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Botox for Brow Ptosis?

asked 1 year ago by julepandme in New York
Latest answer by Ronald Shelton, MD
Question viewed 778 times
Tags: female, ptosis, brow

I'm thinking of getting botox for my brow ptosis as I'm starting to get horizontal lines in my forehead and almost daily headaches to the front of my head from keeping my eyebrows lifted (otherwise the droop bothers me and feels heavy on my eyes). I've been trying to do some research as to whether this is a good alternate to surgery since it's not all that bad yet and am finding conflicting answers. My main concern is that the botox will make it worse. Can anyone help clear this up?

22 answers to Botox for Brow Ptosis?

Botox Brow Lift - Beverly Hills

Hello and thank you for the question. Botox Cosmetic can be strategically injected into the upper facial region to both shape the brow and create a chemical brow lift. The lateral aspect of the brow can be raised up to a few millimeters and the results generally last 3 to 5 months, on average. In your specific case, you have an overall attractive brow shape and thus I would focus on raising your lateral brow. This may or may not alleviate your "heavy brow"... more

Glenn Vallecillos, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Botox for brow ptosis

I would suggest you seek out at least two professional opinions before deciding on Botox treatment for brow pstosis. Brow pstosis refers to a drooping brow, it is in fact possible to create a modest lifting of the eyebrow with Botox. However, not as a primary goal, it may be the welcomed result of treatment for crow's feet or vertical lines between the brows. In any case, I'd be very careful treating horizontal forehead lines in this case, as often this treatment can cause brow... more

Peter L. Kopelson, MD
Beverly Hills Dermatologic Surgeon

Botox is wonderful for wrinkles, but as you suspect may well reveal other underlying problems

The "brow lift" with Botox is used to elevate the lateral brow slightly. Injection may well make your ptosis of the brow or even excessive upper eyelid skin look worse. Looking at the picture attached to your question, it appears as though your lateral brow is nicely positioned above the lateral orbital rim. The medial brow is at the margin of the orbital rim. This alignment is very aesthetic and is actually the ideal. There are several issues in your... more

Kimberley O'Sullivan, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

Botox brow lift

Botox placement in the glabella can minimize the "11" or vertical lines that many people have. It does this by relaxing the muscles. There are three groups of muscles in this area that allows the eyebrows to move together and this makes those wrinkles. Those muscles are also called depressor muscles as they pull down on the facial muscles. When they are relaxed they no longer pull down on the forehead and the antagonistic forehead muscle can lift the eyebrows in... more

Ronald Shelton, MD
Manhattan Dermatologist

Botox for brow ptosis? Answer: Botox Brow Lift!

Julepandme, I can understand why the "brow lift/brow ptosis" thing is confusing with Botox (and Dysport). This is why it is SO important to see only a well-trained board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon when considering Botox. What seems so simple that some people think they can get it done in the mall, is really a complex art. For headaches and lines in the forehead due to constant lifting of your eyebrows because they feel heavy, there is a GREAT solution with... more

Jessica J. Krant, MD, MPH
Manhattan Dermatologic Surgeon

www.ArtofDermatology.com

Botox Cosmetic May Help Lift the Eyebrows

Hi julepandme, Botox Cosmetic is one medication that has been used for a collection of potential aesthetic treatments. Botox Cosmetic may be applied in specific ways to achieve certain results for facial rejuvenation. Reducing wrinkles is the most common application, but lifting the eyebrows or slimming the jawline are alternative treatments that have been used by plastic surgeons and dermatologists. Botox Cosmetic has been used to raise the eyebrows. This non-surgical brow lift... more

Houtan Chaboki, MD
Washington DC Facial Plastic Surgeon

How Botox Allows Your Brows to Lift

You are not alone in wondering about the benefits of Botox in lifting the brow. The important point to remember about Botox is that is a muscle relaxant. It doesn't pull or lift anything. The brow position is a tug of war between the muscles below and the muscles above the brow. If the muscles below are weakened with Botox the muscles above will have a greater effect and they will pull the brow upward. This is a subtle effect but in someone young like yourself this is probably all you... more

Thomas Buonassisi, MD
Vancouver Facial Plastic Surgeon

Botox and Brow ptosis

With brow ptosis, Botox can be used to cheat a bit along the lateral brow. But if your brow is really low, a brow lift should be considered. This can often be done endoscopically with limited incisions and short recovery time.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Botox for Brow Ptosis

Botox is a reasonable treatment for horizontal forehead creases. You can also get a limited brow lift. However, remember that the improvement is temporary, lasting 3-4 months. You say "it is not that bad yet", so Botox may be more appropriate at this time; surgery will provide a more dramatic permanent result when necessary.

Richard W. Fleming, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Chemical brow lift does work.

Hi. There is no question that precisely injected Botox produces a subtle but real temporary (four months) brow lift which is very popular. We have not seen the brow sagging made worse, but this is technique dependent. With the brows up a little bit, your frontalis (the muscle that raises the brows and causes the horizontal forehead lines) does not have to work so much.

