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Should I Be Concerned That Botox Could Cause Eyebrow Drooping?
asked 11 months ago by MzShizuka
Latest answer by Ronald Shelton, MD
Question viewed 1,307 times
Tags: droopy, side effects
I want to use botox injection to treat the very shallow horizontal forehead lines and the very deep frown lines between my eyebrows. I've heard that forehead lines injection run a bigger risk of eyelid drooping. Should I just treat the deep frown lines between my eyebrows to avoid eyelid drooping?
25 answers to Should I Be Concerned That Botox Could Cause Eyebrow Drooping?
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How to Avoid Eyelid Droop with Botox?
Hi MzShizuka. To avoid drooping you should find an experienced injector. The rate of ptosis (eyelid or eyebrow droop) is extremely low for an experienced Botox injector.
Do your homework now and choose someone carefully and you will likely avoid the ptosis issue.
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Eyebrow drooping doesn't occur very often and usually resolves in 3 weeks.
It sounds like you still need both forehead and frown line botox injections which run about $500. Don't worry since the drooping is not that common and most times it resolves on its own in 3 weeks but can last longer. Rarely is it noticeable to others although you yourself will think otherwise. Sincerely,
David Hansen,MD
+2
Go ahead and have Botox in the glabella and forehead just go to an experienced MD
Everything has risks, including Botox injections to the forehead. However, you can mimimize these risks by going to an MD that has experience using Botox in the forehead. I've used Botox to soften lines and wrinkles of the face and forehead for over 20 years and there are ways to inject the Botox so it has very little chance of dropping the eyebrows. Just remember that "you get what you pay for" and if you shop around for a cheap price on your Botox, you...
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+1
Botox for frown lines and forehead lines
You may indeed benefit from the glabellar lines being treated betweent the eyebrows but it may be that the horizontal lines, once treated, would prevent the lift your forehead needs to prevent your upper eyelids from falling down naturally. You would need to be examined to determine your candidacy for horizontal forehead line treatment with Btoox.
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Go to an experienced injector and you should be fine
As long as you go to an experienced Botox injector, they will know where to place the botox and how to make sure you do not get eyelid brow drooping.
see video
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Misplaced Botox can cause drooping.
Eyebrow drooping is a possibility when Botox is misplaced (i.e. too much in the wrong areas), that is why it is so important to trust your doctor.
When you are ready to undergo any esthetic procedure, it is best to have a consultation with a board certified cosmetic doctor or dermatologist who you trust. They will give you the honest answers for your unique situation (your starting point, your objectives and your budget).
At the Victoria Park Medispa, we take off the...
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Steven Bernstein, MD
Montreal Dermatologist
Montreal Dermatologist
+1
Botox
Forehead injections usually can effect eyebrow drooping more than eyelid drooping. Injections higher on the forehead with less units can help wrinkles and minimize the drooping of the brow. The lighter touch however may improve the wrinkles but not completely remove them. I hope this info helps.
Ronald H. Stefani Jr, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon
Chicago Plastic Surgeon
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Botox and risk of eyelid drooping
Thank you for your question. Many patients have heard about the risks of eyelid drooping with Botox treatment and would like to understand more about that. It is prudent both to consider and to be concerned about the potential risks of any treatment. Precisely because there are risks, I recommend that patients only consider receiving Botox treatments from well-trained professionals. Because the forehead treatment area can be close to the upper eyelids, some of the Botox can diffuse through...
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Botox great for forehead
Get it done! YES that is a side effect but make sure you Go to a professional! Make sure it is either plastics or Derm--we have had much training and experience.
Tracy Kuykendall, MD
Tulsa Dermatologist
Tulsa Dermatologist
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Can Improper Botox Treatment Cause Eyebrow Drooping?
Botox relaxes and weakens the muscles within which it is placed. The forehead muscles (FRONTALIS) lift the brows and in so doing cause the horizontal lines across the forehead. Depending on the depth of the lines and the natural sagginess of the brows care must be used in the application of Botox to the forehead to weaken the lined formation WITHOUT dropping the brows.
This is one of the reasons why you should have your Botox done by a Plastic surgeon / Dermatologist rather than a salon...
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Drooping Eyelids after Botox
While the risk of drooping eyelids after Botox to the forehead is real, this complication is very, very rare when the procedure is done by an experienced physician.
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Should I Be Concerned That Botox Could Cause Eyebrow Drooping?
The main thing you should be worried about is seeing a competent injector. The technique is the most crucial. Depending on where the Botox is injected, you can have drastically different results.
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Botox Rarely Causes Eyelid Drooping
In an experienced injector's hands, eyelid drooping is an extremely uncommon side effect. I always recommend treating only one area on the first visit and the glabellar complex would be the best place for you to start. I typically start with 20 units of Botox for this area unless the muscles appear to be fairly strong. This is a low-normal dose which, if properly place, has very little chance of causing eyelid drooping. It's always easier to add more if you don't get the desired...
