Facial Exercise or Scowling for Working Botox into Muscles?

It sounds like the practitioner in this case does not have a lot of experience with Botox. 8 units is not enough for the area injected and "exercising the muscle" to work the Botox into place is not necessary when it is injected correctly. We would suggest finding a new practitioner and filling that injector in on the work that was dine thus far.

Facial exercises have not been shown to increase the absorption of Botox or Dysport (Botulinum Toxin type A), however it won't hurt to move the muscles.  Strenuous exercise after Botox is discouraged, however, as it may 'wash out' the Botox before it is taken in by the muscle.

The fact that you can still move the muscles after Botox is due to the fact that it may take up to a week to see the full effects of the injection.

Thanks for the question -

I agree with Dr. Shafer that 8 units is a small amount botox to use for this area.
In our San Francisco office we do not ask patients to "exercise" the muscles after injection. We discourage massage or any other technique to move the botox from where we've injected it.
I hope this helps.

Taken in Tampa,
First of all 8 units of Botox is a drop in the bucket. You are going to see minimal results with such a small amount of Botox. I hope you did not pay very much for this. For the glabella (area between your eyebrows) you should receive between 20 and 30 units on average. As for the exercise, if they are injecting it correctly into the muscle, then there is no need to try and make it go somewhere else with exercise. The Botox does paralyze the muscle, but it takes 3 to 7 days to start working.

Botox is one of the leading cosmetic treatments done around the world. Common cosmetic usages include wrinkle reduction and Hyperhidrosis.
 A Study by Northwestern University showed exercising facial muscles after treatment may speed up results by one day. This topic is still up for debate, and should be at the discretion of your injector.

As a precaution it is recommended that patients stay upright for 4 hours, and additionally no exercising for 24 hours post treatment. Always discuss common side effects prior to your treatment with a Board Certified Dermatologist.