Does Botox cause eyelids to be more heavy if you've received it in your forehead? If so, how can this be avoided?

Depending on your anatomy, especially your brow location, dictates how much your eyelids change. If you lift your eyebrows up by pulling up your forehead skin, you will see less skin on your eyelids. When you paralyze your forehead muscle (frontalis) the brow drops down adding more skin to the lids, giving them that " heavy" appearance.injecting less neurotoxin in the brow area , or placing it up higher might help.

Yes, incorrect placement of Botox in the forehead or placing too many units may cause the eyebrows to drop and feel heavy.  This leads to a heavy feeling of the eyelids as well. This does make you feel tired and look sleepy. I would recommend less units in the forehead and placement higher in the forehead on your next Botox injection session. In the meantime, I would return to your injector since there are specific Botox injection sites that may alleviate some of the heavy feeling. Best wishes.

I would suggest the next time you have your Botox placed by your physician that you have them place the Botox a little further above your brow than they have been placing it.  The frontalis muscle, the muscle which is responsible for maintaining the elevated position of your brows, is being weakened too close to the brow by your Botox.  Your brow may also be predisposed to falling and it is not likely your eyelids are falling but your now weakened forehead musculature is unable to elevate your brow comfortably and this effectively makes your upper eyelids feel heavy.

Botox can contribute to heavy eyelids when injected into the forehead. The key to neuromodulator injections into the forehead is to be conservative. The muscle that causes wrinkles in the forehead is called the frontalis muscle, which is the only eyebrow elevator. Overly aggressive forehead injections definitely treat the forehead creases at the potential tradeoff to get a saggy eyebrow with a subsequent potential droopy eyelid through the heavy eyebrow. Many women notice even subtle heavy eyebrows/eyelids through difficulty applying eyeshadow. The key to forehead injections is to inject mainly in the upper half of the forehead. The most important thing, though, is to have an experienced and well trained injector. Someone who understands facial anatomy, especially plastic surgeons and facial plastic surgeons who operate in the face including the forehead and eyelids on a regular basis, are familiar with the intricate anatomy and function of facial structures. Complications and unwanted results from neuromodulator injections (Botox, Dysport, and Xeomin) can hence be minimized if not prevented altogether. I would caution patients to generally stay away from Medispas and other discount places. The idiom "you get what you pay for" certainly applies to neuromodulator injections. The good news is that neuromodulators wear off after 3-4 months; the bad news is it will take that long for the heavy eyebrows and eyelids to resolve. Best wishes!

This is very common in patients who need the forehead muscle to hold up the brows and lids.  This can only be determined with a proper in person evaluation.  If this happens but you still want botox, then you need baby doses and have them more frequently than larger doses less often.  Also i would try dysport over botox as it seems to be a little "softer" at the edge of injection area.  Best, Dr. Emer.