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How Much Is Too Much Botox or Dermal Filler?

One of the most common questions we get from our clients is: How much Botox do I need? We also get “I just want a teeny bit.” So apparently “Baby Botox” is a thing now but guess what? Proper dosing is essential if you want optimal results; you don’t want to cut corners when there is a standard of practice that should be followed.  Let me ask you a question, if you went to the doctor and he prescribed a pill for high blood pressure, are you going to say you just want a little bit and cut the dosage? Absolutely not! You will follow the doctor’s orders. Well that is what we as injectors need to do as well to make sure that you’re happy with your results. After all, you’re paying good money, it is your injectors responsibility to follow best practices to provide the best experience possible.

Botox Dosing 101

Facial aesthetics is an art. Not just any medical professional can hold up a syringe and inject a person’s face. Every client is unique when it comes to their both facial characteristics and desired result. Each individual facial muscle requires a different amount of Botox in order to achieve a fully relaxed look and prevent wrinkle formation. Which is why you want to make sure that your injector is trained to take your whole face into consideration to make sure that your facial structure is considered.
To further complicate matters there are a variety of other characteristics that influence how your body reacts to Botox injections. These can include your gender, size, and strength of your facial muscles, along with how your body metabolizes the product. This is why when clients call asking “How much do I need?” without a consultation prior, it is practically impossible to truly give an answer. Besides, only a professional is trained to take into consideration all of those details I mentioned that determine how much each particular client needs.  That’s why a consultation with your injector is KEY. Whenever you call a practice, the front desk specialist or patient coordinator can only give you a guestimate of how much Botox you’ll need based on protocols and guidelines, but it’s not until the face-to-face consultation with the expert that the exact amount of units needed will be known.

Following is a list of Botox Dosing Recommendations by area:

  • Frown or Glabellar Lines: 15-25 Botox units
  • Crow’s feet: 5-15 Botox units per side
  • Forehead lines: 10-30 Botox units
  • Eyebrows: 2-5 Botox units per side
  • Nasalis “Bunny” lines: 5-10 Botox units
  • Upper lip lines: 4-8 Botox units
  • Smile lift: 3-6 Botox units
  • Dimpled chin: 2-6 Botox units
  • Marionette lines: 2-8 Botox units
  • Gummy smile: 2-4 Botox units
  • Neck bands: 25-50 Botox units

Please note that the only treatments listed above that are FDA approved for Botox Cosmetic are glabellar lines and crow’s feet. The other treatments are considered off-label uses.

When consulting a client for Botox or Dermal Fillers, we always take the following into consideration:

1. Differing Aesthetic Goals:

Some people prefer a completely frozen result, while others like to maintain movement in a minimized capacity. For example, most women choose to have their foreheads completely motionless, while many men prefer to allow for slight movement.

2. Different Muscle Strengths:

If you have stronger forehead muscles, you’ll probably require more Botox to weaken the muscle movements than a person with weaker forehead muscles. This doesn’t necessarily mean that if you’re younger you’ll need less Botox.

3. Dynamic v Static Wrinkles:

The more prevalent and deep-set a patient’s current wrinkles are, the more product will be required to erase them. We consider both Dynamic and Static wrinkles when creating a recommendation plan. Dynamic wrinkles are wrinkles that show up when making facial expressions and gestures. Static wrinkles, on the other hand, are wrinkles that are visible even when a person is in resting state. That is why sometimes if a person has a lot of static wrinkles, we need to recommend a combination of Botox and Juvéderm. Botox to help relax further movement, and Juvéderm to fill in the lines that are visible during the resting stage.

4. Different Face Shapes and Sizes:

If you have a larger forehead you will most likely require more units of Botox to halt motion than a person with a smaller forehead. We can also use Botox to help minimize the jaw line, to soften a prominent chin etc.

5. Metabolism:

The length of time Botox last depend on how quickly each patient metabolizes the product, but in some cases, we’ve seen that some clients metabolize Botox faster and therefore needs Botox a bit more frequently. In our 17 years of practice, we’ve only had a handful of clients that found they needed to come in more often. In most cases, when treated with the recommended dose most will see Botox last from 3-4 months

When considering Botox, or any kind of dermal filler this is a very important to trust your injector because an expert injector will know how to take that product and turn back the clock, in some cases many clients say that they feel like they look at least 10 Years younger after receiving Dermal Fillers and Botox when injected correctly. Depending on your end goal, that is what your injector will use to base his recommendations. For example, do you just want to relax muscles in the upper half of your face? You want Botox. Do you want to add volume to lips, build up your cheeks, or brighten up your under eyes, you’ll need Dermal Fillers.

Okay, so that was the recommended Dosing Guidelines for Botox, but what about Dermal Fillers?

What are Dermal Fillers and what makes them so special? You’ve probably heard of Juvéderm. Juvéderm is a collection of dermal fillers composed of Ultra, Ultra Plus, Volbella, Vollure, and Voluma. The main ingredient behind most of these products is modified Hyaluronic acid or HA, a natural substance in your body that delivers volume to your skin. Getting treated with any of these Juvéderm family of fillers helps add volume to different areas of your face without surgery while also temporarily restoring volume loss beneath your skin’s surface.
The absolute beauty of Dermal Fillers is how we can lift, brighten, and plump your face when used correctly, and especially when combined with other treatments such as PRP, Peels, and Fraxel to address the tone and texture of your skin simultaneously.
Each and every one of these fillers has a special job. One of the most important things to know about filler is that one syringe of filler more than likely is not enough in most cases. Interesting fact, did you know that a McDonald’s ketchup bag is 5 mls, which is 5, 5 Syringes of any of these fillers. Now think about it this way, how many bags of those ketchups do you need to eat all your fries. One is really not nearly enough.

Following is a guideline to help identify which filler is used where upon proper consultation such as:

  • Vollure is more for balance with those lines that create more of shadow look like your smile lines
  • Volbella is a very soft product and is used to help fill small more superficial lines like smoker lines of the lips
  • Juvéderm Ultra is to PLUMP…most commonly your lips
  • Juvéderm Ultra Plus is to fill, we can use this on your cheek or the areas around your mouth.
  • Voluma is what I like to call the “mother of the fillers”. It lifts and used for mid-face to lift

Once an experienced injector is able to evaluate your face and your desired results, they should be able to give you an approximate idea of what your perfect treatment and amount should be. Surprisingly, Botox or Dermal Fillers may not be what you need to achieve your goals. That is why we always start with a consultation to identify your goals and expectations.
Should you choose Beautique Medical Spa for Botox, Dermal Fillers, or any other service you can be 100% confident that Dr. Sanchez and his team of professionals are licensed and certified injectors. In fact, we’re proud to announce that we’re now Diamond Partners with Allergen. For you, that means that we have reached this distinguished honor solely through the amount of Botox and Juvéderm product we inject.

Are you ready to reveal your Belleza? Call us today at 956-664-1234 to schedule your FREE ($97 value) consultation today!

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