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Eyelid drooping very unusual after well-placed brow or forehead Botox
As with any cosmetic surgery or procedure, the experience of the physician injecting the Botox is very important. With an oculoplastic surgeon, dermatologist, or plastic surgeon who has extensive experience treating these areas, the chance of eyelid ptosis is very small.
I tell my patients to expect the chance of this to be around 1% or less. Also, if mild drooping of the eyelid does occur in this context, it usually resolves by 2-3 weeks.
Mark Lucarelli, MD,...
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Eyebrow vs eyelid drooping with Botox
Please understand the difference between eyebrow drooping which can occur with Botox injection for the forehead lines and eyelid drooping (ptosis) which can rarely occur with injection for the frown lines. In short, injection in different areas can cause different kinds of drooping. Good injectors will use the minimum amount of Botox for the desired effect and good technique will also minimize the chance of side-effects. Sounds like you should be able to have a nice result without unwanted...
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Botox injections need to be individualized to your situation
You are absolutely right to be concerned about your eyebrows drooping from inappropriate injections of botulinum toxin. However, with an appropriate evaluation and treatment by an experienced injector, you can get the results you desire and minimize this risk. Dr. Hankins
W. Tracy Hankins, MD
Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon
Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon
+1
Botox and eyelid drooping
Botox can certainly cause eyelid drooping when the botox reaches the levator muscle in the upper eyelid. The eyebrow can be lowered when botox is injected into the frontalis muscle which raises the eyebrow. Neither look is good. The drooping eyelid however can cause functional problems.
The way to avoid these problems is by going to certified physicians with aesthetic training.
I personally would treat you by injecting the muscles between the eyebrows which pull the brow down. Once these...
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Treating forehead and frown lines with Botox
If you have never had Botox injections, I would have the glabella/frown lines injected first. Make sure the injecting physician is a board certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon with training and experience in injecting Botox.
Brow drooping and eyelid drooping can be different things. For example. If the forehead is injected too close to the eyebrows, the lifting action of the frontalis muscle will be interrupted and the brows will tend to droop. Because the...
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Drooping with Botox
Treating glabellar frown lines with Botox can result on drooping of the eyelid. I have been injecting Botox for about 15 years and have drooping upper eyelids in less than 10 cases. so, it is rare. Injecting thehorizintal lines is a different matter. This injection needs to be done with great care because total paralysis of the frontalis muscle remove eybrow support. Thus the brow will droop not the lid itself
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Botox and eyebrow drooping
I agree with your statement that injection of forehead lines carries with it a risk of eyelid drooping. Eyelid drooping with injection to the area between the eyebrows in conjunction with the tail of the brow can have the effect of a brow lift. If you are to have botox injections to the horizontal frown lines of the forehead, the number of units should be limited, to reduce the risk of a droopy eyelid. The risk is different for each individual, depending on forehead anatomy.
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Bryan K. Chen, MD
San Diego Dermatologist
San Diego Dermatologist
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The more direct forehead treatment that is performed the heavier the eyebrows will become.
There is an alternative to directly treating the forehead. The lines on the forehead are there because the frontalis muscle is activating to lift the eyebrows and raise the upper eyelid fold off the upper eyelid. Treatment that weakens the eyebrow depressors (orbital orbicularis oculi muscle) will allow the eyebrow to come up with the frontalis doing less work. This means fewer lines without freezing the forehead. Take a close look at my website describing the...
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+1
Sometimes it is best to treat frown and forehead lines in two sessions
Because some of the BOTOX® administered to relax the frown muscles [the glabellar complex of muscles] will diffuse upwards into the lower part of the frontalis muscle [which is responsible for forehead lines], there is often some degree of relaxation of the lower part of the forehead when the frown lines are treated.
For that reason, I often suggest to new patients that we just treat the frown lines at the first visit, then treat the forehead lines at the second visit. That way I can...
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Kevin C. Smith, MD
Niagara Falls Dermatologic Surgeon
Niagara Falls Dermatologic Surgeon
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Botox and lid droop.
The chances of this happening with an experienced injector is quite rare. I would not be concerned about this if you see an experienced surgeon.
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Botox and drooping
You have asked the most important question and in my opinion the most common pitfall for inexperienced injectors of botox. It is very important to identify the dynamics of the facial muscles. In particular, the frontalis muscle (beneath and responsible for forhead horizontal lines) is a brow elevator and is in constant "tug o war" with the corrugator muscle (between brows and responisble for vertical lines) which is a brow depressor. If you weaken either you get un opposed...
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Botox will work well to treat forehead lines
Botox will work very well on your horizontal forehead lines. To avoid a droopy or heavy brow, communicate your goals to your provider - he/she should opt to treat the area with fewer units to allow more movement of the muscle, but should prevent any heaviness from occurring. Botox will also work well on your deeper frown lines. Depending on how deep your lines are, you might also benefit from some filler in the frown lines used in conjunction with Botox.
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