Top 5 places to get Botox
A casual internet review gives a dizzying menu of possible Botox treatments. So many things can be done with Botox -- preventing and treating wrinkles, contouring the chin and jawline, and managing pain from TMJ dysfunction or migraines, to name a few. But not everyone can afford to get everything. To help you choose, here are our top 5 places to get Botox!
1. Frown lines
The eyes are the part of the body looked at the most. More than any other part of the face, they’re what we use to emote and communicate. Furrowing our brows tells other people a lot about how we feel -- a furrowed brow shows that we’re concentrating, confused, or angry.
If your mom ever told you that “your face might stay like that,” she wasn’t entirely wrong! Over time, the lines between our eyes can become deeper and more obvious. Given enough time, they can be there even at rest.
These permanent vertical lines between the eyes can make us look perpetually annoyed, impacting how others view us. Relaxing the muscles that bring the eyebrows together relieves these vertical lines and gives us an open, happy resting expression.
2. Forehead
The forehead is the most popular place to get Botox. We use the forehead muscle when we’re happy, surprised, or empathetic -- basically all the time.
Years of elevating our eyebrows causes those horizontal lines that break up our usually smooth, youthful forehead. With the forehead consisting a third or more of the face, it’s no surprise we spend so much time making them smooth.
Since the forehead is involved in expressing pleasant emotions, the challenge is getting the right balance of reducing the muscles while still being able to elevate the eyebrows. Too much, and you look frozen, but not enough and we can still contribute to wrinkles.
Depending where we put the Botox, we can also change how the eyebrows move. Increasing how the eyebrows arch can feminize the face (the “eyebrow lift”). Or we can masculinize the forehead by putting more Botox at the outside of the forehead, keeping the lateral eyebrows depressed and giving that kind-but-masculine look.
3. Crow’s feet
Every time we smile or squint, we make little furrows to the outside of each eye. As we age, these get deeper and more numerous. This can give the impression of chronic happiness as we age, which is great! Sometimes people like to delay the “permanent” lines that eventually appear, but keep the ability to make smile lines.
There are a few ways we can do that with Botox. Two muscles contribute to those lines -- the muscle that squeezes the eyelid shut, and the one that pulls part of the mouth upwards.
We never treat the muscle that pulls the mouth upward, so even if we do a full crow’s feet treatment, you will always have some smile lines. We can also place the Botox a little further away from the eye to keep some more smile lines. We can also use fewer units to reduce how strong the muscle is while preserving more of its function.
Treating crow’s feet the right way for you can keep you looking fresh while keeping you looking cheerful.
4. Jaw line
So many people suffer from jaw clenching and TMJ problems. This can cause headaches, teeth problems, and chronic facial pain. Since clenching is often caused by frustration and anxiety, the headaches and jaw pain can actually turn this into a vicious cycle.
Some people also want to slim down their jaw lines, which can be an effective way of feminizing the face.
By adding some Botox to the deep muscle that clenches the jaw, we can reduce how strongly that muscle causes teeth grinding, which can reduce headaches and jaw pain. We would never give so much Botox that we impact your chewing, though things might feel different for the first little bit.
If you have TMJ issues, also see your dentist about a mouthguard to wear at night -- your teeth will thank you!
5. DAO
The depressor anguli oris or DAO, is the muscle that pulls down the corners of the mouth. It’s one of the muscles we use when we frown. For some people, this muscle is disproportionately strong compared to the muscles that pull the frown upward. This can lead to “resting bitch face,” and over time can lead to folds between the lower cheek and the chin (“marionette lines”).
By putting some Botox in this muscle, we can decrease how strongly it pulls downward, giving the mouth a more neutral position at rest. It won’t impact your ability to frown either -- there are plenty of other muscles that can do that job.
There are lots of other places we can use Botox -- we can decrease lip wrinkles or increase a lip out, decrease neck lines and make the jawline sharper, or treat bunny lines on the nose. These, however, are our top five places most people could benefit from having treated with Botox.
Of course, every person is different, and we can only know what’s right for you after talking about your own goals and seeing how your muscles work. Read more about Botox and our approach, or book a consult!
