In today’s blog post, double-board certified facial plastic surgeon Catherine Weng, MD explains how, in certain cases, BOTOX® Cosmetic can provide a subtle “lifting” effect for the brows.
Frequently patients ask me to lift their brows with BOTOX Cosmetic. It’s such a common ask, and it is a reasonable one; however, often people don’t fully understand why or how it works. So I thought I’d take a minute to explain:
How do we actually achieve this lift?
Let’s take a deep dive into the science behind BOTOX injections. Botulinum toxin, which is the active ingredient in BOTOX Cosmetic, XEOMIN® Dysport®, and Daxxify, works by blocking the neurotransmitter—acetylcholine—that nerve cells use to stimulate muscles and cause them to contract. This effectively blocks these muscles from moving for about 3-4 months until new receptors are regenerated in the nerve endings to receive the signals. This is how BOTOX Cosmetic works to smooth out fine lines of movement. Usually we say we can’t really lift without surgery (such as a brow lift procedure), but we can smooth fine lines that show up with movement by preventing the movement of those muscles.
However, using toxin to lift the brows is a special case. For every muscle that moves things in one direction, there is another muscle that opposes its movement. In the upper face, the frontalis muscle raises the brow while the corrugator muscles and orbicularis muscles pull the brow down. So, one way to lift the brows is to block the downward movement while allowing the upward movement to continue unopposed.
To create the effect of a lift, we can preferentially block the muscles that pull down the brows by treating them with BOTOX injections. These are the orbicularis oculi muscles that cause crow’s feet when they contract, and the corrugator muscles that cause the frown lines (or “11s”) when they contract. Once those muscles are prevented from pulling the brows down, the frontalis muscle which pulls the brows up has no forces opposing it. As a result, the resting tone of the frontalis muscle can give you a subtle elevation of the brows at rest.
To find out if an injectable procedure such as BOTOX Cosmetic, a surgical treatment such as a brow lift, or another option altogether is more ideal for your needs and goals, please contact our practice to schedule a consultation. All procedures here at The Aesthetic Facial Plastic Surgery Center, Inc. are customized from the first step to the last to maximize the potential for results that look both beautiful and natural.
— Dr. Catherine Weng – Double-Board Certified Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon