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Why Do I Have an Indentation in Forehead After Botox?

asked 1 year ago by la jolla9150 in la jolla, ca
Latest answer by Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Question viewed 2,026 times
Tags: forehead, female, indentation

I see this question was asked, but without any real answer. I, too, have an indentation occurring diagonally right above my left eyebrow all the way to the hairline. it looks worse than the original wrinkles did. also, it is in a place where I physically cannot make a wrinkle on my own (even before the botox). i cannot find one other photo pre-botox where I have this wrinkle so I can guarantee its from botox. will getting more botox help or should i just wait it off? it's been two weeks.

17 answers to Why Do I Have an Indentation in Forehead After Botox?

Indentation After Botox?

Hi lajolla. If the indentation was a result of the Botox injection, it should be fairly simple to correct it. It's possible that the outer forehead muscles were not treated well enough and are causing this indentation because the rest of the forehead is relaxed and that area is not. Best bet is to return to your injector and take a look at your before and after pictures. This always helps.

Harold J. Kaplan, MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.celibre.com

New diagonal forehead indentation after Botox: what to do?

This is why Botox is an art and not a cookie cutter. Sometimes Botox treatments weaken some muscles and reveal the unsual muscle patterns underlying the area that might be unexpected. It's always a better idea to start with new treatments conservatively and then increase here and there to avoid unwanted outcomes. Once you have an established successful pattern of Botox treatments with your doctor, then you know what works for you. This is fixable by seeing a careful... more

Jessica J. Krant, MD, MPH
Manhattan Dermatologic Surgeon

www.ArtofDermatology.com

Botox indentation

This is a rare response to botox or dysport. The frontalis muscle is the main muscle in the area but there are many muscles . There are two potential solutions: one go back to your doctor to inject a little more to deactivate the muscle or to wait until it wears off. Most patients would prefer immediate treatment.

Joshua L. Fox, MD
Long Island Dermatologic Surgeon

Botulinum toxin (Dysport and Botox) and unusual forehead crease

There is an area of fixation of the tissues around the deep bransch of the supraorbital nerve where patients often develop a crease as they age. The botox may be "unveiling" the early tendency for this.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

BOTOX itself will not cause an indentation

BOTOX itself will not cause an indentation. Botox is a muscle relaxer. However, if certain muscles relax and other muscles are not injected, those active muscles may be working harder and become more pronounced looking. You may have what appears to be a hole but is a depression area between a weakened muscle and a more active muscle. It will go away as the BOTOX wears off. You may also treat it by adding BOTOX to the muscle that is over worked. Just keep in mind that any kind of... more

Joseph A. Eviatar, MD
Bronx Oculoplastic Surgeon

Forehead Line after Botox

Thanks for the picture! Looks like the line has been created between the interface of treated and non-treated frontalis muscle....easier to differentiate in person. Return to your physician injector as he/she may need to address with additional application of Botox to the area. Good luck and keep us posted! Dr. C johnconnorsmd.com

John Philip Connors III, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Indentation in forehead

Addressing your concern with your injecting physician,should be the first thing you do. It looks as if a small amout of neurotoxin in the active muscles that are creating the line would help soften it.

Purvisha Patel, MD
Germantown Dermatologist

Indentation after Botox

Without examining you in person, I would guess that that line is due to some residual frontalis muscle activity. If so, this can be treated easily with a small amount of Botox placed in this area. I would go back to your treating physician to discuss this.

Ryan Greene, MD, PhD
Fort Lauderdale Facial Plastic Surgeon

Why Do I Have an Indentation in Forehead After Botox?

There are many muscles in the forehead that affect its movement. Paralyzing some muscles may bring out action in other non-paralyzed muscles. It is possible further Botox will help paralyze these muscles as well and solve the problem. In the worst case scenario, you can wait until the Botox wears off and things should come back to normal.

Sam Goldberger, MD
Beverly Hills Oculoplastic Surgeon

Botox in the forehead

This line represents the lateral portion of the frontalis muscle (muscle of the forehead that helps lift the brow). if the main body of the muscle is injected with muscle, it will not lift up but the lateral portion may still contract and create that line. You can have the problem fixed by have a small amount of Botox injected on that line but the risk is a droopy brow if too much Botox is injected.

Henri P. Gaboriau, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

Botox

It is a very unusual response after botox, I think you should wait for the effect to wean off. Next time let your surgeon assess the area and your muscle action to identify possible reason.

Sanjay Parashar, MD
Dubai Plastic Surgeon

Diagonal forehead line from Botox

I am not convinced that we know of the reason for this diagonal line to form. your photograph appears to show that the middle forehead is slightly puffier than the outer side of the forehead. Your line is a very sharp line as if a shelf is formed by the puffy or hanging muscle slab in the middle forehead lying against the outer forehead. Possibly, the middle forehead is relaxed from the botox causing it to sag a little because it can't elevate from the botox effect and it lies against... more

Ronald Shelton, MD
Manhattan Dermatologist

An indentation on the forehead after Botox injections

The new wrinkle is there because the lateral portions of the frontalis muscle (large forehead muscle responsible for pulling the brows up) is still active and is pulling up, while the medial part is relaxed and is not moving. That is easily corrected with one or two small injections of botox into the active portion of the frontalis.

Emily Altman, MD
Short Hills Dermatologic Surgeon

Easy to Correct

Forehead problems like this are quite easy to correct. Your two week wait time was appropriate and you should return to your physician and have a minor "touch-up".

Arnold R. Oppenheim, MD
Virginia Beach Dermatologist

Botox and wrinkles

Botox changes the dynamics of brow function. There are essentially 2 groups of muscles in your brow. The elevators (frontalis) and depressors (corrugators, and procerus). When the depressors are treated to remedy glabellar furrow (the "eleven"), the frontalis remains active. The FDA has approved botox for the glabellar furrow in 2002. It has since gained broad acceptance among physicians for off-label uses such as crow's feet, forehead wrinkles,... more

Jason R. Hess, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

Botox - forehead wrinkle

It's hard to see from your photo - but likely what happened is that you had BOTOX placed below this wrinkle so the untreated frontalis muscle is creating this "new wrinkle". You just need a minor "touch up" by having a little botox placed in this area. Dr. Cat Begovic M.D.

Catherine Huang-Begovic, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Botox and indentation

Sometimes after treating with Botox, the remaining muscle that has not been treated, may compensate and show a cease from activation. This may go away with further treatment of the non-treated muscle.