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Why Can't You Use Botox for the Saggy Wrinkled Skin Around the Elbows?

asked 1 year ago by Annabel in London
Latest answer by Grace Liu, MD
Question viewed 1,138 times
Tags: wrinkles, female, sagging, elbows

Surely the principle is the same as for the dynamic wrinkles on the face? I know that women get very concerned about their elbows giving away their age. I'm pretty sure it would be a highly popular procedure, should it come into effect! I've never used botox myself but it just occurred to me, as my mother always moans about her saggy elbows! A gap in the market?!

18 answers to Why Can't You Use Botox for the Saggy Wrinkled Skin Around the Elbows?

Botox for Elbows?

Hi Anabel. The problem with the theory is that Botox does not work in situations where there is too much skin (skin laxity). Because the wrinkles on the elbow are caused by excess saggy skin rather than by muscle contraction, it cannot be treated with Botox. Hopefully your Mom will find another solution for those saggy elbows.

Harold J. Kaplan, MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.celibre.com

Botox for Saggy Skin Around Elbows?

Hi, Botox only works on dynamic, or moving muscles. It doesn't work on saggy skin which is better treated with a tissue tightening procedure. You are better off looking at technologies that address skin laxity like Thermage CPT or Refirme. Best, Dr. Liu

Grace Liu, MD
Newport Beach Dermatologic Surgeon

Why Can't You Use Botox for the Saggy Wrinkled Skin Around the Elbows?

Regarding: "Why Can't You Use Botox for the Saggy Wrinkled Skin Around the Elbows? Surely the principle is the same as for the dynamic wrinkles on the face? I know that women get very concerned about their elbows giving away their age. I'm pretty sure it would be a highly popular procedure, should it come into effect! I've never used botox myself but it just occurred to me, as my mother always moans about her saggy elbows! A gap in the market?!" Regarding your... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

Botulinum Toxin (Botox and Dysport) injection and loose elbow skin

The saggy wrinkled skin around your elbows is due to lax skin and not to muscle contraction. Therefore, injecting the skin will do nothing to relax or ease the severity of the wrinkles around the elbow.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Botox and sagging elbow skin

I love your forward thinking! Unfortunately, Botox does treat the dynamic wrinkles about the face...these are lines of skin creasing caused by both thinning skin and the constant bending back and forth caused by the muscles of facial animation, much like the paper-clip breaking after bending it to and fro. The elbow skin is loose skin that genetics and age have loosened and that gravity is pulling on. Best way to treat it, currently, is an arm lift. Thanks for the great question! more

John Philip Connors III, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Botox for elbow wrinkling

Unfortunately, Botox will not help wrinkling of the elbows because it is not caused by muscle movement. It is caused by excess skin in the area that gets pushed together when the arm straightens. Great hydration and moisturization is the best way to improve this condition. I hope my answer was helpful.

Steven E. Rasmussen, MD
Austin Dermatologist

Botox - to the elbows

Botox doesn't treat saggy skin. It works by paralyzing dynamic muscles that cause wrinkles. A good thought though! There are some laser tightening treatments that help elbows. Dr. Cat Begovic M.D.

Catherine Huang-Begovic, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Botox does not work for elbow skin wrinkles

The only action of Botox is a temporary paralysis of the muscles it is injected into. If those muscles are respondsible for creasing the skin and causing wrinkles and lines, then the wrinkles and lines won't be created and the skin can appear smoother. Elbow wrinkles are caused by a lifetime of skin stretching and would not be inproved by Botox.

Jeffrey M. Darrow, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

Saggy elbows and botox

While in a lot of ways Botox is a miracle treatment for lines of animation, it really only works on animation lines not specifically saggy skin and therefore will not help your saggy elbows.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Botox for saggy elbows.

Botox works by weakening muscles. Saggy elbows are not caused by muscle contraction but rather the skin laxity that occurs with age, sun damage and weight flucuations.

Lisa L. Sowder, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Botox for elbows

Botox works on contracting muscles and there are not any contracting muscles at the elbow joint effecting the loose skin.

Robert Brueck, MD
Fort Myers Plastic Surgeon

Botox, elbows

Botox and Dysport work on the dynamic wrinkles that become more prominent with movement. On the elbow areas or arms where the skin may be "saggy" and have a wrinkled appearance, there is loose skin present contributing to the wrinkles. There are no muscles contributing to making the wrinkles worse with movement (as there are in the forehead/ glabella/ Crow's feet areas), and therefore, botox will not work there.

Amy A. McClung, MD
Austin Dermatologist

Saggy elbow skin and Botox

I am not aware of physicians who might have tried this off label, but the skin is wrinkled on the elbow as it is being stretched often, unlike the folding of the skin on the forehead and outer eyelids (crow's feet) from muscle contraction which makes the overlying skin contract. Once the muscle is quiet the skin smoothens, but on the elbow, the botox wouldn't elminate the arm movement and the skin would constantly stretch out. One never knows and sometimes in the field of medicine we... more

Ronald Shelton, MD
Manhattan Dermatologist

Botox works on dynamic wrinkles

Dynamic wrinkles are those wrinkles that you have when you are contracting muscles to produce them. Static lines or wrinkles are those that are there in repose. In the case of your elbows, this is positional. That means that, like your neck, or knees, depending on how they are flexed there is extra tissue that is creating those wrinkles you are bothered by. Potentially, different types of skin resurfacing (ie DOT laser)could be helpful although they wouldn't eradicate these types of... more

Jon E. Mendelsohn, MD
Cincinnati Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.351face.com

Botox works only for functional wrinkles not for sagging skin

Botox works by interrupting a signal that the nerve sends a muscle to contract. When skin is sagging at rest, it's not a functional wrinkle, therefore Botox would not help. There are other modalities, such as SkinTyte, a broad band light treatment that can help tighten sagging skin, that may work much better in this area.

Emily Altman, MD
Short Hills Dermatologic Surgeon

Botox only treats wrinkles caused by hyperactive muscles.

The face is the only part of the body where muscles attach to the skin, for the purpose of expression. When these muscles are hyperactive, as is often the case for example with the "corrugators" that cause the vertical wrinkles to form between the eyebrows, relaxing the muscle with Botox is very effective. Wrinkles above the elbow are due to skin laxity so unfortunately Botox would have no effect. When someone develops a consistently effective way to tighten loose skin without... more