Botox for Crow's Feet: Avoiding a Frozen Look

It is important to understand that you need to make smile lines when you smile or your smile will look insincere.  By customizing the amount of BOTOX using Microdroplet methods, it is possible to gain a very precise treatment effect.  Also the crows feet area benefits from fillers which helps support the skin and reduce the static lines.

  You are absolutely right!  Explain you wishes and your concerns to the doctor ann ask him to treat you with his recommended minimal number of units.

There is no doubt that you can proceed with baby steps and have the Botulinum Toxin (Dysport or Botox) injected in moderation. Perhaps you should start with 4-6 units per side.  
 

Having nearly twenty years of experience with Botox for cosmetic purposes, I have seen many changes in its use throughout the years. In the beginning, freezing the muscles of facial expression, such as those that cause crow's feet on the sides of the eyes, or the of the scowl (frown) lines between the brows, or of the "worry" lines across the forehead was the desired result.

Nowadays, this kind of "frozen" look, i.e. freezing the expression line muscles with either Dysport or Botox, is not desirable and often the result of the work of an inexperienced injector. With careful physician technique,  precise placement of material, and control of the concentration and amounts injected, a smooth appearance at rest (i.e. when not making any facial expressions), as well as the ability to make natural facial expressions when desired are achievable.

Botox does great for crow's feet wrinkles and is almost impossible to make them look frozen.  you will still have a natural look when you smile.  sincerely,

david hansen,md

Botox can be titrated to desired effect. You are correct that less units will give a lesser result.

The orbicularis oris muscle, which creates crow's feet, is a very large muscle which can not be completely paralyzed with botox anyway. Chances are you will still retain a line or two if that is your goal.

Best of luck

Absolutely, you do not need to obtain a frozen appearance from having had Botox. If fewer areas are injected within the responsible field of muscle activity, a softer appearance will occur. Also realize, that many times it is not possible to freeze the area even if it were requested, because some of the crow's feet lines are related to the big smile muscles and if these were injected there would be a problem with smiling.

Botox injections can be very effective and lead to nice results when injected by the appropriate people.  Plastic surgeons and dermatologists have specific training in Botox injections.  When Botox first came out, there was a tendency to inject too much, which led to the "frozen" look.  It is more common now to perform microinjections into specific muscles in an attempt to relax the underlying muscle to help reduce wrinkles.  A balance must be achieved between relaxing the muscles and maintaining natural animation of the face.  Good luck.

The best treatment we have for wrinkles around the eyes, or crow's feet, are the neurotoxins, Botox and Dysport. Dysport is the new competitor of Botox, and patients feel it gives them a more " natural"  look (which to me means "less frozen").   Some physicians feel that because Dysport diffuses differently, it is superior in treating the crow's feet region.

Smiling involves muscles other than those around the eyes that are injected with Botox to eliminate crows feet therefore the frozen look is avoidable. It sounds like you would benefit from resurfacing procedures or retinoids to increase the elasticity in your skin-- it will help reduce the appearance of the crow's feet.