office or clinic | A home, a hotel room, a party, a back room |
How do I know which product I am actually getting?
Ask, and expect a brand name in reply. Botox and Dysport are both FDA-approved prescription products, they work in a similar way, and a provider may recommend one over the other for reasons that have nothing to do with sourcing. Being offered Dysport is not a warning sign, and our Dysport vs Botox page explains how the two differ. Casual shorthand is not a warning sign either. You will hear “tox” used as a catch-all in the industry and on social media, and on its own it means very little. What matters is whether a clear answer follows when you ask which product is going into your face, and whether that answer matches what is on the vial.
Can I look a provider up in Allergan’s Allē directory?
Yes, and it takes seconds. Allē is the consumer program run by Allergan Aesthetics, the maker of Botox Cosmetic, and its provider search shows practices that are enrolled with the manufacturer along with the products each one lists. Search a practice name or your area and see whether it appears. Treat the result as one signal rather than proof. Allē states that the information on a provider page is reported by the provider, and a listing tells you that a practice is enrolled with the manufacturer, not where any individual vial came from. It is still worth the few seconds, and a practice that advertises Botox heavily while appearing nowhere is worth a question.
Is it reasonable to ask to see the vial?
Yes. It is the most direct check available to you, and the FDA’s 2024 alert is specific enough about the differences to make it worth doing. Genuine product comes from Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie company, and is supplied in 50, 100 or 200 unit vials. The counterfeit units the FDA described carried lot number C3709C3, were labeled as 150 units, a size the manufacturer does not make, and read “Botulinum Toxin Type A” instead of “OnabotulinumtoxinA”. Some carried labeling that was not in English. You do not need to memorize any of that. You need to know that a vial exists, that its label can be read, and that asking to look at it is an ordinary request.
Who should be injecting, and what are they licensed to do?
Botox is a prescription drug, so it has to be prescribed and administered within a licensed practice rather than sold or applied like a cosmetic product. Ask what license the person injecting you holds, and ask before the day of treatment rather than in the chair. A practice should be able to answer that plainly and should be willing to tell you who you will be seeing. At Elume Medspa, every injectable treatment is performed by a licensed physician assistant, and we check credentials before anyone treats a patient. The practice has been in Fairfax since 2009, when it was founded by Shaheen Ghafari. You can read about Shaheen and the practice, and if the credential question is the one on your mind, whether a physician assistant is qualified to inject.
How do I check Elume Medspa?
Run the same five questions on us. We offer Botox and Dysport, both FDA-approved, and we will tell you which one is being used and why. We buy Botox directly from Allergan Aesthetics, the company that makes it. Treatment happens in our office at 3925 Blenheim Blvd in Fairfax, and every injectable treatment is performed by a licensed physician assistant whose credentials we have checked. Your provider also does your consultation, so the person who assesses you is the person who treats you.
If you want to see the vial and its lot number before anything is injected, ask and we will show you. It is a reasonable thing to want, we would rather you asked, and nothing about our supply is a secret.
Botox is not booked online at Elume Medspa. Request a free consultation at our scheduling page or call (703) 383-0431, and the office calls you back to confirm a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a lower price mean the product is not genuine?
No. Practices run promotions and offer returning-patient pricing, and none of that says anything about where a product came from. A discount is a licensed practice choosing to charge less for genuine product. The question worth asking is about sourcing, not the number, and it is the same question as before: where do you buy it. Elume Medspa quotes injectable pricing at a free consultation rather than publishing it, because it depends on what is being treated. Our Botox cost page explains how the pricing works.
Can Botox be bought online?
Not legitimately, and not by a patient. Botox is a prescription drug supplied to licensed practices through the manufacturer and its authorized distributors, so a consumer-facing website offering it for sale, or a provider who mentions buying product online or abroad, is describing something outside that chain. At-home kits and injectables sold direct to the public are not the same product.
What should I do if I think I was given a counterfeit product?
Contact a health care professional, and go to an emergency room if you have symptoms such as difficulty swallowing or breathing, blurred or double vision, or weakness after an injection. The FDA also asks that suspected counterfeit products and reactions be reported through its MedWatch program, and its alert page explains how.
Book a free Botox consultation in Fairfax
If you would rather ask these questions in person, that is what a consultation is for. Booking one costs nothing and commits you to nothing: 30 minutes in the office or 15 minutes by phone, and you will be told which product we would use and why. Botox is not booked online at Elume Medspa, so request your appointment at https://elumemedspa.com/schedule/ or call (703) 383-0431 and the office will call you back to confirm a time. Elume Medspa is at 3925 Blenheim Blvd, Suite 53-D, Fairfax, VA 22030.