George J. Beraka, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Botox, Wrinkle Treatment, Beverly Hills Botox, Los Angeles Botox, Nasal Surgery, Beverly Hills Rhinoplasty

From the photos, you provided, your eyebrows appear to be quite low despite being plucked and thinned. Botox can cause a slight lift in the eyebrows but will not lift them as much as a Brow Lift. In fact, if the Botox is placed slightly off the exact spot, your eyebrows could drop further. It's certainly OK to try and see if you get what you're looking for, but don't expect high arching eyebrows from Botox alone IMHO.

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Botox Brow Lift

When properly injected, Botox or Dysport are commonly used to create a temporary brow lift. Judging from your question and your picture, you are most likely to have success for your problem with this treatment. It should also be quite effective in alleviating your headache. You have little to lose by trying and it's certainly a good alternative to surgery.

Mitchell Schwartz, MD
South Burlington Dermatologic Surgeon

dorsetstreetdermatology.com

The cause-and-effect strategy of Botox to the brow.

The frontalis (forehead) muscle elevates the brow. The procerus and orbicularis muscles pull the brow down. The key to raising the brow is doing less to the frontalis and more to the "down-pullers" to cause the brow to drift upwards. For those of us who do a lot of Botox, it's routine. We do it all the time.

Ritu Chopra, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Botox injections for fallen brows

What you are referring to is essentially a chemical browlift. Botox is not only safe but it is very effective to elevate the eyebrows and improving the hooding you are experiencing. The other advantage of botox is if you are not happy with the elevation it can be reversed with additional botox into other areas to bring the brows back down and it is also temporary.

Scott Trimas, MD
Jacksonville Facial Plastic Surgeon

Botox injections can produce a "chemical browlift"

It's all in the way Botox is injected.....it can either cause a worsening of the brow ptosis, or actually cause a brow lift. When I teach Botox injections to other professionals, I emphasize how they must check the brow position before injecting the forehead. Injecting the forehead in patient s with ptotic brows will actually cause the brow to droop more. However, if the muscles between the eyes are injected, it actually causes a subtle brow elevation. Make sure you go to a... more

Theda C. Kontis, MD
Baltimore Facial Plastic Surgeon

facialplasticsurgerymd.com

Treating Brow Ptosis with Botox

While injecting Botox into the lateral orbicularis (the muscle around the eyelids) may help gently lift the lateral (outside) portion of the eyebrow. However, injecting the frontalis muscle to soften the transverse wrinkles in the forehead, may actually make the brow ptosis worse if not injected carefully. So, please make sure that you see an experienced Botox injector for your treatment. Also, please be prepared for them to tell you that Botox may not accomplish what... more

David Shafer, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

www.ShaferPlasticSurgery.com

A well-performed Botox treatment may be used to raise the height of your eyebrows.

I read your concern and reviewed your photo. If you have Botox injected into the muscles that lower your brow, you may see a gentle lifting of your eyebrows. Your horizontal forehead lines will need to be treated carefully since too much Botox in these eyebrow-lifters could result in worsening of your condition. I hope this is helpful for you. Regards from NJ:

Eric M. Joseph, MD
West Orange Facial Plastic Surgeon

Caution with Botox for Brow Ptosis

This is a tricky area which many novel injectors overdo. If you use your forehead to keep your brow up significantly, you have what is called an active frontalis (forehead muscle). You should be treated with very little Botox as overdoing it can drop your brow thereby making it worse. I start low and slowly work up on these patients. There are other alternatives. Instead you could try getting Botox in the lateral brows for an eyebrow lift. I also have had great results... more

Julia Carroll, MD
Toronto Dermatologist

Botox for droopy brows

There are both surgical and non-surgical options to fix a droopy brow. Botox can certainly help. The muscles in the forehead pull up on the brow, so you do not want to add Botox in the forehead as this will exacerbate the whole situation. You want Botox to be injected on the lateral corners of the eyebrow and in frown area; you will see a nice lift. Additionally, you can have Restylane injected on the lateral corners of the brow. Patients absolutely love this. It makes an immediate... more

Ben Behnam, MD
Santa Monica Dermatologic Surgeon

Definitely try BOTOX.

Jule There is no reason to have surgery if you can accomplish your goal without surgery. Look up Microdroplet BOTOX. This is a very good approach to creating a BOTOX forehead lift. There are alternative methods out there. As it is currently hard to find an injector who is doing the Microdroplet method, you will have to accept one of the alternative methods. If the photo associated with your email is current, I foresee that you will be happy with the BOTOX... more

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD
Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

Botox works well for brow ptosis...

As long as your expectations are reasonable. Botox does not replace surgery. It will allow for small elevations of the eyebrow (perhaps 2-3mm) so these are subtle changes. The only way to get more of an effect is surgery, but it sounds like you only need a small change so Botox could be the right answer. Give it a try! Good luck!

Elan B. Singer, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Botox can often help brow ptosis

There are muscles that raise your eyebrows. Those are on your forehead. There are also muscles that pull the eyebrows downward. Those are above the outside corner of your eyes and between your brows. Botox works by temporarily weakening muscles. So the treatment should treat the areas on the outside corner or your eyes and between your brows and avoid the muscles on your forehead. This works for many people, but not everybody. I think it is worth... more