Botox to Contour Jawline?

Dear Shery,
Jaw line Botox is injected into the Masseter muscle, which is used to close the mouth and chew. The technique is probably most popular in the Asian community. A bulky masseter muscle makes the lower face look full and heavy. Just a small amount of Botox in this muscle on both sides will cause loss of mass in this muscle and help improve the shape of the lower face. The dose used should not be so great that it interferes with the actual function of the muscle.
One can always do more Botox. Over doing it with too much can lead to a very unpleasant several month interlude waiting for excessive treatment to wear off. Therefore, it is much better to be safe and do less. I typically start with 8 units of Botox per side. I treat the masseter muscle where it inserts into the Jaw bone. A big part of the treatment results comes from muscle atrophy. So treatment effects should not be judged until about a month after treatment. The effects last a little longer than forehead Botox as the jaw line volume takes time to return. 4 to 5 months is realistic before retreatment.

When slimming the jawline, Botox is injected into the masseter muscle to relax it. How much Botox you need will depend on how developed that muscle is. However, if you are expecting the jaw to be more contoured or lifted, I reiterate my colleague's remarks that Botox will not do that. It can only make a heavy jawline look less bulky. As for follow-up treatments, Botox generally wears off within three to six months – no matter how much is injected. In patients that need narrowling or shrinking of large masseters muscles, i will use 50 units of Botox.  You need an in-person consult to determine what's best for you and how much it will cost. I hope this helps.

Depending on the physical exam, I normally use 15 - 35 units of Botox on each side.   It is easy to add more if the desired result is not achieved.  In addition, I tend to use weaker doses when patients return because they start to see the effects wear off.

Botox for the masseter achieves temporary results that last a few months. The exact dosing for your masseter reduction can be determined in consultation with your cosmetic physician, as it is important to see how strong your muscles are with an in-person evaluation. However, to give you an idea, you may require approximately 30 units of Botox per side. Multiply 30 with the average cost of a Botox unit, which would range from $300-$400.

There is not a standard dose of botox (# of units ) for treating a masseter muscle for hypertrophy.  Most patients require around 25 units per side with considerable amount of variation based on size of masster muscle itself.  

The amount of Botox into the masseuse muscle depends on how bulky the muscle is. 20-50 units per side is possible. Make sure you are properly examined by a physician who has experience with massager injections.
Sincerely,
Martin Jugenburg, MD