Botox to Contour Jawline?

Dear Shery,

Jaw line Botox is injected into the Masseter muscle, which is used to close the mouth and chew. The technique is probably most popular in the Asian community. A bulky masseter muscle makes the lower face look full and heavy. Just a small amount of Botox in this muscle on both sides will cause loss of mass in this muscle and help improve the shape of the lower face. The dose used should not be so great that it interferes with the actual function of the muscle.

One can always do more Botox. Over doing it with too much can lead to a very unpleasant several month interlude waiting for excessive treatment to wear off. Therefore, it is much better to be safe and do less. I typically start with 8 units of Botox per side. I treat the masseter muscle where it inserts into the Jaw bone. A big part of the treatment results comes from muscle atrophy. So treatment effects should not be judged until about a month after treatment. The effects last a little longer than forehead Botox as the jaw line volume takes time to return. 4 to 5 months is realistic before retreatment.

Botox can work very well on the neck and some contours but the amount and effect is different and is performed on a case by case basis.  I often use a combination of Botox and Restylane to best contour the jaw and give a clean, younger looking jawline.  You need to find an extremely experienced injector to do this technique.

There is no set dose for slimming the jaw/face with masseteric Botox injections. I choose the dose depending on the muscle mass and patient desires. A general range is 15-40 units per side.

There is not a standard dose of botox (# of units ) for treating a masseter muscle for hypertrophy.  Most patients require around 25 units per side with considerable amount of variation based on size of masster muscle itself.  

Web reference: http://www.shahfacialplastics.com/botoxjawreduction.html

If you have masseteric muscle hypertrophy repeated Botox injections of the area every 4-6 months will probably help. You will most likely not see changes over 1or 2 treatments.  It will take several.

Sheryl,

I reiterate one of my colleagues' statements that you should not expect much jawline definition from Botox treatments. Loss of jawline definition in the aging process is not caused by muscle pull. It is caused by gravity's effect on the soft tissues of your cheeks (jowling) and neck. Regardless, the effects of Botox are never permanent, so avoid door number 2. Good luck!

Aloha Sheryl,

A procedure described as "The Nefertiti Lift" has been described where Botox is injected along the posterior and superior borders of the platysma muscle bilaterally to create a contoured neck-jaw line, or nicely contoured mandible. I use 30 to 35 units of Botox per side. This procedure is technique dependent for properly selected patients.

Here's a little historical background on Nefertiti:

Nefertitin?f′?rt?'t? or Nefreteten?f′r?t?'t?, fl. c.1372–1350 B.C., queen of ancient Egypt; wife of Ikhnaton (XVIII dynasty) and aunt of Tutankhamen. She seems to have been divorced by Ikhnaton late in his reign. The exquisite limestone bust of Nefertiti (Berlin Mus.) has given rise to the tradition that she was one of the most beautiful women of antiquity.

So even with all of her beauty that has remained legendary 650 years later, he left her.

A completely different procedure has been popular in recent cosmetic literature which involves injecting the masseter muscle to change a full, square lower face into a thinner, angulated lower face, popular in Asian patients. In this procedure, about 25 units are injected into each masseter. Make sure that your injecting physician is clear about what your desires and goals are before your injections. Follow your injecting physician’s recommendations regarding follow ups, but initially return between 3 to 4 months for evaluation.

Good luck and be well.

Aloha,

Dr. P

There are an ever growing number of uses for Botox. Primarily it is for reducing muscle related wrinkles in the upper face. It can also be used to reduce the muscle functions that pull the lower lips down. True contouring of the jawline is different from that. Make sure your doctor has shown you multiple patient photos to be sure what this is proposed to do is going to make you happy. It is an unusual use of Botox.

Twenty-five units of botox to each masseter muscle to contour the jawline is a reasonable place to start. However, each patient is different and you might require more botox to get the desired result.

Once you and your doctor determine the optimal dose, you should follow up in 4-5 months to consider repeat injections. Again, this time period varies with patients - the effective period sometimes becomes longer after repeated botox injections to the same muscles.

It's very important for your doctor to determine if you are a good candidate for this procedure. Using botox to slim the lower part of the face works best in patients who have enlarged masseter muscles, usually as a result of grinding their teeth. If your lower face is a little wide because of the bony antaomy this approach won't work.

In the right candidate the lower facial slimming can be impressive.

Good Luck

Web reference: http://www.sewickleyfacialplasticsurgery.com