Why Does Botox Make Forehead Look Shiny?

Dear Beach,
BOTOX does not just effect the muscles of facial expression. They also have an effect on the pilosebasceous units and the piloerector muscles of the actual skin. Between the freezing of the forehead that is typical for many forehead treatments (think Marcia Cross of Desperate Housewives) and the effect on the skin muscles, the result is this shiny skin. This effect is actually the desired effect of meso BOTOX where tiny doses of Botox are diluted in about 10 milliliters of saline and injected all over the face.

Practitioners of meso BOTOX claim that this treatment creates a glow to the skin.

There is a topical botulinum toxin product under development and although the effects on the bigger lines around the eyes appear to be modest, it is possible that it may be useful to achieve the aesthetic result seen with meso BOTOX.

Hello, when you get a Botox injection you, it paralyzes the muscles that create wrinkles. This creates smoother skin that can also look shinier. However, sweat glands are also temporarily paralyzed, so I can at least tell you the shine is not from sweat. Hopefully this answers your questions!

The shiny forehead you have observed on some patients who have received Botox injections is normal.  A board-certified facial plastic surgeon with expertise in Botox uses only enough of the neuromodulator to relax the muscle underneath the forehead, and it can inhibit the pilosebaceous glands, which might result in a shiny forehead.

Smooth surfaces are more likely to reflect light uniformly and appear shiny. There is no other plausible reason for that.  Its certainly not related to the Botox itself.
Regards

Any of the oil or sweat glands can be activated by the neurotransmitter that Botox blocks. In some cases this can produce cessation of activity such as dexcreased sweating. But in other circumstances denervation can lead to increased activity of the oil glands. We commonly see this following surgery of the nose, for example following rhinoplasty. Surgery may disconnect nerves which normally travel to the oil glands of the skin. People commonly report an oily nose after nose jobs for this reason. Botox may act in a similar way by "chemically" blocking the nerves and leading to increased activity of the oil glands.