The muscles around your eyes have opposing forces.This is how we are able to bring our eyebrows both up and down to help give emotional expression.Muscles that bring the eyebrows down are referred to as depressors.Muscles that bring the brows up are referred to as levators. For example, the frown lines are caused by a combination of three muscles. The main one is the corrugator. This muscle causes the brows to be pulled inwards and slightly downwards.Another depressor is the procerus muscle. This muscle causes the central glabellar or frown area to be pulled straight down, often giving a horizontal line at the top of the nose.Some people have a strong procerus, and some don't.This differentiates how treatments should be designed.A third muscle pulling the brow down is called the depressor supercilii. This muscle also causes the central brow to be pulled straight down.The muscle around our upper and lower eyelids that is injected to control crow's feet can also be a depressor muscle.This muscle is called the orbicularis oculi muscle. It is a large, wide, pancake-looking muscle whose function is to close our eyes.It is a functional muscle as opposed to the previously named muscles which are referred to as muscles of facial expression.The only purpose of muscles of facial expression is to convey our emotional state.Placing Botox in any depressor muscle will cause a gentle lifting of the brow.Treating the outer upper aspect of the orbicularis oculi muscle has the potential of raising the corner of the eyebrow and creating a more peaked or feminine look.Over-treating or incorrectly treating this part of this muscle also puts patients at risk for a droopy eyelid, a highly undesirable complication of Botox treatments.The main levator muscle of the eyebrows is called the frontalis. This is a large, flat muscle that sits over the central part of the forehead.Anytime an attempt is made to treat the horizontal forehead lines, a patient is at risk for at least a partial dropping of the eyebrows. Great care and experience is required in treating this muscle to not cause drooping of the eyebrows, which can give an aged and masculine look.Treating only the central part of the forehead or the frontalis muscle while leaving the outer edges to still move can create a very undesirable "Mephisto" or "Mr. Spock" look.It is possible to partially treat the frontalis muscle in order to get a balance between softening the forehead lines with a minimal drop of the eyebrows.This is perhaps the most difficult part of high-quality Botox treatments.More than anything else, please seek an experienced and talented provider. This type of treatment requires great knowledge skill and experience.Best of luck,Mats Hagstrom, M.D.